ML23289A027
| ML23289A027 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/26/2023 |
| From: | Christopher Hanson NRC/Chairman |
| To: | Paul R US Congress, US SEN (Senate) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23286A256 | List: |
| References | |
| LTR-23-0230, CORR-23-0083 | |
| Download: ML23289A027 (1) | |
Text
Response to Request for Information Letter Dated September 29, 2023 Enclosure
- 1. The total number of employees as of the date of this letter, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency.
RESPONSE
The NRC has 2,902 total employees. Details by office are shown in the table below:
Office Total Staff as of September 29, 2023 Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards 34 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 26 Commission 37 Office of Administration 120 Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication 5
Office of Congressional Affairs 8
Office of Enforcement 28 Office of International Programs 40 Office of Investigations 30 Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 317 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 546 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 198 Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response 158 Office of Public Affairs 14 Office of Small Business and Civil Rights 15 Office of the Chief Financial Officer 94 Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer 143 Office of the Chief Information Officer 164 Office of the Executive Director for Operations 30 Office of the General Counsel 88 Office of the Inspector General 50 Office of the Secretary 17 Region I 177 Region II 216 Region III 173 Region IV 174 Total 29021 1 These totals are current as of September 29, 2023. Differences between these figures and those provided in the NRCs 2023 Lapse Plan Summary are due to increased hiring.
- 2. The total number of employees designated as exempt and will continue to perform their job duties, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency.
RESPONSE
The NRC has no employees designated as exempt whose pay is not funded by annual appropriations.
- 3. The total number of employees designated as excepted and will continue to perform their job duties, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency.
RESPONSE
In the event of a shutdown and based on current planning, the total estimated number of employees designated as excepted and that will continue to perform their job duties is 264. Details by office are shown in the table below:
Office Excepted Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards 0
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 0
Commission 9
Office of Administration 12 Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication 1
Office of Congressional Affairs 3
Office of Enforcement 2
Office of International Programs 3
Office of Investigations 3
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 4
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 10 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 0
Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response 15 Office of Public Affairs 3
Office of Small Business and Civil Rights 0
Office of the Chief Financial Officer 5
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer 11 Office of the Chief Information Officer 9
Office of the Executive Director for Operations 6
Office of the General Counsel 8
Office of the Inspector General 5
Office of the Secretary 3
Region I 30 Region II 52 Region III 34 Region IV 36 Total 2642 2 These totals are current as of September 29, 2023. Differences between these figures and those provided in the NRCs 2023 Lapse Plan Summary are due to a vacancy on the Commission.
- 4. The total number of employees designated as non-exempt and will be furloughed, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency.
RESPONSE
The total number of estimated employees that are designated as non-exempt and will be furloughed in the event of a shutdown is 2,633. Details by office are shown in the table below:
Office Non-exempt Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards 34 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 26 Commission 24 Office of Administration 108 Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication 4
Office of Congressional Affairs 5
Office of Enforcement 26 Office of International Programs 37 Office of Investigations 27 Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 313 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 536 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 198 Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response 143 Office of Public Affairs 11 Office of Small Business and Civil Rights 15 Office of the Chief Financial Officer 89 Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer 132 Office of the Chief Information Officer 155 Office of the Executive Director for Operations 24 Office of the General Counsel 80 Office of the Inspector General 44 Office of the Secretary 14 Region I 147 Region II 164 Region III 139 Region IV 138 Total 26333 3 These totals are current as of September 29, 2023. Differences between these figures and those provided in the NRCs 2023 Lapse Plan Summary are due to increased hiring.
- 5. The total number of employees designated as Presidential appointees not subject to furlough, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency.
RESPONSE
As of September 29, 2023, the NRC has five individuals designated as Presidential appointees not subject to furlough. This number includes the Chair, three Commissioners, and the NRCs Inspector General. Currently, there is one vacancy on the Commission. If filled, that individual would also be a Presidential appointee not subject to furlough.
- 6. A comprehensive list of all Nuclear Regulatory Commissions activities and/or functions considered to be exempt or excepted and are authorized to continue during the lapse of appropriations, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency and specific program.
RESPONSE
In the event of a lapse in appropriations and the NRCs exhaustion of available funding, the NRC would cease all activities that are not necessary to protect life or property from imminent danger or not necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law. The NRC would continue to ensure the safety and security of operating facilities and the use of nuclear materials. The NRC would continue to perform excepted functions such as event notification and emergency response; site operations; resident inspector functions at facilities; enforcement; allegations and investigations; emergency licensing actions; and other limited necessary administrative and policy activities. Also, the NRC would continue activities necessary to the discharge of the Presidents constitutional duties and powers, including the conduct of foreign relations essential to the national security and safety of life and protection of property. The table below represents excepted functions, as described in NRC Management Directive 4.5, Contingency Plan for Periods of Lapsed Appropriations. These activities are crosscutting and would affect multiple offices. In accordance with Management Directive 4.5, exceptions to perform additional activities may be made depending upon the circumstances of any events that may occur during restricted NRC operations. Excepted employees will focus on performing excepted functions; when excepted employees are not accomplishing these functions, they will be furloughed. Some excepted employees will be on call to respond to emergencies and/or accomplish their excepted functions on an as-needed basis. Some excepted employees will perform their excepted functions on a part-time basis. Due to the continuous nature of their work, other excepted employees will work a normal schedule during the shutdown period.
Excepted Function Estimated Number of Excepted Staff Necessary to protect life and property:
- 2. Emergency Response4 0
- 3. Site Operations 0
- 4. Resident Inspectors 124
- 5. Region-Based Inspection Function 0
- 6. Enforcement 5
- 7. Allegations and Investigations 4
- 8. Facility and Nuclear Reactor Security and Safeguards 13
- 9. Facility and Nuclear Materials Security and Safeguards 5
Necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law:
- 10. Commissioners 0
- 11. Policy Direction 18
- 12. Legal Advice 9
- 13. State Liaison 5
- 14. International Liaison 3
- 15. Public Affairs 3
- 16. Congressional Liaison 3
- 17. Inspector General 5
- 18. Financial Management 5
- 19. Administrative and Information Technology Support 21
- 20. Human Resources 11 NRC Total 2645 4 The agency maintains the capability to respond to an emergency during a shutdown; if an emergency is declared by a licensee or the Federal government, the Headquarters Operations Officer will use normal response procedures to notify NRC emergency responders and respond to the emergency. Furloughed employees who are called in to respond to the emergency will become excepted employees for the duration of the emergency.
5 These totals are current as of September 29, 2023. Differences between these figures and those provided in the NRCs 2023 Lapse Plan Summary are due to a vacancy on the Commission.
- 7. A comprehensive list of all Nuclear Regulatory Commissions non-exempt activities/functions that will not be carried out during the lapse of appropriations, broken down by component, office, and/or sub-agency and specific program.
RESPONSE
The NRCs 2023 Lapse Plan Summary discusses the significant agency activities that will cease during a lapse in appropriations, after the NRC has exhausted all available funding. The NRC would delay or discontinue the following activities, except as necessary to support excepted functions: licensing, certification, and permit activities; inspections; inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria closure reviews; rulemaking and guidance development activities; decommissioning-related activities; development of infrastructure for advanced nuclear reactor technologies; development of advanced medical technologies and new fuels; international assistance and cooperation activities; Agreement State training; and other routine operations. These activities are crosscutting and would affect multiple offices. The extent of the impacts will depend on the duration of the shutdown.
- 8. A copy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions lapse in appropriations policy and/or guidance.
RESPONSE
The NRCs policy regarding a lapse in appropriations is described in Management Directive 4.5, Contingency Plan for Periods of Lapsed Appropriations.