The White House on Thursday announced the nomination of nuclear policy and technology consultant Gail Marcus to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Marcus would presumably replace DNFSB Vice Chairman Jessie Hill Roberson, who has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Senate has yet to take action on Roberson’s nomination to fill a commission seat that opened in 2014, and a second NRC spot will open up this summer upon the departure of Commissioner William Ostendorff.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) indicated earlier this month that he wanted to know President Barack Obama’s intentions on the second NRC vacancy before moving ahead with Roberson’s appointment process. He indicated that after nominating “good Democrat” Roberson, the White House should put forward a Republican to take over for Ostendorff.
Marcus has decades of experience in the nuclear field, including as deputy director of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency from 2004 to 2007; principal deputy director for the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology from 1999 to 2004; and various positions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1985 to 1999. She has been an independent consultant since 2007.
The DNFSB is an independent organization within the Executive Branch tasked with oversight of Department of Energy defense nuclear sites to ensure the safety of workers and the public. The board has five members.
