Controversy over Nuclear Regulatory Commission nomination ends

By Paul Guinnessy

A tussle over documents between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) almost ended NRC Chairman Alison M. Macfarlane’s nomination for a full five-year term of office earlier this week. Macfarlane’s current term is up on 30 June.

The documents are related to failed repair work at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, which caused the plant to close permanently, and to the degree of oversight that the NRC provided. The plant’s steam generators were replaced not by similar equipment, which typically wouldn’t require a new operating license, but by a new design, which caused vibrations inside the plant and led to leaks. The controversy centered on whether the NRC should have been more stringent in its oversight and forced the plant owners, Southern California Edison, to apply for a new license.

When Macfarlane was initially confirmed to replace Gregory Jaczko, who resigned last year, she agreed to provide Boxer, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, with more than 70 000 documents related to the plant. The repairs and concomitant loss of revenue have cost hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in litigation between Southern California Edison and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which supplied the faulty steam generators. Boxer also asked the US Justice Department last month to investigate Edison officials for possible malfeasance over the purchase and design of the generators. Edison has denied any wrongdoing.

Macfarlane was nominated by President Obama for a full five-year term some time ago, but Boxer refused to have the committee vote on the nomination until the issue over the documents was settled. As reported by the New York Times, the impasse involved the NRC’s reluctance to produce documents from its Office of Investigations and from the agency’s inspector general. The documents could conceivably have led to criminal charges. A solution, however, was reached on Friday. ‘What was necessary,’ said an NRC spokesman, ‘was to work out a protocol for the protection of the documents.’

Late Monday night, the committee voted by voice to allow Macfarlane’s nomination to reach the Senate floor. ‘We expect [NRC staff] to drop off the final set of documents today in response to Senator Boxer’s most recent request,’ said a spokeswoman for the EPW committee. The nomination has rare, strong, bipartisan support. Says Macfarlane, ‘If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to continuing my service with the NRC.’