OPENING REMARKS OF NRC CHAIRMAN GREGORY B. JACZKO AT THE 

COMMISSION MANDATORY HEARING ON VOGTLE COL

Good morning. I call this hearing to order. We are here today to conduct a mandatory 

hearing, as required by Section 189(a) of the Atomic Energy Act, on Southern Nuclear Operating 

Company’s application to build and operate two new reactors at the Vogtle site near 

Waynesboro, Georgia. This hearing will address the Southern Company’s application for two 

combined licenses and its related request for a limited work authorization to conduct preconstruction activities at the Vogtle site.

The review of a new reactor license application is a substantial undertaking. It involves a 

host of complex technical and legal questions and a broad range of important safety, security, 

and environmental issues. For the past three years, the NRC staff has been analyzing these issues 

so that the Commission can make an informed and considered decision on this application. 

Today’s mandatory hearing is one of the final steps in our licensing process before the 

Commission renders a decision on the application. Everyone here at the NRC has approached 

this effort fully aware that this is among the most important safety decisions entrusted to the 

agency. 

The Commission’s role in this hearing is to serve as an effective check on the staff’s 

work. Before we can reach a decision on the application, we must carefully and thoroughly 

evaluate whether the staff’s safety and environmental reviews have been adequate to support the 

necessary regulatory findings. Those findings are at the heart of our regulatory mission. Our 

findings fall into two categories – safety and environmental. They include whether the staff’s 

environmental analysis meets the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act; 

whether the applicant has the necessary technical and financial resources; and ultimately whether 

the facility will be constructed and operated safely and securely. Similar findings also must be 

made with regard to the applicant’s request for a limited work authorization. We have fully set 

forth the findings in the notice for today’s hearing.

This is an important and historic day at the NRC. This is the first mandatory hearing on a 

new reactor license application since the 1970s. This is the first application to reach this final 

step under the Part 52 licensing process, which was established in the late 1980s. And this is the 

first time that the Commission itself—rather than the licensing boards—will conduct a 

mandatory hearing. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 11-181 September 27, 2011
I would like to acknowledge the strong leadership of our predecessors on the 

Commission and, of course, the diligence of the NRC staff in developing and implementing this 

new licensing process. The decision to assume the responsibility for conducting these mandatory 

hearings was not taken lightly. The Commission did so after a Task Force, led by former 

Commissioner Jeff Merrifield, recommended doing so. I fully supported the decision at that time, 

and continue to believe that it was right, because the Commission ultimately bears the 

responsibility of making this licensing decision.

I want to thank my colleagues for their efforts in preparing for this important hearing, and 

to acknowledge the many NRC staff who have worked on this application. The Commission is 

committed to moving forward with this hearing and reaching a decision on this application in a 

thoughtful, timely manner that befits the important safety issues under review.

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