IN THE SENATENUCLEAR POWER; Panel to vet last 3 picks for regulatory commission

Katherine Ling, E&E reporter 713 words8 February 2010Environment & Energy Daily
© 2010 E&E Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved

The Environment and Public Works Committee tomorrow will examine President Obama's nominees to fill three spots on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Obama nominated George Apostolakis, former chairman of the NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and William Magwood IV, former director of the Department of Energy civilian nuclear technology program, last October to fill two open Democratic spots on the committee.
Obama then nominated William Ostendorff, former principal deputy administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration, in December after Commissioner Dale Klein, the former NRC chairman under President Bush, indicated he would leave. NRC currently has two Republican-picked members, Klein and Kristine Svinicki, and one Democrat, Chairman Gregory Jaczko.



The three appointments, if confirmed, will come at a pivotal time at NRC, which is reviewing new reactor applications for the first time in 20 years, considering license extensions and capacity expansion for current reactors, and debating issues regarding low-level nuclear waste.



The White House fiscal 2011 budget removed one of NRC's main areas of concern by ending funding for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Energy Department filed a 30-day stay of proceedings on the matter last week in order to file documents to withdraw the license by the end of the month.



Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who is not an advocate of nuclear power, will have plenty of questions for the nominees, especially about the review of new nuclear reactor design, construction and operation license applications.



Paris-based Areva SA has announced it is interested in building a reactor in California's Central Valley, although California still has a moratorium against nuclear power (Greenwire, Jan 22).



Areva is also the company behind one of the four advanced reactor designs included in the 17 new reactor construction and operating licenses currently before NRC. Areva's Evolutionary Power Reactor, Mistubishi's Advanced Pressurized-Water Reactor and General Electric-Hitachi's Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor still need certification from NRC, as well as an amended license for the Westinghouse AP1000. General Electric Co.'s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor has been certified.



Meanwhile, Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the committee, are likely to have questions about the new reactor license processes, especially about the nominees' views on how long it is taking NRC to review the projects. Inhofe has called for an expedited and streamlined licensing process.



The most controversial nomination appears to be Magwood. Many environmentalists and consumer advocates are critical of Magwood's ability to fairly regulate the industry as his past work appears to align him on the pro-industry side.



As the longest-serving director of the DOE civilian nuclear technology program -- 1998 to 2005 -- he led the creation of the "Nuclear Power 2010" program, aimed at supporting industry to license and build the first nuclear reactor in more than 20 years. He is also chairman of the Generation IV International Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy.



Magwood also advocated for the adoption of advanced spent-fuel recycling as well as "a candid discussion" about nuclear energy in separate articles published last year. He is currently a principal and founder of the energy consultancy firm Advanced Energy Strategies.



Apostolakis, the other Democratic nominee, is a professor of nuclear science and engineering systems at MIT. He is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and the Society for Risk Analysis and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.



Ostendorff, who is taking up the remaining Republican spot, is director of NAS's Science, Engineering and Public Policy Committee and the Global Science and Technology Board. He formerly worked in the Bush administration as principal deputy administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration and as senior staff of the House Armed Services Committee, where he focused on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Schedule: The hearing is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 406 Dirksen.
, nominated to be member, NRC; William Magwood, nominated to be member, NRC; and William Charles Ostendorff, nominated to be member, NRC.