The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Its functions include overseeing reactor safety and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing radioactive materials, radionuclide safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of spent fuel.
Vermont Yankee was an electricity generating nuclear power plant, located in the town of Vernon, Vermont, in the northeastern United States. It generated 620 megawatts (MWe) of electricity at full power. The plant was a boiling water reactor (BWR), designed by General Electric. It operated from 1972 until December 29, 2014, when its owner Entergy shut down the plant. In 2008, the plant provided 71.8% of all electricity generated within Vermont, amounting to 35% of Vermont's electricity consumption. The plant is on the Connecticut River, upstream of the Vernon, Vermont Hydroelectric Dam and used the reservoir pool for its cooling water.
The Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania is located next to the Schuylkill River in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. The two units are capable of producing over 1,200 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Exelon Corporation owns and operates this facility. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station always operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid by several 500kv transmission lines.
George Prescott Bush is an American attorney, former U.S. Navy Reserve officer, real estate investor, and politician who serves as the Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. A fourth-generation elected official as a member of the Bush family, he is the eldest child of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, nephew of the 43rd President, George W. Bush, grandson of the 41st President, George H. W. Bush, and great-grandson of U.S. Senator Prescott Bush.
The Salem Nuclear Power Plant is a two unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, in Salem County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is owned by PSEG Nuclear LLC and Exelon Generation LLC.
Grand Gulf Nuclear Station is a nuclear power station with one operational GE BWR reactor. It lies on a 2,100 acres (850 ha) site near Port Gibson, Mississippi. The site is wooded and contains two lakes. The plant has a 520-foot natural draft cooling tower.
James Clifford "Jim" Miller III is a former U.S. government official and economist who served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission between 1981 and 1985 and as Budget Director for President Ronald Reagan between 1985 and 1988. He also ran for United States Senate in Virginia, losing the Republican nomination at the convention to Oliver North in 1994 and losing the nomination in the primary to John Warner in 1996.
In politics, regulatory capture is a corruption of authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulatory agency is co-opted to serve the commercial, ideological, or political interests of a minor constituency, such as a particular geographic area, industry, profession, or ideological group.
Michael Lawrence Williams is the former Education Commissioner of the U.S. state of Texas, in which capacity he was leader of the Texas Education Agency. Williams was appointed to the position on August 27, 2012, by then Governor Rick Perry. On October 15, 2015, Williams announced that he would step down as Education Commissioner at the end of the year to return to the private sector.
Nuclear safety in the United States is governed by federal regulations issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC regulates all nuclear plants and materials in the United States except for nuclear plants and materials controlled by the U.S. government, as well those powering naval vessels.
George Williford Boyce Haley was an American attorney, diplomat and policy expert who served under seven presidential administrations. He was one of two younger brothers to the Pulitzer Prize winner Alex Haley.
Kenneth Monroe Carr was a U.S. Navy vice admiral who was Deputy and Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Atlantic Command and the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He retired from the navy on May 1, 1985. He became Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on July 1, 1989 having been a member of the Commission since August 14, 1986.
Joseph Timothy Kelliher is an American energy executive and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Gregory B. Jaczko is a former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A physicist with public policy experience in academia and serving on Congressional staffs, he has been deeply interested in the development of nuclear power and its relation to the American public. On May 21, 2012, he announced his resignation pending the confirmation of the next person to fill this role. On July 9, 2012, Jaczko was replaced by Allison Macfarlane, a nuclear waste expert and associate professor at George Mason University.
Peter Bruce Lyons was confirmed by the US Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy on April 14, 2011. He was appointed to his previous role as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy in September, 2009. As Assistant Secretary, Dr. Lyons was responsible for all programs and activities of the Office of Nuclear Energy. He retired from the Department of Energy on June 30, 2015.
Allison M. Macfarlane directs the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. She is the former director of the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University, where she was Professor of Science Policy and International Affairs. She was the chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from July 9, 2012, to December 31, 2014.
Stephen G. Burns is an American lawyer and former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kristine L. Svinicki is an American nuclear engineer and former chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher T. Hanson is an American bureaucrat and the current chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Richard A. "Dick" Meserve is an American lawyer and scientist. He served as Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1999 to 2003 and served as President of the Carnegie Institution for Science from 2003 to 2014.
