There have been eight Executive Directors of Operations in the NRC’s history. They act as de-facto Chief Operating Officers, managing the staff and reporting to the Chairman. The first, Lee Gossick, was a Major General in the Air Force and a WWII fighter pilot before he assumed the presumably less dangerous office at the NRC.
The latest EDO, Bill Borchardt, is retiring after 30 years with the NRC. He’s held positions focusing on everything from new reactors to reactor inspection to security policy and planning. He’ll be the topic of tomorrow’s Chat, from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern.
He has agreed to talk about his time with the NRC, what he thinks of current challenges facing the agency, and maybe make a few predictions about the future.
We might even learn a few “behind the scenes” things about the outgoing EDO. However, we doubt that he, like former-EDO Victor Stello, ever dresses up like Santa Claus to deliver candy canes to kids in his neighborhood.
You can submit your questions ahead of time to opa.resource@nrc.gov . We hope you can join us.
Note: Thanks to those who joined this Chat. For those who could not, here is the link to the archive of the session.
U.S. NRC Blog 
Thanks for the question. We’ll put it in the queue for tomorrow. We prefer questions be submitted via email, though, to: opa.resource@nrc.gov.
Holly Harrington
EDO Bill Borchardt questions:
“NRC didn’t buy any of what it labeled TVA’s poor methodology and “unvalidated assumptions and calculations.” Instead, NRC in a “final significance determination” in May of 2011 said TVA was at fault for inadequate testing of its own equipment. It also concluded the valve would never have opened. Johnson said it took two men with a jack hammer two days to free the valve.”
Why didn’t you charge these employees and contractors with falsification of federal documents?
Could you explain the NRC’s take on filling out complete and accurate documents?
Does the industry have a hired wild west gunslinger atmosphere…contractual professional engineering service providers who will say anything for money? They will clearly lie or be inaccurate in the ends of collecting money from a utility?
Thanks,
Mike Mulligan
Hinsdale, NH