The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is refusing to release an unredacted version of its safety evaluation reports on Yucca Mountain, leaving the conclusions unknown to the public. The agency notified Heritage that it had rejected an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act. The NRC’s decision comes eight months after Heritage first requested volumes II and III of the Yucca report in October. The NRC released more than 1,400 pages in February, but redacted the conclusions. Heritage appealed in March. (Full text of the letter is below.) The NRC’s reports on …
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said there is bipartisan support in Congress to move forward with the nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain, noting that lawmakers could reaffirm that decision in a vote this summer. Upton, speaking at The Bloggers Briefing this afternoon, criticized the actions of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, whose opposition to the Yucca Mountain project was the subject of a harsh inspector general report earlier this month. “I’m convinced there is bipartisan support for Yucca and I suspect we’ll have a vote on …
As a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, The Heritage Foundation today obtained the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Yucca Mountain Volume III Safety Evaluation Report (SER). This document is critical because it contains the NRC’s conclusions regarding the scientific and technological merits of the Department of Energy’s application to construct and operate the high level nuclear waste repository. The NRC’s assessment should be the final word on the whether or not the Yucca facility could be safely built and operated; hence its conclusions have been much anticipated. …
Controversy continues to grow around Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko’s unilateral decision to order the NRC staff to stop its work on Yucca Mountain. The chairman defended his actions in a letter to the editor published by Energy Daily last week (subscription required). He suggested that he was authorized to stop work on Yucca by the 2011 budget. Never mind that the budget was never passed. The Chairman simply states that: “the administrative actions the agency has taken are simply a matter of efficient resource management and good government.” …
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko has ordered his staff to stop the review of the nuclear materials repository at Yucca Mountain. Aside from the harmful policy implications of this action, the chairman seems to be moving forward without any authority to do so. President Obama has made it clear that he supports terminating the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. And despite there being no scientific or technical evidence to support the decision and the fact that he has no plan for how the United States should manage its nuclear …
Dr. Gregory Jaczko, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), delivered his first major address since being appointed six weeks ago this morning at the Heritage Foundation. Jaczko’s talk was encouraging for its discussion of the need to enhance agency decisiveness and regulatory preparedness for dealing with new challenges, such as waste management and other fuel-cycle related activities. Both will be key factors in any future nuclear renaissance. Jaczko explained: “Decisiveness means the ability to come to resolution in a predictable manner after open and informed debate. To be …
Tomorrow, July 7th, new Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, appointed by President Obama, will speak in The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium. As momentum builds behind new nuclear power in the United States, questions remain about whether the nation is truly at the threshold of a nuclear renaissance. Of critical importance is how the nuclear industry is regulated and how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) might change under the leadership of its new Chairman, Gregory Jaczko. What priorities will Chairman Jaczko place at the top of his agenda? Is the …
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) member Gregory Jaczko has been chosen by President Obama to be the next Chairman of the NRC. Before joining the NRC’s commission, he served as Senator Reid’s science policy advisor and also served as congressional science fellow for House Member Edward Markey. When first appointed to the commission in 2004, Reid said, “I am pleased we were able to reach a deal that places a strong, independent voice on the NRC while ensuring that nearly a hundred other federal posts will be promptly filled.” Reid’s stance …
