The two newest members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been sworn into office as of Wednesday.
Commissioner Annie Caputo was sworn in Tuesday by NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki, followed by Commissioner David Wright on Wednesday.
The Senate last week confirmed the two, nearly a year after President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate them to the commission. Commissioner Jeff Baran, confirmed last week to a second term, will be sworn in at a date yet to be determined, the NRC said Wednesday.
The confirmation process had been slowed by Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) hold on at least one of the nominees – Caputo – as a means of fighting Trump administration plans to resume the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste disposal site in his state. The Senate’s May 24 voice vote on all three nominees came only hours after the upper chamber’s Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 2019 energy and water bill that zeroed out the administration’s nearly $170 million request for NRC and Energy Department funding for licensing activities.
Caputo, a former nuclear energy adviser to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), fills a vacant position for a term to June 30, 2021. Wright, an energy consultant from South Carolina, fills a vacant position for a term ending June 30, 2020. Baran’s second term runs from June 30 of this year to June 30, 2023.
The commission is now at its full five-person membership for the first time since 2014. Svinicki’s third term ends on June 30, 2022, while Commissioner Stephen Burns’ second terms ends on June 30 of next year.
The NRC regulates commercial nuclear activities, including power plants and radioactive waste management. The commissioners’ terms are staggered so that one concludes each year at the end of June.
Up to three commissioners can be from the same political party. Svinicki, Caputo, and Wright are Republicans; Baran is a Democrat; and Burns was appointed as a Democrat during the Obama administration but is registered as an independent.
From The Wires
From Bloomberg News: The Trump administration plans to require power grid operators to buy energy from nuclear and coal-fired power plants. That could provide a lifeline to three nuclear power plants FirstEnergy Solutions says will close without federal assistance.
From WPSD Local 6: Class-action lawsuit filed against Honeywell International, claiming environmental contamination from the Metropolis Works uranium hexafluoride plant in Illinois.
From Vermont Public Radio: NorthStar Group Services CEO says success in buying and decommissioning the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant opens the door to similar deals for other facilities.
