ML24204A033

VR-COMCTH-24-0003: License Renewal and Subsequent License Renewal Review Expectations (Wright)

ML24204A033
Person / Time
Issue date:	07/19/2024
From:	David Wright NRC/OCM
To:	Carrie Safford NRC/SECY
Shared Package
ML24204A028	List: ML24204A032 ML24204A033 ML24204A034 ML24204A035
References
COMCTH-24-0003 VR-COMCTH-24-0003
Download: ML24204A033 (1)

Text

RESPONSE SHEET

TO: Carrie M. Safford, Secretary

FROM: Commissioner Wright

SUBJECT:

COMCTH-24-0003: License Renewal and Subsequent License Renewal Review Expectations

Approved X Disapproved Abstain Not Participating

COMMENTS: Below Attached X None

Entered in STARS Signature Yes X No Commissioner Wrights Comments on COMCTH-24-0003: License Renewal and Subsequent License Renewal Review Expectations

In December 2023, the Commission directed the staff to provide a roadmap to restore the license renewal program to a path of timely and predictable reviews and achieve the goal of completing reviews in no more than 18 months. The staff responded with SECY-24-0026, which included a plan for achieving 18-month reviews by 2026. Unfortunately, I dont believe that the lengthy implementation period of this plan is appropriate, given the demands of the current nuclear landscape and the culture of regulatory efficiency that we must exhibit.

On July 9th, the President signed into law the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (or ADVANCE) Act. The ADVANCE Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. The ADVANCE Act sends a clear signal to the NRC by directing us to update our mission statement to include efficiency in our licensing and regulatory actions. Specifically, Section 501 of the Act mandates an update to the NRCs mission statement and a report to Congress describing guidance to staff to ensure effective performance of this mission. The House Report explains that [r]equiring NRC leadership to reflect and communicate this policy in the agency mission, along with new statutory direction to create a mechanism for constant and measurable improvement, will provide a clear and accountable framework to assess and incentivize a renewed culture of performance at the agency.1 This also comes at a time when the demand for nuclear is clear and broadly recognized as a necessary component for meeting energy security needs both domestically and internationally. As I have said on many occasions, the NRC must enable the safe use of nuclear technologies, not disable them. Enabling the safe use of nuclear technology goes hand in hand with sound and efficient decision-making, which was also the topic of a May 2024 letter2 from NEI.

Specifically, the letter notes, In the next few years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will face a significant increase in the number and diversity of licensing requests from the industry, including additional applications for subsequent license renewal. This rise in workload will require the NRC to operate more effi ciently and flexibly, so that decisions are made in a timelier manner.3 I agree with this perspective. Moreover, the sense of urgency was reinforced by NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnicks May 2024 State of the Nuclear Industry address4, in which she noted that more than 90% of NEIs members have indicated they anticipate operating for at least 80 years, which means a third of the existing fleet will likely submit license renewal applications in the next five years.

I am concerned that as an agency, we havent yet fully grasped the unique and extremely critical moment in nuclear in which we find ourselves. Im also worried that, as regulators, we are not completely appreciative of the crucial role we play in meeting the energy demands of this country. I believe that it is antithetical to both the direction of the ADVANCE Act and the NRCs overall transformation journey to set an 18-month implementation period for a goal that the staff

1 H.R. REP. NO. 118-391, pt. 1 (2024) (House Report) at 27.

2https://adamsxt.nrc.gov/navigator/AdamsXT/content/downloadContent.faces?objectStoreName=MainLibr ary&ForceBrowserDownloadMgrPrompt=false&vsId=%7bBF0CD35F-5501-CE19-A6AD-8FE483200000%7d 3 Id.

4 https://www.nei.org/news/2024/state-of-the-nuclear-energy-industry#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways,need%20it%20sooner%20than%20projected.

already noted in 2017 it could meet. The staff also noted that many of the process improvements that were identified in SECY-24-0026 have already been realized; thus, the ability to reach an 18-month review goal should be more immediately achievable and the staff should strive to set challenging yet reachable goals, not ones that are based largely on taking credit for activities already achieved.

I thank the Chair for bringing this matter to the Commission, and I agree with his remarks that

The Commission expects the staff to set aggressive goals that display the confidence we have in our ability to effectively and efficiently determine whether an application has demonstrated reasonable assurance of adequate protection. The staff s articulated goal of achieving an 18-month LR/SLR review schedule within the next 18 months does not reflect the substantial, decades-long experience of either this agency or the nuclear industry writ large; nor is it consistent with the agencys long-term efforts as a modern, risk-informed regulator.

As Commissioner Caputo noted in her vote, Chair Hansons statements certainly align with the sense of urgency Congress expressed in the ADVANCE Act.

I believe a key component of efficiency is accountability; and we must critically self-assess, using meaningful metrics, how we are meeting our regulatory responsibilities. This aligns with the joint communication that Commissioner Caputo and I authored last year, COMDAW 0001/COMAXC-23-0002, in which we noted that there is a growing consensus that the NRC needs to improve the execution and timely completion of its licensing activities if nuclear energy is to make a significant contribution to meeting national and global needs for clean energy and energy security. I continue to believe that we must implement detailed, transparent, near real-time performance metrics to provide Congress, licensees and applicants, stakeholders, and the public a window into our execution so that they can track our progress.

We must not only set goals, but we must also make sure were setting stretch goals that challenge us and send the clear message that the agency is committed to excellence and efficiency. In this vein, Id like to associate myself with the comments that Commissioner Caputo expressed in her vote. She stated that,

Under the Efficiency Principle of Good Regulation, to continually upgrade regulatory capabilities, the staff should not be satisfied and complacent with a goal of 14,000 staff hours.

Instead, the staff should use its most efficient reviews as benchmarks for how to improve its performance rather than striving to be average.

I also agree with her modifications to immediately implement a metric of 14,000 staff hours and an 18-month review period for applications that were received in 2024, with the goal of substantially reducing those times as we gain more experience.

Therefore, I approve the Chair s direction to expedite the timeframe by which staff should be reaching 18-month reviews, however, provide the above direction for staff to strive to do more.