Energy nominee criticized for support of nuke industry

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 11:33 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect George W. Bush's choice for energy secretary took campaign money from nuclear power utility companies and has consistently backed legislation aimed at establishing the nation's nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

These and other factors make former Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., a foe of Nevada, a number of state officials said after Bush on Tuesday announced Abraham was his choice for Department of Energy chief.

"I would hope that if he becomes energy secretary, former Sen. Abraham would demonstrate his independence from the nuclear power industry," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement. "However, as a senator, he voted against the interest of Nevadans on numerous occasions."

Abraham has little experience overseeing energy issues. But Bush said Abraham "knows the issues of energy policy, and he understands the opportunities and challenges before us. We understand our national security depends upon energy security."

Abraham said, "Fortunately, this administration is comprised of many individuals with incredible expertise in these areas."

He also said, "We can make good use of (the nation's resources), while at the same time, I believe, meeting our responsibilities as good stewards for the land, the air and the water."

The Department of Energy, among its many responsibilities, manages the Nevada Test Site and is overseeing the studies at Yucca Mountain designed to determine if Yucca is a safe place to bury waste.

If Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is approved, the department is poised to launch construction of what would be the world's first underground nuclear waste storage site. The nation's next energy secretary will have oversight of the Yucca project at a crucial time in its development.

Nevada officials had been watching anxiously as Bush mulled a list of candidates for the department's top job. Democrats were quick to challenge Abraham, who hails from a state reliant on nuclear power.

"Spencer Abraham has been a consistent supporter of the nuclear power industry and has an established record in the Senate of voting for the Yucca Mountain project without regard for the health and safety of the people in my state," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

Nevada Republicans mustered only a few words of caution about Bush's choice. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., today said he was confident Abraham would stick to Bush's promise to rely on radiation standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, not more lenient standards endorsed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Gibbons also said he expected Abraham would not stand for any "backroom deals" between the nuclear industry and the DOE. The DOE's Inspector General is now investigating whether DOE's study of Yucca was tainted by the influence of nuclear power industry officials.

Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn said he was confident Abraham "will continue the position of President-elect Bush to base any decision on nuclear waste storage on science rather than political expediency."

The state's Nuclear Projects Agency director, appointed by Guinn, was researching Abraham's background Tuesday.

"Coming from Michigan is probably the key thing to know, with the nuclear industry's presence there," said Bob Loux, who acts as the state's watchdog of DOE projects at Yucca.

Michigan has four nuclear power reactors. American Electric Power, which owns two of them, gave Abraham $3,000 last year, according to FECInfo, which tracks campaign money. DTE Energy, which owns one plant, gave Abraham $6,000 in 1999. Abraham has publicly advocated the Yucca project because it would help the plants in his state, where nuclear waste has been piling up for years.

"All four of these plants were designed with some small storage capacity, but a couple of years ago, (30-year-old) Palisades (on the Lake Michigan shore) ran out of spent fuel pool storage space," Abraham said in a 1997 statement. "The Nuclear Waste Policy Act will mandate the removal and storage of this spent fuel at a safe, central facility."

Abraham in 1997 also advocated the bill that would have established a temporary nuclear waste site in Nevada for use until the permanent repository was completed.

Abraham in November lost his seat in a close race to Democrat Debbie Stabenow. He had served one six-year term.

During his campaign, Abraham took $299,825 from energy and natural resource political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Among his donors that operate nuclear power plants and are eager to see Yucca completed: Florida Power & Light Co. ($9,000); Southern Co. ($5,000); Edison Electric Institute ($4,628); Carolina Power & Light ($2,000); Pinnacle West Capital Corp. ($2,000); FirstEnergy ($1,500); Reliant Energy ($1,000).

The nation's leading nuclear power lobby group, the Nuclear Energy Institute, gave Abraham $4,000.

Industry officials are "hopeful" Abraham will "advance policies that will strengthen nuclear power," NEI vice president John Kane said Tuesday in a written statement.

The Senate's leading proponent of the Yucca project, Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, said, "The Energy Department is a difficult one to manage, but I have every confidence that Sen. Abraham is up to the job."

Several environmental groups that oppose the Yucca plan panned Abraham, saying they were baffled at the appointment given his lack of experience with energy issues.

"It's not good news for Nevada," Nuclear Information Resource Center director Michael Mariotte said of the appointment.

Abraham, 48, the grandson of four Lebanese grandparents and a 1979 Harvard Law graduate, was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1982 to 1989. He was deputy chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle from 1990 to 1992, then worked as a lawyer for a private firm before being elected to the Senate in 1994.