“I’ve known Matt Marzano since he began service as an American Nuclear Society Congressional Fellow,” said Steve Nesbit, ANS past president (2021–22) and president of LMNT Consulting. “He is an excellent nominee for one of the five seats on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Matt is well qualified by virtue of his education, work experience, and character.”
Up for the job: “We at the American Nuclear Society are anxious to see this seat filled and believe Matt is fully qualified given his policy experience and, most importantly, his background in nuclear. He’s an experienced nuclear reactor operator and has worked in the industry,” said Paul Dickman, former chief of staff for then NRC chairman Dale Klein and senior policy fellow for Argonne National Laboratory.
“He trained at the U.S. Navy labs, and the navy’s standards for nuclear safety are unparalleled. In fact, I believe the reason our country has the superb safety record we do is because of the number of professionals we have that came from a navy background,” Dickman added.
The role of NRC commissioner requires a mix of policy and technical experience, Dickman said, along with the ability to adjudicate matters. Marzano’s time working as an Idaho National Laboratory detailee for the Senate EPW Committee, where he advised members on policy for energy, clean air, and climate issues, has equipped him with skills he can use at the NRC.
Most recently, Marzano advised the EPW chair on the ADVANCE Act, legislation designed to prepare the NRC for an expected surge in new nuclear reactor oversight.
In a letter to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), EPW chair Tom Carper (D., Del.), and EPW ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.V.), ANS President Lisa Marshall also expressed the Society’s strong support for Marzano. As a “well-respected member of the American nuclear community” and licensed senior reactor operator, she said, Marzano “is clearly qualified to assume the role of commissioner at the NRC.” Marshall concluded, “We urge the committee to favorably report Mr. Marzano’s nomination to the full Senate, and we encourage the U.S. Senate to move swiftly on his nomination.”
Background: Prior to joining INL as the detailee for the Senate EPW Committee, Marzano was the 2022 Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow, during which he spent a year learning how policymaking affects nuclear science, energy, and technology by working directly with legislators and congressional committees on critical nuclear policy decisions.
Marzano’s policy background builds on his decade-plus of experience in the nuclear industry, during which he has focused on nuclear energy systems for both defense and commercial applications.
He began his career at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in 2012, supporting the U.S. Navy training mission as a reactor operations instructor and nuclear plant engineer. In 2015, he moved to Dominion Energy, where he spent two years supporting construction activities and qualifying as a senior reactor operator for the twin AP1000 reactor expansion project (since halted) at V. C. Summer nuclear power plant. Marzano then joined Exelon Generation (now Constellation) at Braidwood nuclear power plant, supporting digital plant upgrades while obtaining a senior reactor operator license.
What it takes: ANS in its Position Statement #77, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, says the foremost qualification for the majority of commissioners should be a strong background in the science, safety, and generation of nuclear technology. They should also have significant accomplishments in technical, management, legal, regulatory, or policy fields.
“Consideration should be given to the makeup of the Commission as a whole,” P.S. #77 continues. “Congress selected a committee structure for the NRC rather than a single administrator, and that governance approach has consequences with respect to the desired characteristics of commissioners. The need to obtain a majority vote for executive action highlights the importance of having a qualified, diverse, and collegial group of commissioners with the ability to function effectively and respectfully together.”
Nesbit said Marzano’s nuclear experience would be a welcome addition to the NRC, since only one of the four current commissioners has a technical degree. Marzano holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Florida.
“Beyond Matt’s strong credentials, I know from personal experience that he works collegially and constructively with others, which is essential, given the NRC governance structure,” Nesbit said.
