House E&C Democratic members question the DOE
As work progresses on the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, which will progress through DOE authorization rather than Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing, three members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have sent a critical letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The letter demands “information about the DOE and its employees’ dealings with the NRC and its staff” and expresses concern that DOE staff has “broken the firewall” between the departments.
It also criticized the unprecedented staffing changes at the NRC and President Trump’s recent Executive Order 14301, which, according to the letter, attempts “to undermine the independence of NRC and require DOE to get involved in matters legally reserved to NRC.”
More details: The letter to Wright is signed by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D., N.J.), Kathy Castor (D., Fla.), and Diana DeGette (D., Colo.).
After its opening demand for information, the letter recaps the purpose of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974: dismantling the Atomic Energy Commission’s conflict of interest between both regulating and promoting the nuclear industry. It reminds Wright that the functions of the AEC were siloed into two agencies “in part to increase public confidence in the safety of the nuclear industry,” a confidence that the congressional representatives now believe is being threatened.
The letter also condemns Wright for “keeping Congress in the dark” on his plans for the DOE and the nuclear sector, citing his obligation to keep the E&C Committee “fully and currently informed with respect to the activities of the Secretary [of Energy],” as per section 303a of the Atomic Energy Act.
NRC shakeups: Of particular concern to the congresspeople is the recent departure of several key members of the NRC’s staff, including commissioner Christopher Hanson, whose firing the letter characterizes as illegal. The letter also marks commissioner Annie Caputo’s “abrupt departure” as worrisome.
These changes are taking place as a staffer affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency has been detailed by the DOE to the NRC. There, he has reportedly told NRC leaders that the agency would be expected to give blanket approval to reactor projects from the DOE and DOD.
Aside from these reports that the DOGE-DOE detailee (who The Hill identifies as one Adam Blake) has told the NRC to “rubber stamp” projects, the letter also alleges that numerous senior staff members at the NRC have been “pushed out at the behest of DOE staff (or by NRC staff after veiled threats from DOE staff).”
The letter also cites comments from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.), who has been among the most vocal critics in Congress of the recent changes at the NRC. Specifically, Whitehouse has alleged that Blake “has been pushing out the agency’s top experts,” has been “pursuing a reduction in force,” and has been “pulling tricks like sideling the general counsel” of the NRC.
To further evidence this claim, the letter notes that David Taggart is currently listed as chief counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the NRC and, in May, was listed as the principal deputy general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the DOE. The move, both the letter and Sen. Whitehouse propose, may be an effort by the DOE to skirt the required NRC approval of general counsel.
Final questions: The letter concludes with a series of questions for Secretary Wright:
- How many current and former DOE employees are currently detailed to the NRC, to whom do they report at the DOE, and who made the decision to detail them?
- Does David Taggart still work at or report to the DOE?
- Was Adam Blake ordered by Wright to communicate the “rubber stamp” comment?
- Are the reactors being pursued by the DOE pursuant to EO 14301 demonstration reactors?
The letter sets a deadline for response to the above questions by August 27. Wright has yet to respond.
