The employee headcount at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently listed at more than 3,250 full-time equivalent positions, down considerably from the more than 4,000 recorded during the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, according to the agency’s May update to Congress.
The over 60-page report, released May 5 to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), touches on everything from staffing levels at the nuclear watchdog agency to its increasing level of decommissioning activity.
NRC Chair Kristine Svinicki noted in a cover letter that the monthly report is in response to a December request from the Senate panel’s Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee.
“The FY 2017 Actuals are end-of-fiscal-year projections based upon known personnel actions as of pay period ending April 1, 2017,” according to the NRC document. The report notes that the NRC has been budgeted for more than 3,400 full-time slots.
The regulator has been under pressure from Republican lawmakers to reduce its staff headcount given that license applications for new nuclear reactors have dried up in recent years, due to weak power demand and the increased role for natural gas and renewables in power generation.
In its Project Aim, the NRC set a goal of reducing staffing to 3,600 full-time slots by the end of fiscal 2016. It met that goal.
While new reactor applications are down, the report notes there are more shut-down power reactor units that are moving from operating to decommissioning status. An NRC official said last week during a public hearing in California that 20 power reactors are undergoing decommissioning; six are active projects and the rest are in SAFSTOR mode, under which they are maintained in a safe condition for up to 60 years before decontamination.
