The White House on Tuesday nominated a former staff member at the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) to become a member of the panel.
Matthew Moury has since June 2017 served as Energy Department associate undersecretary for environment, health, safety, and security. His nomination to the DNFSB will be considered first by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Moury has 30 years of experience in the nuclear field, including almost two decades at the DNFSB, where from 1992 to 2011 he held several senior management jobs including leading the Nuclear Programs and Analysis, Nuclear Facility Design and Infrastructure, and Engineering groups.
Moury was previously a submarine officer and retired with the rank of captain in the Navy Reserves. He holds master’s degrees in both engineering and business administration.
An industry source described Moury as “perfect” for the DNFSB, and someone who could eventually succeed Bruce Hamilton as the board chairman.
“He knows management. He knows how to manage,” the source said by telephone Thursday. He cited the leadership posts that Moury has held at the Energy Department and on the DNFSB staff.
If confirmed, Moury would fill the final open slot on the five-person safety watchdog panel for Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities. A nominee’s role with DNFSB, whether as chair, vice chair, or member, would be set by the appointment paperwork handed down by the White House after Senate confirmation, a Washington, D.C., a federal source said by phone Thursday.
Provided he wins confirmation, Moury would serve out an unexpired term ending Oct. 18, 2021.
On July 2, the Senate confirmed four nominations to the DNFSB: serving board members Joyce Connery, Jessie Hill Roberson, and Hamilton, and new member Thomas Summers, a former Air Force officer. As of Thursday, no date was set for Summers to join the board, according to a DNFSB spokesperson.
Terms for the five board members can range from one to five years, according to the latest version of the DNFSB enabling statute, which was updated in January. Starting Dec. 20, board members will no longer be allowed to serve a third term, according to the document.
Hamilton, Roberson, and Connery are all now on at least their second terms.
Hamilton’s current term is scheduled to expire in October 2022, Roberson’s in October 2023, Connery’s in October 2024, and Summers’ in October 2025.
Lisa Vickers, a National Nuclear Security Administration facility representative at the Pantex Plant in Texas, was nominated to the DNFSB in January 2019. But she never made it out of the committee, and the nomination was not refiled after being returned to the White House in January.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has a budget of roughly $30 million and a staff of about 100 people. While the DNFSB has no actual regulatory power, it can issue safety recommendations to the secretary of energy, who must then publicly respond to them.
