By DANA LIEBELSON
What does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have in common with the hit teen movie, Mean Girls? Cliques and gossip are central to their plotlines.
According to a report released last week by Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), the safety of U.S. nuclear plants has been compromised by a hostile clique that doesn’t have the public interest at heart. Four NRC commissioners allegedly are attempting a coup to remove NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko and impede the U.S. from improving its safety standards after the Japanese nuclear catastrophe.
Last March, the world watched in horror as a devastating earthquake sparked a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster galvanized Jaczko to declare emergency executive status, and create the Near-Term Task Force on Fukushima, which was designed to implement recommendations that would address America’s own nuclear safety gaps.
In October, the Commissioners—which include Democrats William Magwood and George Apostolakis, and Republicans William Ostendorff and Kristine Svinicki—sent a public letter to the White House expressing “grave concern” about Jaczko because he supposedly “undermined the ability of the Commission to function as prescribed by law,” in part by withholding policy information and recommendations.
But according to Rep. Markey’s investigation, Jaczko did try to keep the other four Commissioners in the loop on the unfolding emergency in Japan. Markey’s report states that those four Commissioners also made a concerted effort to undermine the efforts of the Task Force and delay implementation of its final recommendations—ultimately failing to serve the public interest.
Markey’s report shows a host of emails and documents during 2011 between the Commissioners that indicate “high levels of suspicion and hostility directed at the chairman.”
The squabbling is depressingly reminiscent of teenage gossip.
“What was that you were saying earlier about reasonable people being reasonable? I’ve forgotten now,” Svinicki wrote in an email to Magwood, after Jaczko voted to approve the creation of the NRC Task Force. In another example highlighted in Markey’s report, after a March 18, 2011 telephone call, several of the Commissioners’ staffers emailed each other with comments such as “what a bunch of s—t”, “I detected a significant amount of a—kissing”, and “that was a bunch of Barbra Streisand.”
Commissioner Magwood’s name pops up often in these emails. As you may remember, POGO opposed President Obama’s appointment of Magwood back in February 2010 because of his business dealings with the nuclear industry.
The Huffington Post recently revealed that Magwood consulted for Tepco, the company that owned the Fukushima nuclear power plant. POGO argued that there was evidence that Magwood was actively involved in efforts to advance the nuclear industry’s agenda, and would not “effectively address the security threats that are a major issue facing the NRC.”
Given what Rep. Markey’s investigation turned up, POGO’s warnings were prescient. The report outlines a voting timeline that shows the four Commissioners’ “history of voting against the safety recommendations put forward by technical experts,” including often the NRC’s own professional staff advice.
In a statement released today, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian said that in contrast to the other four Commissioners, Jaczko “has proven himself to be a public servant who takes his job regulating the nuclear industry seriously.” She pointed out that prior to his service as NRC Chair, Jaczko demonstrated a serious commitment to whistleblower protections while working on Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) staff.
For now, it looks like this “sorry soap opera”—as Markey has dubbed it—will yield more headlines, rather than necessary improvements to safety standards.
Today, the four Commissioners voted to reject the recommendation of the Task Force that safety upgrades be made mandatory.
The White House has stated it stands by Jaczko.
The four Commissioners have alleged that Jaczko is “bullying and intimidating,” and have said that he berated three female staff members. This is a charge that many opposed to nuclear safety reforms have embraced.
On the pro-Jaczko side, Rep. Markey released a statement saying that the complaints about the so-called intimidating manner of the Chairman were not valid, and Jaczko is a “strong, committed safety leader who encourages NRC staff to freely express their views.”
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the head of the Senate committee that oversees the NRC, has also said that the allegations are unfounded. “They found the opposite, in fact that the chairman, according to one respected female staffer, was ‘the most fair person she’d ever met,’” Boxer said.
For his part Jaczko has said he only recently learned of the allegations, but admitted to sometimes having a brusque management style at times. “There are times when I can question people intensely and that’s something I am aware of in my style,” Jaczko said at a Senate hearing today.
“Whatever the case is regarding the allegations, they do not rise to the level of Inspector General or Congressional scrutiny,” said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian. “Even if the worst allegations are true, they are hardly unique in Washington, a city full of mean bosses. They are, however, convenient as a weapon for those who disagree with Jaczko's voting record.”
Dana Liebelson is POGO's Beth Daley Impact Fellow.
Still from Mean Girls via IMDB.
I agree with David---this is not representative of the kind of report I am used to seeing from POGO at all.
"This is a charge that many opposed to nuclear safety reforms have embraced." because that is how the dirty game is played...
"For his part Jaczko has said he only recently learned of the allegations, but admitted to sometimes having a brusque management style at times. “There are times when I can question people intensely and that’s something I am aware of in my style,” Jaczko said at a Senate hearing today." This statement, a standard tactic used by a person who is lying... I just found out...and seeming to humbly acknowledge he is aware it is "his style" this stinks and not like flowers...
Posted by: anonymous | Dec 16, 2011 at 10:01 AM
Sorry again, a symbolic change from "bullying bosses" to "mean bosses" misses the point. Please rethink your group's current trajectory so you don't become a partisan lapdog. There's too many of them in Washington as it is.
Posted by: David | Dec 16, 2011 at 09:11 AM
Sorry, dismissing DC culture as one full of "bullying bosses" understates the case and undermines POGO's credibility. Intimidation, abuse, and reprisal run rampant, and the civil service -- and America -- are worse off for it. It doesn't have to be this way - the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board could take their statutory mandate seriously - as required by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
But then again, POGO (and others) have steadfastly refused to confront lawbreaking by OSC and MSPB for over thirty years.
Why?
Posted by: David | Dec 15, 2011 at 08:59 PM