The White House is expected to submit two nominations in tandem for positions on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an informed source said this week.
Senate Appropriations Committee staffer Christopher Hanson would be nominated to succeed Stephen Burns, who retired from the commission in April ahead of the end of his term on June 30. Current Commissioner David Wright would be nominated to a full five-year term; he is currently serving the remainder of a term that ends on June 30, 2020.
Hanson’s nomination had been rumored for months, but is being held until it can be paired with Wright, the source said, citing conversations with staffers for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
There was no word this week from the White House regarding when the nominations might be submitted for consideration by the Environment and Public Works Committee. A spokesperson for the panel said only that no NRC nominees were pending. Hanson and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is reported to be advocatig for the staffer’s nomination, also did not respond to queries.
The commission has a maximum of five members, with full terms lasting five years and ending June 30 on a staggered schedule. No more than three members can come from one political party. Current Chairman Kristine Svinicki is a Republican, as are Wright and Commissioner Annie Caputo. Commissioner Jeff Baran is a Democrat. A new member would have to be a Democrat or independent. Hanson is a Democrat.
With an annual budget in the ballpark of $1 billion, the NRC is the federal regulator for the U.S. nuclear industry, including oversight for management of spent reactor fuel and other radioactive wastes. It would rule on the Department of Energy’s license application for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., if Congress appropriates funding for that proceeding to resume after nearly a decade. The agency is also reviewing two applications for consolidated interim spent fuel storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico.
Wright, previously an energy consultant in South Carolina, was sworn in to the commission on May 30, 2018. He is filling what would have been the rest of the second full term for Commissioner William Magwood, who resigned in August 2014 in order to become director general of the Nuclear Energy Agency at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Wright formerly served in leadership positions on the South Carolina Public Service Commission and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, along with the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Hanson has been a Senate Appropriations Committee minority staffer since February 2015, with a focus on nuclear issues, including storage and disposal of used fuel, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously held several positions at the Department of Energy starting in May 2009, including senior adviser in the Office of Nuclear Energy and associate director for external communication in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
In March, Hanson acknowledged he had been contacted by Senate Democratic leadership about a potential nomination. At the time Hanson said he would be “pleased and honored” to be considered.
