ML21235A119
| ML21235A119 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/23/2021 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Speech-21-006 | |
| Download: ML21235A119 (4) | |
Text
N o. : S-21 -00 6 August 23, 2021 Co n ta c t: O f f ic e o f Pu b lic A f fairs, 301 -4 15 -82 00 U. S. N u c le a r R e g u lato ry C o mm is s io n Chairman Christopher T. Hanson R e m a rk s f o r th e Org an izatio n o f Ag reement S tates An n ual M eetin g
( R e m a rk s a s p re p a re d )
A u g u st 16, 2021
Good af ternoon. Thank you, Mr. Crowley f or the kind introduction.
It is w o n d e rf ul to b e h e re w ith y o u in Ph ila d e lp hia to d a y. Th is is a c tu a lly m y f irs t in-person conf erence since joining the NRC. As you might know, I joined the agency June 2020, during the COVID public health emergency, so most of my interactions have been virtual. As the situation improves, I look f orward to more opportunities like this to saf ely interact with people f ace to f ace.
Firs t, I w a n t to th a n k th e s ta f f th at made this hybrid meeting possible. I know this was not an easy task, but you made it happen. Also, thank you for taking all the necessary precautions to make us f eel saf e. Your hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed.
I a ls o w a n t to h igh ligh t th e im p o rta n t re la tio n s h ip th e N RC s h a re s w ith th e A gre e m e nt Sta te s a t the outset of my remarks. Even in the f ace of a public health emergency, the close coordination and communication between our counterparts did not lapse, and I thank you all f or your co n tin ue d e f forts to assure the saf e and secure use of nuclear materials nationwide during these trying times.
Introduction
I have already met some of you and I look forward to getting to know more of you. But to start, I c a n te ll y o u a little b it a b o u t myself. I came to the nuclear world largely through the waste and materials side. I started my career as a consultant to state environmental agencies in their collective interactions with the Department of Energy on cleanup of the Cold War environmental le gacy.
I later served as a consultant f or a number of government and private clients, focusing mainly on strategy, governance, and f inance. For government clients, I oversaw the lif e -cycle cost estimate and the Nuclear Waste Fund f or the Yucca Mountain Pr oject and developed f inancial and governance models f or the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, which you may recall dealt with closed f uel cycles.
In 2009, I joined the Department of Energys Office of the Chief Financial Officer. I migrated to working f or Secretary Steven Chu, handling the Departments relationship with the Appropriations Co m m itte e s o n Ca p ito l H ill.
I later had the privilege and pleasure of working f or Assistant Secretary f or Nuclear Energy (and f o rm e r NRC Co m m issio n e r) Pe te Ly o n s a s a senior advisor on waste and fuel cycle issues.
In 2014, I moved to Capitol Hill, where I handled all things nuclear on the Senate Appropriations Committee cleanup and waste, nuclear energy and f uel cycle, and national security p ro gra m sworking closely with Senators Feinstein, Alexander, and others.
Now I want to share my thoughts on some areas where I hope to see continued success for the N a tio n a l Ma te ria ls Pro gra m.
Risk
First is managing risk. Throughout my years of experience in the nuclear sector, Ive learned the importance of risk management. Maybe you have heard me speak before in other forums about the importance of being a risk -inf ormed regulator when referring to nuclear power plants. But I think we need to consider risk in everything we do, including the National Materials Program. We need to id e n tif y th e m o s t ris k s ign if ic a n t is s u e s s o w e c a n f o cu s o n w h a t re a lly m a tte rs.
The NRCs BeRiskSMART f ramework was developed to empower our staff to consistently apply and communicate risk insights f or all our decisions. Ive been pleased to see that recent survey results revealed most NRC staf f think the work done under the BeRiskSMART f ramework is important to accomplish our work. Through this ef fort, we are constantly asking ourselves, is the juice worth the squeeze? Or f rom the NRCs per spective, will the ef fort or proposed change lead to an appreciable impact on saf ety or security?
As you will hear this week, the staf f has been using this f ramework to apply innovative approaches to risk-inf ormed decision making and f ocusing on the mos t ris k-s ign if ica n t a s pe c ts in th e oversight program. For example, the staf f continues to risk inf orm the Integrated Materials Perf ormance Ev a lu a tio n Pro gra m p ro c e s s. Sp e c ific ally, th e N RC p la n s to c o m p lete Be Ris k SMA RT In itia tiv e s o n State Agreements proced ur e SA-100, Implementation of the IMPEP, to risk-inf orm the IMPEP process, enhance communication between members of the National Materials Program, and improve the use of technology.
Of course, these efforts are not possible without the continued engageme nt and participation of Agreement States members through working groups. I am also glad to hear of the early involvement of National Materials Program partners on proposed rules and guidance that may affect the materials program, including the petition f or rulemaking to f urther risk inf orm the Naturally Occurring and Accelerator -Produced Radioactive Materials rule. Your engagement helps shape outcomes, particularly when we can obtain your insights and perspectives early in the process.
I a m a ls o gla d to hear that the National Materials Program Co -Champion initiative has been instrumental in the communications between the NRC program of fice and the Agreement States and has provided opportunities to strengthen this partnership.
Page l 2 E m erg en t/ New Tec hn olo gie s
Another area of interest to me is regulatory and technical readiness. This entails transformation in the way we conduct our regulatory activities. For example, we need to be ready to regulate f usion energy systems and emerging medical technologies.
As we move f orward, it is important that the NRC and Agreement States maintain an open dialogue with all interested stakeholders, especially the public. So f ar, I have been impressed by communication and coordination by the NRC staf f and the Agreement Sta te s. I a m c o n fid e nt th a t working together, we will be able to provide a solid f oundation of safety and security through the National Materials Program f or new and emergent technologies.
I know our staf f has been working closely with OAS and the Ag reement States in the development of the Fusion Energy regulatory f ramework. We certainly appreciate f eedback received by the working group at the two government -to -go v e rnm e nt m e e tin gs h e ld th is p a s t Sp rin g. Th is is a n a re a of particular interest f or me an d I look f orward to hearing more as progress continues on this topic.
I think this is an opportunity to continue to f ocus on developing good policy and good government. In my view, good policy means reasonable assurance of adequate protection (obviously),
transparency in process and outcomes, and durable decisions that stand up over time. Good government means building up our greatest asset and relationships with our program partners and ensuring adequate resources to protect people and the environment.
I a m c o n f id e nt th e N a tio n a l Ma te ria ls Pro gra m w ill c o n tin u e to b u ild o n th is f o un da tio n. Th is is ref lected by the years of partnership, improvements of the programs through the IMPEP, operational experience, knowledge sharing, and lastly, the intent of mo re Sta te s to jo in th e N a tio n a l Ma te ria ls Pro gra m.
I recognize that within the dif f erent Agreement State programs there are resource challenges.
We appreciate all the support that has been provided in participation with the Working Groups. But s till, I would encourage you to help when you can. With your f eedback and assistance, I am confident that the NRC can develop f orward looking guidance in this area to ensure efficiency and consistency in the f uture licensing of emergent and new technologies.
P e o p le : T ra in in g a n d Hirin g
Now let me f ocus on another important area, our people. I think it is important to continue to provide steady support f or training f or Agreement State license reviewers and inspectors to promote a nationally consistent progra m to ensure the protection of public health, safety, security, and the e n v iro n m e n t. Th e s ta ff is u n d e rta kin g tra n s fo rma tiv e in itia tiv e s to m a k e tra in in g m o re e ffic ie nt a n d e f f e c tiv e, in c lu din g N RC-Sp o n s ore d Tra in ing a v a ila b le to A gre e m e nt Sta te s ta f f th ro u gh development of partially online courses. We will continue to engage on any changes to the budget that impact the training program. We will also partner with Agreement States to develop any needed strategies to decrease the impact. Lets keep the focus on our people and prioritize opportunities that train and reinf orce the technical knowledge of our staff.
Page l 3 In the area of hiring new talent and expertise, I understand the challenges being encountered by many Agreement States programs. I want to highlight the August 2nd announcement of the availability of the NRC Grants Program. The Program awards scholarships and f ellowships to students as well as f unding to academic institutions. I would encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and share it w ith your respective educational institutions. The NRC grant program supports the areas of health physics and other related radiation-pro tec tio n s p e c ia ltie s, a n d s tu d en ts w h o re c e iv e th e s e s c h ola rs hip s can meet their service commitment through State employment.
Further, I want to mention that the NRC is working diligently to make tools and processes more ef f icient and cost ef fective. For example, modernization efforts are underway to enhance the Web -
Based Licensing system. Staf f is working on developing elec tro nic s u b mis s io n o f lic e n se a p plic a tio ns through WBL and additional changes that would provide the ability to create and track work plans f or a c tiv itie s n o t re la te d to c e rtif ic a tio n s, lic e n s ing, a n d in s p ec tio n. It is m y h o p e th a t th ro u gh th e s e e ffo rts,
we can realize ef f iciencies that can then be shared with our Agreement State partners.
Appreciation of Agreement State Program and the OAS
In closing, Id like to take the time to express my appreciation to all the NRC and Agreement States inspectors and license reviewers f or your efforts in the f ace of a pandemic to maintain licensing and oversight of materials licensees. You are the ones in the f ield making sure the public is saf e, and that is no small thing. I hope you f eel proud of your accomplishment s d u ring th is e x tre m e ly d iffic u lt year because you should. I f or one am impressed.
Also, I want to thank the Agreement States program directors and the Organization of A gre e m e n t Sta te s f o r th e ir le a d e rs h ip a n d c o n tin ue d d e d ic atio n to th e N a tio n al Ma te ria ls Pro gra m.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the State of Maryland on their 50th Anniversary of becoming an Agreement State. The State of Maryland became the 22nd Agreement State on January 1, 1971. I commend M arylands successful efforts throughout the years in re gu la tin g th e Sta te s s a f e u s e o f ra d io a ctiv e m a te rials, th e re by p ro te ctin g p u b lic h e alth a n d s a fety.
Specif ically, I want to congratulate the dedicated professionals of the Maryland Department of the Environment f or their successful implementation of the Maryland Agreement State Program.
I understand that the presentation of certif icate and photo opportunity will be postponed to next years meeting as Maryland representatives could not be here in person.
With that, thanks again f or your time. Im happy to take any questions you might have.
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