Update: My name is Keith McConnell and I am the Director of the Waste Confidence Directorate. Unfortunately, Andy Imboden, who was scheduled to moderate today’s Chat, can’t be here so I’ll be answering your questions.
I have been at the NRC since 1986, bringing my background and expertise as a geologist to various projects, including waste management, decommissioning and uranium recovery, as well as other positions. I have also served three NRC chairmen and in the Office of General Counsel.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Clemson, a Master’s in Geological Sciences from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of South Carolina.
Also, we’ve just posted a new YouTube Video — NRC Q&As Series: Three Minutes with Waste Confidence Directorate. Please give it a look.
On June 8, 2012, a U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the NRC’s Waste Confidence Rule. That rule contained the NRC’s determination that the environmental impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel after the end of a nuclear power plant’s license are not significant. The Waste Confidence ruling affected commercial nuclear power plant license reviews and spent-fuel storage reviews.
Tomorrow, from 2 to 3 p.m. EDT, I’ll respond to your questions during a Chat about NRC’s ongoing efforts to develop an updated Waste Confidence Rule. As you can imagine, many policy, legal, and technical issues will affect the rule.
By way of background, the Department of Energy is the federal agency with responsibility for the final disposal of the spent fuel in a deep geologic repository; the NRC’s role is to evaluate the application submitted to license the construction and operation of a repository. What the NRC is addressing currently (and in the Chat tomorrow) is how we’ll address the environmental impacts of the spent fuel after the nuclear power plant that generated it has stopped operating, but before it’s moved to permanent disposal elsewhere.
In the coming months, the NRC will release both a proposed new Waste Confidence rule and a draft generic environmental impact statement for public review and comment. But before we have that official comment period, I’m looking forward to answering your questions about proposed Waste Confidence Rule and the draft generic environmental impact statement. We want you to have as much 
information as possible so you can fully participate in the official comment process.
Prior to our Chat, you can visit NRC’s Waste Confidence website for more information.
If you have any questions before tomorrow’s Chat, you can submit them to OPA.Resource@nrc.gov. I’m looking forward to your questions and comments. Just one note, though, this Chat is informal and your comments will not be included in our official comment process.
I look forward to hearing from you on July 23d.
U.S. NRC Blog 