Hannah Northey, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Link to Letter Link to Article
Four Senate Republicans asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's inspector general today to investigate the agency's chairman for alleged abuses of emergency authorities and withholding information from fellow commission members.
Sens. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and David Vitter of Louisiana say NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is thwarting the five-member commission's ability to make decisions in a crisis spurred by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled a Japan nuclear plant.
At issue is Jaczko's use of authority granted under Section 3 of NRC's 1980 reorganization plan, which allows for the transfer of certain commission powers to the chairman himself. Jaczko justified use of that power since the United States issued tsunami warnings in the wake of the Japan earthquake (Greenwire, April 29).
Congress passed the reorganization law in the aftermath of the 1979 partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island plant. Former NRC Chairman Richard Meserve last used that authority following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to raise security designations at U.S. nuclear plants to the highest levels, NRC said.
The Republican senators told NRC Inspector General Hubert Bell in a letter today that Jaczko exceeded his authority by assuming emergency authorities for a crisis on foreign soil.
"Even now, it is not clear that the chairman has ceased to exercise these powers even through the near-term task force has indicated there is no 'imminent risk' to U.S. facilities," the senators wrote.
NRC was not immediately available for comment.
Jaczko failed to satisfy the law's requirements that he inform commission members of his decisions and provide a formal report after the emergency situation subsided, they wrote.
He also violated a separate section of the plan, they said, by interfering with a memo prepared by NRC's executive director for operations to guide the commission and its staff on an internal task force's report on the Japan emergency.
The task force released a dozen safety recommendations in June on how to bolster safety of American reactors (Greenwire, Aug. 11).
The senators wrote that Jaczko and his staff changed the document from NRC operations chief Bill Borchardt before the chairman went public with his own plan for addressing the recommendations (E&ENews PM, July 18).
"The insights of the experienced head of the agency staff were withheld from the commission and the public while the chairman attempted to forge ahead on his own plans and perspectives," the senators wrote.
"The chairman seems intent upon assuring that the [executive director of operations] and NRC staff are responsive to his dictates," the senators added.
Bell released a report in June that found Jaczko had withheld information from other commissioners in an effort to influence their decision on closing the Yucca Mountain, Nev., nuclear waste dump (Greenwire, June 10).
The chairman strategically provided information about his intention to halt a scientific review of the repository, Bell said, but did not break any laws or commission rules.
Click here to read the senators' letter.
