NRC head confirmed

The US Senate has confirmed David A Wright as President Donald Trump’s choice to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a five-year term. The selection was confirmed by a vote of 50 to 39. Wright previously chaired NRC in 2020.

While the commission is independent from other arms of the government, there has been criticism of Executive Orders issued by Trump in May effectively increasing Department of Energy (DOE) control over NRC and loosening stringent safety standards.

In June, Trump fired Commissioner Christopher Hanson, a Democratic member of NRC, and a staffer from the President’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was reportedly detailed from DOE to the agency.

Annie Caputo, a Republican NRC Commissioner has now resigned from the agency. A copy of her resignation letter was published on X by journalist Alexander C Kaufman in his Field Notes. Caputo said: “It has been my honour and privilege to serve as a commissioner, contributing to the work of the agency. I have decided to resign from the Commission, effective upon the swearing in of my colleague David Wright. The time has come for me to more fully focus on my family.”

She added: “Naturally, this is a time to reflect on several significant agency accomplishments where I am proud to have played a role and where I have appreciated the bipartisan collaboration with my fellow commissioners including: final resolution of post-Fukushima regulatory actions; development of a technology-inclusive, risk-informed and performance-based regulatory framework for advanced reactors; risk-informed emergency preparedness zones for advanced reactors; setting the course for microreactor regulation; improving regulatory discipline through revisions to backfitting and forward-fitting guidance; enabling the efficient regulation of fusion machines; defining a licensing framework for mine waste remediation; and streamlining environmental reviews.”

Caputo said she had “sought to be a thorough student of the issues, crafting substantive votes that enable the safe and secure use of nuclear technologies, consistent with the NRC’s Principles of Good Regulation”. She continued: “I believe the Administration’s recent Executive Orders and the bi-partisan ADVANCE Act have given the agency a platform for change, as evidenced by the efficiency gains under development for the Reactor Oversight Process and last week’s historical authorisation of the Palisades plant’s return to operational service.” She concluded: “As I step away, I’m confident the agency will continue to evolve under Chairman Wright’s leadership, excelling as a world class regulator and enabling the safe and secure use of nuclear technologies for the benefit of our society.”

Caputo, a Republican, was initially appointed by President Trump in 2017, and had another two years left in her term since her reappointment by President Biden in 2022.

In a longer article from his Field Notes, republished in Mother Jones, Kaufman cited Mark Nelson, the founder of the nuclear consultancy Radiant Energy Group, as saying: “The NRC is under full-scale attack from a bunch of folks who don’t seem to understand the crucial role the NRC plays in protecting nuclear energy from endless, arbitrary legal attack and investment-killing uncertainty. Caputo apparently resigned rather than be compromised by politics of NRC independence destruction.”

On the other hand, Kaufman cited an industry executive, “who spoke on condition of anonymity” as saying that the cautious culture at the NRC is holding back new reactors and that Trump should clear house. “Most of the entrenched management, even those that are seemingly cooperative with efforts for reform and modernization, when actually put to the test, will delay reactor sign-off,” the executive said, “rather than taking even the smallest amount of professional risk of ‘getting it wrong’ even if that worst case consequence is negligible to public health.”

Brett Rampal, the senior director of nuclear and power strategy at the consultancy Veriten told Kaufman that, given the momentum the industry currently has and the time it takes to build new plants, damaging overhauls could prove a setback. “Historically, the NRC has been a bastion of independence,” Rampal said. “Without thoughtful reform, any change that could be seen as targeting that independence could create unintended ripples and consequences that could limit developers’ abilities to capitalise on the promises they are currently making.”