NRC’s Jaczko set to appear before panel

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 | 8:31 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Greg Jaczko will appear before a Senate committee this week for a belated confirmation hearing.

President Bush appointed Jaczko and Peter Lyons, a former aide to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to the commission while Congress was not in session. This allowed the two new commissioners to skip confirmation hearings and a Senate vote.

Matt Dempsey, a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee staff member, said Wednesday's hearing is a confirmation hearing in name only. It is just a chance for the committee members, who have oversight authority of the commission, to ask questions and get statements on the record from both commissioners, Dempsey said.

Controversy surrounded Jaczko's nomination to one of two open commission seats by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. The nuclear industry objected to the nomination because Jaczko worked for Reid in 2002 during the height of the congressional debate on the proposed nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Jaczko was one of the main people on Reid's staff working toward the defeat of the project.

In addition to regulating commercial nuclear power plants, the commission will ultimately decide to give a license to the Energy Department to build the repository, if the department submits a license application.

During the two-year period between Reid's recommendation for nomination and Jaczko's swearing-in on Jan. 21, Reid placed holds on Bush administration nominees and fought for Jaczko's seat, emphasizing his qualifications and ability to evaluate information objectively.

In the end, the Senate struck a deal for two-year terms for Jaczko and Lyons after Bush nominee Navy Adm. Albert Konetzni Jr. withdrew his nomination. Commissioners usually serve five-year terms.

To secure his seat on the commission, Jaczko also volunteered for a one-year recusal on anything related to Yucca Mountain or geologic disposal of nuclear waste.

The committee before which Jaczko is to be questioned on Wednesday is where Jaczko started working for Reid in 2000 when Reid was a member of the committee. Reid gave up his seat on the committee when he became the Senate minority leader this year.