I am a partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling, in Washington, D.C., which I joined as an associate in 1981. I turned to the practice of law after completing a Ph.D. in applied physics, and I have used my scientific training in my legal work. Over most of my years in private practice, this has included work on nuclear-related issues. As an attorney who has worked with the Agency, I have a familiarity both with the procedures of the NRC and with the substance of its work. I have also served on a number of committees of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering that have focused on nuclear issues. For example, I recently served as chairman of a committee that examined the protection of nuclear weapons materials in Russia and previously, in the aftermath of Chernobyl accident, I chaired an NAS committee that examined safety issues associated with the DOE reactors. I thus also have experience arising from my pro bono activities that bear on the NRC's mission. I believe that my educational background and my professional experience will reinforce each other in ways that should be helpful in the conduct of the Commission's work. Rather than take further time here today to discuss my professional career in greater detail, however, I have submitted my curriculum vitae as an attachment to my written statement.
Let me turn now to my views as I contemplate the possibility of joining the NRC. As I am sure this Committee is fully aware, we are in the midst of a significant restructuring of the utility industry. In a growing number of states the competitive market determines the price for electricity and thus profitability for all forms of electricity generation is dependent on achieving economically efficient operations. This has important implications for the NRC's work.
First, and most important, it reinforces the need for the NRC to fulfill its obligation to demand safe operations by licensees. The NRC must assure that the pressures to reduce costs do not become incentives to cut corners on safety. I understand that the principal statutory responsibility of the Commission is the protection of the public's health and safety and of the environment. The NRC must ensure that its licensees meet the agency's safety and environmental requirements.
Second, in a time of sensitivity to costs, the NRC has a particular obligation to regulate efficiently to regulate in a fashion that imposes the minimum degree of burden consistent with getting the job done. This implies a judicious approach both to new regulatory initiatives -- making sure that the benefits outweigh the costs -- and a willingness to cast a cold, appraising eye on existing policies and programs. The fact that a given program may have made excellent sense in 1979 or even 1989 does not mean that it still makes sense in 1999. Moreover, managerial oversight is necessary to make sure that the policy decisions made in the agency's conference rooms are translated into practice at the operational level so that the benefits of informed policy are actually achieved.
Third, it is incumbent on the NRC to reach decisions in appropriate ways. Decisions must be fair, and be perceived to be fair; they must be appropriate for the particular task at hand; and they must be efficient and timely. For example, if a process is so needlessly time-consuming and inefficient that delay itself determines the outcome, then the goal of fairness is not being met and the Commission has failed in its obligations. Here again, we have to be prepared to adjust processes to changing needs. At the same time, however, there should be no slighting the significant role that Congress gave to the public in NRC processes. The NRC staff and the regulated industry benefit from public participation because the public may often illuminate issues in ways that would otherwise escape scrutiny. Moreover, the American public will not accept the legitimacy of decisions that derive from processes from which it has been excluded. Thus, as the NRC carries out its regulatory activities, it must be conscious of the need to include the affected public in ways that are meaningful and that contribute to sound and efficient decision-making.
Finally, at a time when the Commission has a variety of important matters to which it must attend, I am mindful of the fact that Congress created the NRC as a multi-member Commission. Each member of the Commission should gain the benefit of the other members' expertise and ideas, thereby allowing more informed and thoughtful decisions than any one Commissioner could provide alone. I understand that this places a special obligation on the chairman: in addition to taking a leadership role, the chairman has a special responsibility to listen to his or her colleagues and to work for consensus and collegiality.
I believe that the NRC has made progress in all these areas in recent times and I believe that there are grounds for considerable optimism about the future. I see an agency well aware of its duties to protect the public health and safety under the law. I see an agency that has worked to improve its communications with members of the public, the regulated industry, and with the Congress. I see an agency that is taking advantage of improvements in analytical tools and information to focus on those aspects of industry operations that are most risk significant. In short, I see an agency that is on the right track. If confirmed, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission to build on the achievements of the recent past.
I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have for me. Thank you.
RICHARD A. MESERVE
Employment Experience:
Partner, Covington & Burling, 1981-present (associate through 1984):
Legal practice involving issues with substantial technical content, including environmental and toxic-tort litigation, nuclear licensing, and counseling of scientific societies.
Legal Counsel, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, 1977-81:
Responsibility for policies related to the health of science, industrial innovation, energy, and space.
Law Clerk, Justice Harry A. Blackmun, United States Supreme Court, 1976-77.
Law Clerk, Judge Benjamin Kaplan, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1975-76.
Education:
Harvard Law School: J.D., magna cum laude (1975).
Harvard Law Review, editor and senior editor
Ames Moot Court Competition (member of winning team)
Stanford University: Ph.D., Department of Applied Physics (1976).
Tufts University: B.A., magna cum laude (1966).
Phi Beta Kappa
Sigma Xi
Policy Studies:
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Balancing Scientific Openness and National Security (1999-present)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Protection, Control, and Accountability of Nuclear Materials in Russia (1998-1999)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (1995-1997)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Declassification of DOE Information (1994-95)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Fuel Economy of Automobiles and Light Trucks (1991-92)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee to Provide Interim Oversight of the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex (1988-89)
Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Committee to Assess Technical and Safety Issues at DOE Reactors (1986-88)
Member, National Academy of Sciences, Panel on Scientific Responsibility and the Conduct of Research (1989-92)
Member, National Academy of Sciences, Panel on the Impact of National Security Controls on International Technology Transfer (1984-86)
Member, National Academy of Sciences, Panel on Scientific Communication and National Security (1981-82)
Member, Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, Task Force on Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making (1992-93)
Member, Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, Task Force on Nongovernmental Organizations in Science and Technology (1991-92)
Other Professional Activities:
Member, Advisory Committee, Court Appointed Scientific Experts (a demonstration project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science) (1999-present)
Vice-Chairman, National Academy of Sciences, Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (1993-present)
Member, National Academy of Sciences, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources (1997-present)
Member, Board of Directors, Carnegie Institution of Washington (1992-present)
Member, Secretary of Energy Advisory Board; Chairman, Openness Task Force (1996-present); Chairman, Task Force on Fusion Energy (1999-present)
Member, Board of Directors, Tech Corps (1995-present)
Member, Council and Executive Committee, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1997-present)
Faculty Member, University of Virginia School of Law, Graduate Program for Judges (1994, 1997)
Chair, American Bar Association, Science and Technology Section, Life and Physical Sciences Division, Physical Sciences (1991-present)
Member, Board of Overseers for the Arts and Sciences, Tufts University (1994-present)
Chairman, Advisory Council of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (1989-1999)
Member, Advisory Board of the MIT Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development (1988-present)
Chairman, AAAS-ABA National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists (1988-94)
Member, The American Physical Society, Panel on Public Affairs (1988-90)
Member, Advisory Board, MIT Lincoln Laboratory (1994-1999)
Honors:
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994)
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1989)
Fellow, The American Physical Society (1989)