Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Project Aim Initiative

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) mission is to protect public health and safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the environment. For forty years, the NRC has successfully met its mission; however, the agency recognizes that adjustments are necessary for success in the future. The NRC launched Project Aim in June 2014 to enhance the agency’s ability to plan and execute its mission while adapting in a timely and effective manner to a dynamic environment. The agency grew significantly since 2001 to enhance security and incident response and to prepare for projected growth in nuclear power. The future forecast shows fewer nuclear facilities, closure of existing facilities, and constrained resources. Project Aim is the NRC’s strategic initiative to adapt to a changing workload and constricted budget environment. In June 2015, the Commission approved the 19 Project Aim recommendations that related to the NRC’s need to right-size, while retaining appropriate skill sets to accomplish its mission, and streamline processes to use resources more wisely. The NRC performed a number of outreach activities with the public, Congress, and interested stakeholders. Internally, the NRC solicited feedback and suggestions from employees and kept them informed on the status of Project Aim. Project Aim is making progress on a fast-paced schedule. Many of the approved tasks have either been completed and are moving into the implementation phase or have active project teams or working groups in place, with the exception of those tasks with a later start date or which are dependent upon the completion of other tasks. Changes to NRC’s regulatory oversight in the areas of physical protection, international safeguards, material control and accounting, cyber security, packaging, transportation and disposition are all being considered in Project Aim. The paper will discuss why the NRC initiated Project Aim, discuss a subset of recommendations, and provide a status of those recommendations.