We need an effective Enforcement Program that takes prompt corrective actions and makes clear the high expectations we have of our licensees for applying our guidance and regulations
- Edited by Mark McFadden -
Opening Remarks
Good morning. The Commission meets today to receive a briefing from staff and input from several stakeholders on the agency’s Enforcement and Allegation Programs. The performance of these programs is critical to the NRC’s success as a regulator because what ultimately defines a regulator is its ability to ensure that its policies are being followed. As past incidents at [the] Peach Bottom and Davis Besse [nuclear power plants] demonstrated, the Enforcement and Allegation Programs are areas of high visibility and crucial to the maintenance of public confidence.
The NRC can’t be everywhere, and can’t inspect everything. That is why we need an effective Enforcement Program that takes prompt corrective actions and makes clear the high expectations we have of our licensees for applying our guidance and regulations. That is why we need an effective Allegation Program that investigates and resolves safety and security concerns that are brought to our attention.
The agency’s Allegation Program has historically performed strongly and will be further enhanced by the lessons of Peach Bottom to ensure that issues raised by allegers will always be addressed in a timely, sensitive, and responsive manner.
In today’s briefing, the staff will review the Enforcement and Allegation Programs, the alternative dispute resolution process, and proposed changes to the enforcement policy and the allegation guidance memorandum (AGM). I would like to commend the staff on their efforts to engage our stakeholders as part of the process of developing the proposed revisions to the enforcement policy and the AGM.
After the staff presentations, the Commission will hear directly from stakeholders regarding their views of the proposed changes. I am pleased that our panel of stakeholders represents several diverse perspectives. Although Billie Garde who had been scheduled to participate on this panel could not join us today, she has provided her valuable insights in writing to the Commission.
I look forward to discussing with the both the staff and the stakeholders here today how the Commission can best proceed in reforming and strengthening these important programs.
Dr. Klein and Commissioner Svinicki, would you care to make any opening comments?
Closing Remarks
I would like to thank both panels for a productive discussion today. Because these issues are central to our effectiveness as a regulator, the Commission must stay focused on ensuring that the agency staff is doing everything it can to be consistent and diligent in monitoring and enforcing compliance with our policies. Thank you all for your presentations. The meeting is adjourned.
Note: Briefing slides for this meeting are available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/slides/2010/20100119/index.html. A full transcript of the meeting will be available soon at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/tr/2010/.
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