ML23240A525
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| Issue date: | 03/15/2023 |
| From: | NRC/OCM |
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Text
1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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35TH REGULATORY INFORMATION CONFERENCE (RIC)
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COMMISSIONER CROWELL PLENARY
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WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 15, 2023
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The Plenary Session convened at the
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference
Center, located at 5701 Marinelli Road, North
Bethesda, Maryland and via Videoconference, at 9:15
a.m. EDT, the Honorable Bradley R. Crowell,
Commissioner, NRC, presiding.
PRESENT:
BRADLEY R. CROWELL, Commissioner, NRC
ANDREA VEIL, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, NRC
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P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S
9:16 a.m.
MS. VEIL: All right. It is my distinct
honor to introduce the final Commission Plenary and
our newest Commissioner. The Honorable Bradley R.
Crowell was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission on August 26th, 2022,
and is currently serving the remainder of a five-year
term ending June 30th, 2027.
Commissioner Crowell has more than 20
years of experience in the fields of energy,
environment, natural resources, climate change, and
national security including executive leadership
positions in the federal and state government. Prior
to beginning his tenure as Commissioner he served as
Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources as an Assistant Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Energy.
Please welcome Commissioner Crowell.
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Thank you, Andrea.
So, as the fifth and final Commissioner to speak at
the conference, I'm going to go off script here a
little bit at the beginning, taking that liberty.
I wanted to let you know that one of the
big differences for me pre-COVID versus post-COVID is
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I now have to wear reading glasses, but I'm going to
try to do the speech without my glasses. And I may
or may not be successful, so bear with me.
(Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Second, despite
the fact that Commissioner Caputo and I ran into each
other late last night in the office as we were putting
-- making changes and putting finishing touches on
our remarks, we had not discussed the content of our
remarks at all, but I too am going to talk with the
theme of, what does success look like? And she stole
my joke.
(Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: So another
difference for me pre-versus post-COVID is that I'm
now a father and I'm full of bad jokes and I'm going
to attempt to insert one. So again, bear with me,
and charitable laughter is appreciated.
So, with that, again, Andrea, thank you
for the very nice introduction. I'm delighted to be
here today with so many distinguished guests at the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 2023 Regulatory
Information Conference, otherwise known as the RIC.
In this conference, NRC has once again gathered
nuclear professionals involved in the safe and secure
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use of nuclear energy and other uses of radioactive
materials.
While this is my first RIC, I appreciate
that for 35 years now the NRC has hosted this meeting,
a diverse gathering of professionals from the NRC,
other government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, academia, and industry, all to discuss
topics of mutual interest.
I'd also like to extend a special welcome
and thank you to our international partners
participating in this conference, both in person and
virtually. It is my distinct privilege to address
all of you today.
So, I'm told that the RIC has a history
of good humor, and we're getting back to it this year
after a pause from humor during the COVID pandemic.
Humor is difficult in a virtual setting, so again for
those attending virtually, bear with us here.
I'll offer you this: If you disagree
with some or all of my remarks today, or if I make
any factual areas, it's not my fault. I used ChatGPT
to write my speech.
(Laughter.) COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Ahhh,
Commissioner Caputo. Our offices adjoin and I'll
have to see if there's a hole in the wall or a
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listening device, because this wasn't even that good
of a joke to steal, but here we are.
(Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: So I'll fall back
on my other joke and try to spin it into something
positive. I'd like to say that the only reason NRC
Commissioners' offices have a private bathroom in the
office is so that you don't create a quorum in the
men's room.
(Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Happens to be
true. Also, it is a valid commentary on a statement
Commissioner Caputo raised of the need for diversity
from top to bottom, from bottom to top, at the agency.
So, while humorous, it's also something we need to
address. And I appreciate the charitable laughs.
All right. Back to the script. As many
of you know, I'm the last NRC Commissioner to offer
a plenary speech at this year's RIC because I'm the
newest member of the Commission. As Andrea
mentioned, I began my tenure on the Commission late
-- in late August of last year. I was honored to
navigate the Senate confirmation process in tandem
with my colleague Commissioner Caputo, who has
returned to service on the Commission. And I'd like
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to express my deep appreciation to all of my fellow
Commissioners for their guidance and insights as I've
settled into my role on the Commission over the last
six months.
Thank you.
I will also take a moment to introduce to
you my staff, my A Team, for those who haven't had a
chance to meet them yet. Candice Trummell is my chief
of staff and is a friend and colleague from my time
at the Department of Energy. Maxine Keefe is my legal
counsel. Dave Brown is my technical assistant for
materials. And Janet Lepre is my executive
assistant. Brian Anderson, who recently retired from
the agency, was my reactor TA. And I am now looking
to fill that spot, but one hurdle at a time. So I'll
get through today hopefully first. I cannot
overstate my gratitude for the professionalism of my
staff, their expertise, and perhaps more importantly
their tireless enthusiasm and support.
So the title of this year's RIC,
Navigating the Nuclear Future, is an appropriate
theme for this point in history, however if I could
rephrase that title slightly I would change it to
Navigating our Nuclear Future. I say "our" because
the nuclear future -- I believe our nuclear future is
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-- I believe that the path forward for civilian
nuclear energy is one that we must share if we are to
succeed.
And if you're participating in this
conference, then you're all on the front lines of
sharing this collective responsibility to try to path
forward to a true and enduring nuclear renaissance.
We can either share in the success of navigating our
way to a responsible nuclear future or we will share
in the failure to do so. Like many of you, I prefer
success.
So this begs the question what is
success? I'm sure each of us has a different
definition of success depending on your professional
and personal perspective. My version of success,
which I will share with you today, reflects my view
as just one Commissioner among the five-member
Commission of the NRC. And my views are shaped by my
understanding of the NRC's purpose, mission, and
goals.
My views are also shaped from my personal
and professional experiences prior to joining the
Commission. And since I'm the new guy around here,
I'll take a minute to briefly share with you some
things about me so you can better understand my
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perspective. And I'll reiterate a little bit of what
Andrea said, but try not to duplicate it too much.
I was born and raised in Carson City,
Nevada. My father, Robert Crowell, was a Vietnam
veteran, long-term member of the Navy, and also
three-term mayor of Carson City until he passed in
2020. I mention him in part because he devoted his
life to public service and he is the inspiration for
my commitment to public service.
My public service career began after
graduating from Santa Clara University in California,
when I drove from California to Washington, D.C.,
stopping in my hometown of Carson City to purchase a
1985 Cadillac from a pawn shop for $1,900.
After barely making it across the
country, I cut my teeth answering the phone and
writing constituent letters for former Nevada
Governor and U.S. Senator Richard Bryan until he
retired. I later worked for Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse of Rhode Island during his first term in
the Senate. And from there I moved to a role in the
Obama-Biden Administration at the Department of
Energy, including as Assistant Secretary for
Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.
At DOE, I gained insights on many
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nuclear-related topics including advanced nuclear
reactor technologies, consent-based siting for spent
nuclear fuel, nuclear weapons modernization, and
cleaning up America's Cold War era environmental
legacy.
My tenure at DOE coincided with both the
2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan and the 2014
radioactive waste incident at DOE's Waste Isolation
Plant in New Mexico.
In late 2016 I left DOE and I left D.C.
altogether to return to my home state of Nevada to
serve as a cabinet member for two Nevada governors;
one Republican and one Democrat, where I led the
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. In
that role, I led a state-level cabinet agency of 1,000
employees responsible for a broad range of issues
including hard rock and critical minerals mining,
hazardous and low-level radiological waste disposal,
water rights, land management, and many other issues.
Having served in leadership roles at both
the federal and state levels of government, I have a
unique understanding and appreciation for how public
agencies can impact our daily lives. These past
experiences inform my thinking on success. For
example, these experiences taught me that success in
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the operation of a public agency necessitates
balance, transparency, efficiency, and fact-based
decision making.
These are values I know the NRC shares as
well, but these values deserve constant polishing and
reevaluation to ensure they are being implemented
effectively. Organizational values of every kind
lose their meaning if your stakeholders and the
public for whom we ultimately serve do not experience
the benefit of these values when put in practice.
So today I will share my views on what I
believe constitutes success over the next five years;
what our shared nuclear future can and should
accomplish in that time. I've chosen five years
because I see that period as a critical window of
time that will determine whether nuclear energy can
establish itself as a lasting meaningful part of our
country's energy portfolio. Conveniently, five years
also corresponds to the length of time I have on my
current term at the NRC. So as of today, about six
months, I've got 1,568 days remaining for me to do
my job to successfully navigate our nuclear future,
to which I say game on.
So how do I define success in the context
of navigating our nuclear future? In short, I believe
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successfully navigating our nuclear future will be
measured by the progress that we make in three
fundamental areas: (1) health and safety; (2) climate
change; and (3) energy security. I'll address each
of these in turn.
First, the NRC must remain vigilant in
its commitment to adequately protecting the public
health, safety, and security of the American public
and the protection of our environment. These
concepts are at the core of NRC's mission and must
never be compromised.
This commitment requires the NRC to
maintain a strong safety culture and ensure continued
focus on learning, innovation, diversity, inclusion,
and the adoption of technologies. And the NRC must
continue to build trust as a capable, independent,
transparent, and objective regulator. But this trust
must be earned. It necessitates consistent proactive
engagement.
Second, to achieve success I believe the
NRC must execute its mission on a timeline that
supports the U.S. Government's energy and climate
goals. Today nuclear energy provides approximately
20 percent of our electricity generation in the
United States and 50 percent of our carbon-free
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electricity. Nuclear will play a prominent role --
nuclear will likely play a prominent role in meeting
our country's collective carbon reduction goals.
This means our regulatory decisions at the NRC must
be technically sound to maintain adequate protection
of public health and safety and protection of the
environment.
But equally as important these decisions
must also be made on a timeline commensurate with the
urgent realities of climate change. At risk of
putting too fine a point on it, we are facing the
urgent imperative of climate change and the need to
realize significant reductions in carbon by the end
of this decade.
The science shows clearly that in order
to divert the worst impacts of climate change and
preserve a livable planet we must take global action
to limit the increase in global average temperature
to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Currently temperatures are
about 1.1 degrees Celsius since -- warmer than the
late 1800s. Emissions are continuing to rise. To
have a chance at keeping global warming to no more
than 1.5 degrees Celsius as called for in the Paris
Agreement, emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent
by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. No small task.
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The United States has a moral obligation
to do its part meeting this goal as a responsible
steward of our shared environment, but also to
maintain our global leadership role and capture the
economic benefits of the clean energy economy. As
President Biden's climate, envoy former Senator and
Secretary of State John Kerry, said in a recent
reference to nuclear energy in the context of climate
change, quote, I don't think we can get there without
it. I think he's right.
There is a need for secure reliable
energy for our low or zero carbon energy future.
Nuclear energy is a critical option for on-demand
base load power to complement the expansion of
renewable energy and energy storage that must replace
our current reliance on fossil fuels.
A perfect case in point of this
imperative is demonstrated by recent events like the
State of the California reversing course to maintain
a carbon-free power from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear
Power Plant. In fact, we are seeing more states
across the political spectrum increasingly consider
new nuclear power and/or overturning existing state-
level bans on nuclear energy. Whether states are
moving in this direction to meet state-level clean
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energy goals for enhanced energy security or both,
what is becoming abundantly clear is that nuclear
energy will be needed to achieve either objective.
While the NRC is not in the driver's seat on climate
change and energy security, we must also not be a
hindrance to success in these areas.
Finally, the third fundamental area for
which I'll -- I should mention measures of success is
energy security. The realities of climate change and
the necessities of energy security go hand in hand.
Working with our internationals partners to allow for
the safe expansion of the use of nuclear energy across
the globe is part of becoming -- is part of forming
the foundation of a reliable, safe, secure, and
decarbonized domestic energy sector here at home.
As regulators from across the world,
we're all responsible for making technically sound
decisions that are in the best interest of our
respective sovereign nations, but we will also all
benefit from continued collaboration particularly as
we review novel technologies and operational
approaches.
As Canada's Rumina Velshi said recently,
who I haven't met yet but who I look forward to
meeting, this process -- quote, this process will be
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smoother and easier if we are willing to share our
experiences as we go through it and learn from others
along the way. I very much agree with her.
This point is underscored by the newly
emergent geopolitical realities of energy supply and
energy services following Ukraine's invasion --
Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For nuclear energy
this reality has shone a spotlight on a long overdue
need for the U.S. to establish an adequate reliable
domestic supply of nuclear fuel and related
enrichment services.
These geopolitical challenges are
obviously much larger than just the nuclear fuel
conundrum in the U.S. And I thank our special guests
here today and this week, including Ambassador
Holgate and Director General Grossi for their
steadfast attention to the full spectrum of energy
and other security-related challenges triggered by
Russia's actions in Ukraine. And I join my fellow
Commissioners in applauding our Ukrainian
counterparts for their steadfast vigilance in the
face of unimaginable adversity.
So that's our outlined goals for a
successful, responsible, and lasting nuclear
renaissance. But how do we get there? I believe
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that the recipe and ingredients for success exists
today more than at any time -- more than at any one
time since the advent of commercial nuclear power
over 70 years ago.
While much has been slowly percolating in
the commercial nuclear energy sector of the past 10
to 15 years, the momentum we are seeing today began
truly accelerating in just the past few years. In
the United States the Nuclear Energy Innovation and
Modernization Act of 2019, or NEIMA, set the stage
for modernizing the commercial nuclear energy
regulatory process in preparation for a new era of
advanced nuclear power technologies.
While the NRC has been working to fully
implement NEIMA's requirements the White House and
Congress came together again in 2021 to enact new and
enhanced incentives to help maintain the viability of
our existing nuclear fleet while also supporting the
development of new advanced reactor technologies that
promise to deliver more carbon-free nuclear energy to
our grid through safer and more cost-effective
nuclear reactor designs and advanced fuels.
Two landmark bills, the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act,
each included what Congress determined to be
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essential support to help secure the future of
carbon-free nuclear energy in the United States. The
nuclear-related provisions of both bills received
bipartisan support in the House and the Senate, a
fact in of itself that shouldnt be notable, except
that in today's political environment, it is a
rarity, especially on a topic like energy policy.
And Congress took action again just last
year to fill another critical gap necessary for
navigating our nuclear future by providing needed
direction and investment to establish a secure long-
term domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.
So here we are in 2023 with the makings
of a modernized regulatory pathway and significant
federal financing incentives for new and existing
nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel supplies,
coming together at the same time advanced nuclear
technologies are on the cusp of commercialization.
This confluence is noteworthy and it should not be
taken for granted. It's an all too uncommon
occurrence in the less-than-perfect world of policy
making to have all of these things coming together at
the same time.
Now while we have all of the elements
converging as crucial ingredients in the recipe for
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success, the cake is not going to bake itself.
Everyone attending the RIC this week has one or more
roles to play in helping this recipe come together to
ensure nuclear energy can be a safe, secure, and
reliable part of our clean energy future. And the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself is no exception.
Indeed, the NRC's role is not only critical, but
perhaps the most daunting as well.
The NRC will need to shift the way it has
traditionally operated to accommodate an anticipated
workload that is larger and broader in scope than
ever before and it must do so on a timeline and
continued pace unlike at any point since the agency's
inception. But I am confident that with clear
direction and sustained leadership from the
Commission and NRC senior career staff we can keep
the agency true to its mission while not losing sight
of the bigger picture imperatives of climate change
and energy security.
I'm confident that the expert dedicated
staff throughout the NRC are up to the task. In fact,
I think they're hungry for the challenge. Or as my
colleague Commissioner Wright would say, they're
ready to meet the moment.
As the newest Commissioner on the NRC I'm
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committed to helping facilitate the agency's success
to transform the NRC into a modern, risk-informed,
and efficient regulator. In doing so, I intend to
question the status quo through leveraging my prior
leadership roles in federal and state government. I
will endeavor to maintain my external perspective to
ensure the NRC's transformation achieves -- is
achieved not through words, but through tangible and
common-sense actions.
So how do we do this? It's not going to
be easy, but I will share with you some of the ongoing
and necessary reforms that I believe are the most
important for the NRC to do its part.
First, reinvigorating the heart of our
agency, the NRC staff. One of the NRC's current
strategic goals is to continue to foster a healthy
organization. To do that we must reinvigorate the
NRC with a renewed and expanded sense of purpose.
In 1962 President John F. Kennedy visited
NASA for the first time. During his tour of the
facility he met a janitor who was carrying a broom
down the hallway. When the President asked the
janitor what he did for NASA, the janitor replied I'm
helping put a man on the moon.
At the NRC all employees should
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understand how important their respective roles are
to ensuring the safety and security of nuclear
technology and that the agency's mission is integral
to meeting our collective climate and energy security
goals.
We must always maintain a strong safety
culture. This requires that all employees feel free
to raise concerns all the way up to the Commission
level if needed and that they know their concerns are
heard and addressed. Good ideas and questions can
come from any person at any level in the organization.
We must be vigilant in breaking down silos throughout
the agency that impede effectively working together
and we must avoid the temptation of thinking
myopically, speaking in bureaucratic terms rather
than in human ones and never losing sight of the big
picture or forget our shared sense of purpose as
public servants.
The NRC must be innovative, become more
diverse and inclusive, and be a learning organization
that values continuous improvement. The NRC has a
tremendous track record of ensuring safety and
security, but I don't think everyone knows that.
Moving ahead we must maintain that record at a scale
and on a timeline unlike ever before. But in doing
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so we must also not be afraid to try and fail
occasionally along the way.
To build on Chair Hanson's quoting of
Albert Einstein in his remarks yesterday, Einstein
also said, quote, failure is success in progress. We
must remember that true and lasting transformation is
an iterative process. We will stumble along the way.
We will learn from it and we will become better. And
it will all start with having the right workforce
that reflects today's challenges.
The current NRC workforce is world class,
but increasingly retirement-eligible. I'm on the
younger half of the age -- median age line at the
NRC, as more than 50 percent of the agency is
currently over the age of 50. Factoring in attrition
rates we will need to hire between 100 and 200 new
employees every year just to maintain current
staffing levels. Not easy in any environment, much
less today's economic environment and with the
technical skills we need.
So if a lasting nuclear renaissance takes
hold beyond the next five years, then we will need to
continue to grow even further to meet our increasing
workload. We need to attract, develop, and maintain
a high-performing, diverse, engaged, and flexible
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workforce, and we must do so in an environment where
we are competing with each of your organizations for
a very specialized and limited talent pool. We are
not only thinking about the workforce we need in the
future, but also the regulatory processes that the
workforce is currently developing and will navigate
in the future.
The amount of hugely important work to be
done at the NRC cannot be overstated. For example,
Congress directed the NRC with developing a risk-
informed technology-inclusive regulatory framework
for advanced reactors, Part 53. It's just one of the
many rulemakings that is an enormous undertaking
currently at the NRC.
But none of this will be possible without
public trust. And I'm glad that public trust is
another one of the NRC's current strategic goals
inspiring the confidence -- inspiring the public's
confidence in the NRC.
To do this well means we must double down
on current efforts to engage in proactive and
meaningful interactions with states, tribes, and
other governmental and non-governmental
organizations as well as with industry, international
bodies, and the public. The NRC must provide fair
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and timely opportunities for public involvement in
its decision making. I recognize the challenges
around public communication in a large governmental
organization, but regards to those challenges clear
understandable communication must always be one of
the agency's highest priorities.
From the big picture context I doubt the
majority of the public in the United States has heard
of the NRC, and even less know what the NRC does.
And of those that are familiar with the NRC it's very
possible that their impression of us is not a positive
one. This needs to change, but it will not change if
we remain in the shadows.
Another thing I like to say in previous
organizations I've led and worked for is that you
will be -- if you don't celebrate your successes,
you'll be defined by your failures. And we need to
do a better job of celebrating our successes and
communicating that with a wider audience.
But this will not change without every
NRC employee doing their part to improve the
narrative in the course of their role at the agency.
We must also be working from the same common theme
and sense of purpose.
We must develop new communication
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strategies, get better at explaining what we do in
the plainest language possible such that our friends
and neighbors can understand and appreciate the
important role that the NRC plays in our daily lives.
We must always strive to provide high-
quality information to the public in an accessible,
comprehensive, and clear manner. We must ensure any
person or organization who wishes to participate can
understand and navigate the regulatory process.
We must also focus on the full fuel cycle
from mining to waste. To build trust we must reassert
commensurate focus on the full fuel cycle. Over the
years there have been several studies and polls that
have shown the support for nuclear energy would
increase if the waste disposal issue was resolved.
While the NRC is not in charge of siting a permanent
nuclear waste repository, that doesn't mean we should
ignore the reality that one is needed and that a
consent-based process is the best route for doing so.
We need to approach technical and
regulatory decisions related to decommissioning with
the same rigor as we do with new reactors. The same
goes for life extension requests for the existing
fleet. Basically we can't afford any foot faults as
we look to submit the foundation for - a hope for a
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nuclear renaissance.
We know spent fuel and high-level waste
is and can continue to be stored safely for the
foreseeable future. And I agree with Bill Gates who
recently noted that nuclear waste is not a reason to
not deploy more nuclear energy, but we must not ignore
it either.
I believe our regulatory decisions will
have broader public acceptance if the public knows we
are considering the entire fuel cycle and if there is
proactive engagement on used fuel management and
waste disposal by the commercial and public entities
involved.
As the nuclear power industry continues
to transform from large light water reactors in a
once-through fuel cycle to what may be future small
and advanced reactors powered by recycled fuel, the
NRC just recommit itself to keeping apace.
The opportunities for diversification
within the U.S. nuclear industry are nothing less
than breathtaking. New fuels, new enrichment
processes, new reactors, and yes, possibly even new
ways to manage waste by recycling and reusing spent
fuel. And fission isn't the only game in town anymore
either. Dare I say it? Fusion could make an
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appearance on just the other side of the five-year
window I focused on today.
I just mentioned managing waste among
other things, that will be part of a revitalized
nuclear power industry. As we move forward I think
it will also be important to successfully manage
decommissioning of all kinds of facilities. Nuclear
facility decommissioning and radioactive waste
management, safely managing waste throughout the
entire fuel cycle, weighs heavily on people's minds,
the legacy of contaminated sites including abandoned
uranium mines, uranium milling and mill tailing
disposal sites and low-level waste disposal
facilities. Remedying and not repeating the mistakes
of the past will require proactive engagement with a
broad array of stakeholders.
In five years I believe that NRC's
reputation must transform into the following: (1)
The NRC is known for making sure civilian nuclear
power is safe for everyone now and for future
generations; (2) because the NRC makes nuclear power
possible, it plays an indispensable role in averting
climate change; (3) the NRC is essential to our long-
term energy security by facilitating the safe
adoption of reliable, advanced nuclear energy
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technologies.
If we have another false start in a hope
for a nuclear renaissance it will spell doom for the
future of the advanced -- of advanced nuclear energy.
Neither policy makers nor the public will have the
patience or belief that widespread nuclear energy is
feasible. Five years from now nuclear energy is
either in the game as a safe, reliable part of our
energy supply or it will become a stagnant, declining
part of our energy portfolio for the remaining life
of the existing plants.
The table is set for a true renaissance
this time like never before. Legislation,
geopolitics, climate change, energy security,
technological readiness are all there. The NRC needs
to be part of the solution by making data-driven and
risk-informed decisions that enable the deployment of
safe and secure nuclear technologies on a timeline
commensurate with our shared climate and carbon
reduction goals. As Energy Secretary Granholm
recently said, these next few years offer a can't-
miss opportunity to harness nuclear's full potential.
And I couldn't agree with her more.
Each of you play a role in making this
opportunity a reality. I thank you all for allowing
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me to share my perspectives with you today and I
welcome any questions you may have.
MS. VEIL: Well, first of all,
congratulations on the milestone of your first RIC
speech. I know how it feels to be up there with those
lights. So congratulations.
So the first question is as you aptly
pointed out, it is our nuclear -- our -- this is
capitalized -- it is our nuclear future. For the NRC
to do its part to meet the demands of the most
important moment in our energy future, leadership
courage and accountability will be needed to adhere
to the NRC's five principles of good regulation.
What is being done to address this aspect
to ensure the agency is positioned to meet the
timeline demands to achieve climate change and energy
security goals?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Thanks for passing
that question along, Andrea. It's a great question
and quite honestly it's -- the answer to which is
something I'm trying to figure out as well.
There are lots of things happening in the
transformation space to modernize the agency and make
it more reflective of current needs, but I don't think
we've looked at it in terms of how we're doing our
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transformation modernization in the context of a
timeline to meet larger policy goals. And so I think
we need to start looking at those things in the
context of broader-held societal objectives, climate
change, energy security.
MS. VEIL: Okay. Second question:
Health physicists are greatly needed in the agency
and in the industry. What can the NRC do besides
fellowships to draw them to the agency and to retain?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Also a great
question. So I don't know specific to health
physicists, if there is something that is unique we
can do to recruit and retain them other than what I
think we can do to recruit and retain employees of
all stripes, which, one, is to have a more flexible
nimble hiring process and work environment. And I
think even more importantly is communicating well the
unique nature of the work that you can do at the NRC
and the difference you can make in making the world
a better place. I mean, this is the trade-off for
some of the traditionally lower salary in a
government position is the fact that you get to be
involved in so many cool things and you get to make
a difference. And if that's not of interest to you,
then government probably isn't the place for you to
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be. But if it is, it can be a really cool and special
place to be. And the NRC can be at the heart of that.
And I think in the past it really has and we just
need to reclaim that mantle.
MS. VEIL: Okay. Next question: How do
you think DOE and NRC can overcome NIMBY, not in my
back yard -- I'm sure everybody knew that, but just
in case -- for either siting a high-level nuclear
waste site or reprocessing plant?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Lots and lots of
proactive engagement. Looking for support that can
then help put the meat on the definition of what
consent-based siting could be. I also think we should
look at to our neighbors to the north in Canada and
some of our international partners: Finland, France,
Switzerland, and others, that are further along the
line in establishing repositories and see what worked
for them. But the way not to do it is through the
non-engagement process. I think if we repeat the
mistakes of the past, we're going to fail. Even a
consent-based process is going to take time. And
it's not going to be fun, but it's the only way that's
going to be lasting.
MS. VEIL: Okay. Given your desire to
see the NRC more engaged on the back end of the fuel
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cycle, do you support revisiting the NRC's decision
not to engage in rulemaking for risk-informed
reprocessing regulation?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: So I like to say
that I'm not in my honeymoon period anymore, but there
was a lot of reading I had to do, and I'm still doing
since getting to the agency. And I have not delved
in on that one yet, so I can't fully answer it, but
I will take it for my homework.
MS. VEIL: All right. Next question:
Given the Commissioner's speech can you provide three
specific achievements that will meet his vision? I
guess they're talking to you because they're
certainly not asking me to give you -- so let's
rephrase this. Given your speech can you provide
three specific achievements that you -- that will
meet your vision within the time frame of your tenure?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: I could probably
give you more than three, but I'll just throw some
out there. One, meeting our hiring and retention
goals, meeting our diversity and inclusion metrics,
integrating and updating environmental justice into
what we do at the agency, and radically improving
project management.
MS. VEIL: Right. That actually rolls
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into the next question. That's a good one.
How do you feel environmental justice
will impact timeliness for reviews?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: I don't think it
has to lengthen the duration of timely reviews. It
will require more work in the course of doing our
reviews, but if we're adequately staffed and we're
taking the environmental justice mission seriously,
then we'll fill the gaps where we need staffing on it
and get it done on a timeline that is appropriate
rather than lengthening it because of that. We're
already overdue in addressing environmental justice
and we shouldn't allow ourselves to drag our feet any
further.
MS. VEIL: Now, the next two questions
will be about newness. Thats the theme. So is there
anything you would like to say to engage our newest
employees?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Come up and talk
to me. Im new, too. Id love to share your
experience, understand where you came from, why you
chose the NRC, what you like and dont like. And
Ill share my views in return. Ive spent the
majority of my career in public service in government
agencies and like I love the family fel of the NRC,
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but it is a challenging place to figure out and
navigate. And Im still learning. And I know how to
do this stuff and Im still learning.
MS. VEIL: And thats actually a great
segue to the next question. As the newest
Commissioner and a new NRC employee what are the
biggest challenges that youve seen and what
surprised you about the NRC that you didnt know when
you werent here?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: I think one of our
biggest challenges is that were such a technically
and focused agency that weve lost our ability to
talk in plain language to everyday people, be it
acronyms or technical speak, and we need to get out
of that habit. And it doesn't mean that if that's -
- if you're a scientist or engineer and you don't
want to talk to the public that you're the one that
has to do it, but then we need to give you the support
around you to help you translate what you do in the
appropriate forum to reach a broader audience. We
overuse acronyms and science and technical speak way
too much. What was the other half of that question?
MS. VEIL: Well, just challenges. And I
think you rolled it into kind of that that is a
challenge. And I hope I got credit for talking about
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NIMBY and --
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Yes, yes, yes.
Well, I was going to say like we should have a rule
that there's no acronyms more than four letters.
NIMBY would break that, but everyone knows NIMBY.
But I mean, I've never -- I mean, so I'm just going
to say this straightway and praying the DOE folks in
the audience -- the NRC has made the DOE look easy to
navigate. That's been my experience. Okay? So let's
-- we ought to learn from that. A book this thick of
acronyms is bananas. It does not help us get where
we need to go.
MS. VEIL: I agree.
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Yes.
MS. VEIL: And I think we have time for
one more question, and it may be a multi-part. So we
enjoyed your technical session yesterday on
transforming and modernizing the environmental review
process. Are there any questions that you didn't get
to answer? What's one thing that you think of that
we can do to transform environmental reviews?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: I think the big
takeaway I was hoping was part of yesterday is that
the environment review process does not have to be
looked at in the strict confinement of NEPA or the
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act or regulation that you're working on. It can and
should be a broader ongoing conversation from the
pre-application stage throughout.
Yes, there's going to be guardrails here
and there depending on what kind of process is
happening on a given statute, in adjudications,
things like that, but we need to stop being afraid of
talking about protection of the environment and
communicating as appropriate with communities so they
have trust that what we're doing, while technical, is
right. And I think that's the secret sauce to doing
what we're going to do for the years to come.
MS. VEIL: Well, again, congratulations
on the milestone. It feels great, doesn't it, being
done?
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: Yes. It's pretty
good, yes.
MS. VEIL: Yes.
COMMISSIONER CROWELL: I'll be at the bar
if anyone wants to meet me. Thanks, Andrea.
MS. VEIL: And with that, we close the
session.
(Whereupon, the above-entitled matter
went off the record at 9:57 a.m.)
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