Who
decides if the U.S. is going to use nuclear energy to meet this
country’s electric needs? It’s a question we get here at the NRC not
infrequently. The short answer: Congress and the President. Together
they make the nation’s laws and policies directing civilian nuclear
activity – for both nuclear energy and nuclear materials used in
science, academia, and industry.
,
set out our national nuclear policy. For example, in the Atomic Energy
Act, Congress provided that the nation will “encourage widespread
participation in the development and utilization of atomic energy for
peaceful purposes.” Other federal laws, like the Energy Policy Act of
2005, call for the federal government to provide support of, research
into, and development of nuclear technologies and nuclear energy. The
President, as the head of the executive branch, is responsible for
implementing these policies.
But
sometimes, things get confusing as to who does what when it comes to
putting these laws into practice! Although the NRC is a federal
government agency with the word “nuclear” in its name, the NRC plays no
role in making nuclear policy. Instead, the NRC’s sole mission is to
regulate civilian use of nuclear materials, ensuring that the public
health, safety, and the environment are adequately protected.
The
NRC’s absence from nuclear policymaking is no oversight, but a
deliberate choice. Before there was an NRC, the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC) was responsible for both developing and regulating
nuclear activities. In 1974, Congress disbanded the AEC, and assigned
all of the AEC’s responsibilities for developing and supporting nuclear
activities to what is now the U.S.
Department of Energy
(DOE).
At the same time, Congress created the NRC as an independent regulatory
agency, isolating it from executive branch direction and giving it just
one task – regulating the safety of civilian nuclear activities.
Today,
the DOE, under the direction of the President, supports federal
research and development of nuclear technologies and nuclear energy in
accordance with federal laws and policy goals. At the DOE, the
Office of Nuclear Energy
takes the lead on these programs.
Since
its creation more than three decades ago, the NRC’s only mission has
been to regulate the safe civilian use of nuclear material. For that
reason, the most important word here in the NRC’s name is not “Nuclear,”
but “Regulatory.” Because the NRC has no stake in nuclear policymaking,
the NRC can focus on its task of protecting public health and safety
from radioactive hazards through regulation and enforcement.
Lauren Woodall
NRC Attorney
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