Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns said Tuesday that from a legal standpoint, his short-handed commission is adequate, but he hopes for a fuller board soon.
The commission is now down to three members, with Commissioner William Ostendorff leaving his post in June for a teaching position with his alma mater, the United States Naval Academy, after six years. The fifth seat, vacated after Chairman Allison Macfarlane’s resignation in December 2014, is set to be filled by Democrat Jessie Hill Roberson, vice chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, who the Obama administration nominated in July 2015. The Senate has given no indication of when it plans to move forward with the nomination.
“It depends on the president and the Senate,” Burns said of filling Ostendorff’s seat during a meeting with NRC stakeholders at agency headquarters. “I don’t think the absence of two. … I think it’s good to have four or five. It’s good to have that. From a legal perspective, we have a quorum, so (three commissioners) is adequate from that standpoint. I think we have good communication with each other. I think that we do hope that sometime in the near future we will have a fuller commission.”
Commissioner Jeff Baran agreed with Burns, ending the brief discussion on the topic.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said in April that it’s important to know what the White House’s intentions are regarding Ostendorff’s seat before moving forward with Roberson. The chairman said “a good Democrat” has been nominated, but a Republican counterpart is needed.
