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Tussle Over Nuclear Plant Documents May Sink N.R.C. Appointment
Tussle Over Nuclear Plant Documents May Sink N.R.C. Appointment
By MATTHEW L. WALD
The botched repair job that doomed a California nuclear plant has created a political whirlpool that may be close to claiming another victim: the chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The issue is no longer the plant itself, San Onofre, which the majority owner, Southern California Edison, announced on June 7 it would permanently close. The problem now is that Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, who is chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a longtime critic of nuclear power, has been seeking documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the work the utility did and how the commission oversaw that work.
The chairwoman of the commission, Allison M. Macfarlane, agreed during her confirmation hearing to a blanket request to provide documents. Opponents of nuclear power say that some of the San Onofre documents could raise safety issues about plants that are still running. Ms. Boxers office said they could also influence California regulators as they decide who should pay the nearly $1 billion cost of addressing the failed repair.
The Senate committee and the nuclear commission are locked in a dispute over the documents, and Dr. Macfarlanes term ends on June 30. President Obama who appointed her to fill out the term of the previous chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, who resigned under pressure last year has nominated Dr. Macfarlane for a full five-year term, but Ms. Boxer is refusing to have the committee vote on the nomination until the argument over the documents is settled.
The Senate has only...
By MATTHEW L. WALD
The botched repair job that doomed a California nuclear plant has created a political whirlpool that may be close to claiming another victim: the chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The issue is no longer the plant itself, San Onofre, which the majority owner, Southern California Edison, announced on June 7 it would permanently close. The problem now is that Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, who is chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a longtime critic of nuclear power, has been seeking documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the work the utility did and how the commission oversaw that work.
The chairwoman of the commission, Allison M. Macfarlane, agreed during her confirmation hearing to a blanket request to provide documents. Opponents of nuclear power say that some of the San Onofre documents could raise safety issues about plants that are still running. Ms. Boxers office said they could also influence California regulators as they decide who should pay the nearly $1 billion cost of addressing the failed repair.
The Senate committee and the nuclear commission are locked in a dispute over the documents, and Dr. Macfarlanes term ends on June 30. President Obama who appointed her to fill out the term of the previous chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, who resigned under pressure last year has nominated Dr. Macfarlane for a full five-year term, but Ms. Boxer is refusing to have the committee vote on the nomination until the argument over the documents is settled.
The Senate has only...
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/tussle-over-nuclear-plant-documents-may-sink-n-r-c-appointment/?_r=1&
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Tussle Over Nuclear Plant Documents May Sink N.R.C. Appointment (Original Post)
kristopher
Jun 2013
OP
enough
(13,266 posts)1. Having clear-cut its environmental staff, the zombie NYT wakes up occasionally
and publishes an actual piece of useful reporting. Rare event, but thanks for posting this, kristopher.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)2. Some nuclear industry watchers...
...see this as a move on the part of the 4 pronuclear NRC members to oust the Chairperson, who is an outsider to the nuclear industry.
enough
(13,266 posts)3. Wouldn't surprise me. (nt)