Update on the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
Where We Are
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) is in the final stages of its work and two-year term. Established in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and as directed by the President’s Memorandum for the Secretary of Energy dated January 29, 2010, the BRCis set to complete its report and advance a new strategy for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Our final report is due January 29, 2012.
The BRC concluded its regional public meetings in late October, and the deadline for receiving public input on the draft commission report was November 1, 2011. The full commission also held a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2011 at which time the Commissioners discussed and agreed on how to respond to the recurring themes that arose in public comment on the BRC’s draft reports.
At this time the BRC is revising its reports based on comments on the draft reports and the discussion and agreement of the Commissioners at the December 2nd meeting. We intend to honor the deadline before us and present our final recommendations to the Secretary of Energy the last week of January. We will also make available at that time revised reports of the subcommittees.
The BRC final report will contain recommendations to the Administration and the Congress for managing the back end of the nuclear cycle. Although the Commission’s work will be completed, the next phase of this process is for the Administration and Congress to consider our final recommendations and to consider changing existing laws and policies – and enacting new ones, as necessary – in order to facilitate the implementation of the strategy we recommend. We are committed to seeing action taken on our recommendations because we believe it is long past time for the government to make good on its commitments to the American people to provide for the safe disposal of nuclear waste.
Finally, we would like to thank the thousands of individuals and organizations who provided comment on the Commission’s draft report. We received many very helpful comments and we appreciate the many hours that people have dedicated to reviewing and suggesting improvements to our work.
