Letter to President Obama on New Appointments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
As you know, there are currently two vacancies on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). We are writing to urge you to appoint qualified individuals to the NRC who are independent of the regulated industry, who value public participation and involvement in decision-making, and who welcome debate and listen to dissenting and critical viewpoints.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has lost public confidence and trust. For far too long, the NRC has been dominated by the industry it is chartered to regulate. Too many Commissioners have seen their positions as temporary stints leading to a revolving door from the political arena to the nuclear industry.
The result is an agency in which dissent, critical examination and transparency are discouraged rather than welcomed. Public participation in crucial decisions that may affect millions of people is often greeted with a hostile attitude. Public intervenors in reactor or source materials licensing cases are routinely met with outright opposition from the NRC, rather than as legitimately concerned people who are exercising their civic right and responsibility to advocate safety and environmental protection in the licensing of nuclear facilities, and who offer valuable perspectives that may not have been addressed by the NRC. NRC Commissioners should encourage effective participation by citizen intervenors as an essential measure for ensuring the rigor of the licensing process, not a hindrance to be reflexively obstructed.
As our reactor fleet grows older, and thus requires more oversight, the NRC too often appears content to accept the status quo and bland utility assurances of safety. And the NRC has catered to the industry's demand for fast action on a raft of applications for new reactor licenses and designs by accelerating the licensing process in a manner that flouts the plain language and the intent of its own licensing regulations, undermines the effectiveness of the agency's safety and environmental review processes, and frustrates meaningful public participation in the decision-making process.
How the NRC handles the licensing of new nuclear reactors and other fundamental matters, such as radioactive waste disposal, in-situ leach uranium extraction, and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, will determine the safety and long-term environmental impact of our nuclear facilities and the soundness of our nation's nuclear policies for many years to come.
We believe it is essential that the open Commissioner positions are filled quickly. The NRC needs a full complement of Commissioners, especially new Commissioners, if it is to successfully handle the myriad of issues on its plate, and do so in a manner that may achieve public confidence.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with your staff to discuss these issues further and to recommend some individuals who meet the above requirements.
Sincerely,
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340
Takoma Park, MD
Phone: 301-270-6477
Email: [email protected]
Michele Boyd, Director, Safe Energy Program
Physicians for Social Responsibility
1875 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 1012
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-587-5242
Email: [email protected]
Lisbeth Gronlund
Co-Director, Global Security Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, DC/Cambridge, MA
Christopher Paine,
Director, Nuclear Program
Natural Resources Defense Council
Washington, DC
Lynn Thorp, National Program Director
Clean Water Action
Washington, DC
Erich Pica, Director, Domestic Programs
Friends of the Earth
Washington, DC
Tyson Slocum, Director, Energy Program
Public Citizen
Washington, DC
Susan Gordon, Director
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Washington, DC/Santa Fe, NM
Jim Riccio, Nuclear Policy Analyst
Greenpeace
Washington, DC
Ken Bossong, Executive Director
SUN DAY Campaign
Takoma Park, MD
Paul Gunter
Beyond Nuclear
Takoma Park, MD
Pamela K. Miller, Executive Director
Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT)
Anchorage, AK
Russell Lowes, Research Director
SafeEnergyAnalyst.org
Tucson, AZ
David Krieger, President
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Santa Barbara, CA
Ernest Goitein, Co-coordinator
Claire Feder, Co-coordinator
Californians for Radioactive Safeguards
San Francisco, CA
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs
Livermore, CA
Robert M. Gould, MD
President, SF-Bay Area Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Francisco, CA
Rinaldo Brutoco, President
World Business Academy
Ojai, CA
Michael Welch
Redwood Alliance
Arcata, CA
Jane Swanson
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
San Luis Obispo, CA
Mary Beth Brangan and James Heddle
EON, The Ecological Options Network
Bolinas, CA
Dr. Robert A. Bardwell
Nancy LaPlaca, J.D.
Bardwell Consulting Ltd.
Denver, CO
Sal Mangiagli
Citizens Awareness Network, Connecticut
Haddam, CT
Nancy Burton, Director
Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone
Redding, CT
Judi Friedman, Chair
PACE (People's Action for Clean Energy, Inc.)
Canton, CT
Jesse Glickstein
Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE)
Miami, FL
Tom Ferguson
Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
Bob Darby
Food Not Bombs/Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South
Atlanta, GA
Adele Kushner, Executive Director
Action for a Clean Environment
Alto, GA
David A. Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Chicago, IL
Carolyn Treadway
No New Nukes
Normal, IL
Grant Smith, Executive Director
Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
Indianapolis, IN
John Blair, President
Valley Watch, Inc.
Evansville, IN
Mary Davis
EcoPerspectives, a project of Earth Island Institute
Lexington, KY
Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director
C-10 Research & Education Foundation
Newburyport, MA
Mary Lampert, Director
Pilgrim Watch
Duxbury, MA
Deb Katz
Citizens Awareness Network
Shelburne Falls, MA
Kathleen Burns, Director
Sciencecorps
Lexington, MA
Don Ogden, co-host
The Enviro Show
WXOJ-LP/WMCB
Florence, MA
Johanna Neumann
Maryland PIRG
Baltimore, MD
Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Brunswick, ME
Kathryn Barnes
Don't Waste Michigan, Sherwood Chapter
Sherwood, MI
Victor McManemy, Director
Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination
Lake, MI
Gladys Schmitz
Mankato Area Environmentalists
Mankato, MN
George Crocker, Executive Director
North American Water Office
Lake Elmo, MN
Bruce A Drew, Steering Committee
Prairie Island Coalition
Minneapolis, MN
Mark Haim
Missourians for Safe Energy
Columbia, MO
Buffalo Bruce
Western Nebraska Resources Council
Chadron, NE
Judy Treichel, Executive Director
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Las Vegas, NV
Greg Mello
Los Alamos Study Group
Albuquerque, NM
Douglas Meiklejohn, Executive Director
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
Santa Fe, NM
Joni Arends, Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Santa Fe, NM
Gay Dillingham
Livingry Foundation
Santa Fe, NM
Janet Greenwald, Co-coordinator
Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping
Albuquerque, NM
Joseph Mangano, MPH MBA
Executive Director
Radiation and Public Health Project
New York, NY
Alice Slater
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NY
New York, NY
Thom Dellwo
Central New York-Citizens Awareness Network
Syracuse, NY
Barbara Warren, Executive Director
Citizens' Environmental Coalition
Albany, NY
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Syracuse, NY
Lewis E. Patrie, MD, Chair
Western N. C. Physicians for Social Responsibility
Asheville, NC
E.M.T. O'Nan, Director
Protect All Children's Environment
Marion, NC
Lisa Crawford, President
Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety & Health, Inc. (FRESH)
Harrison, OH
Nina Bell, J.D., Executive Director
Northwest Environmental Advocates
Portland, OR
Chuck Johnson, Director
Center for Energy Research
Portland, OR
Lloyd Marbet, Executive Director
Oregon Conservancy Foundation
Boring, OR
Lynn Sims
Don't Waste Oregon
Portland, OR
Rachel Larson, Executive Director
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Portland, OR
Eric Epstein
Three Mile Island Alert, Inc.
Harrisburg, PA
Gene Stilp
Pennsylvania Taxpayers and Ratepayers United
Harrisburg, PA
David Hughes, Executive Director
Citizen Power
Pittsburgh, PA
Katharine Dodge
Waynepeace
Honesdale, PA
Susan Corbett, Chair
S.C. Chapter Sierra Club
Columbia, SC
Dr. Finian Taylor
Hilton Head for Peace
Hilton Head, SC
Ann Harris, Executive Director
We the People, Inc.
Rockwood, TN
Faith Young
Citizens for Smart Choices
Dixon Springs, TN
Bill Reynolds
Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team (BEST)
Chattanooga, TN
Mavis Belisle, Director
JustPeace
Amarillo, TX
Jerry Stein, President
The Peace Farm
Amarillo, TX
Eileen McCabe
Green Party of Utah
Taylorsville, UT
Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director
HEAL Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Greg Wingard, Executive Director
Waste Action Project
Seattle, WA
Gerry Pollet, JD, Executive Director
Heart of America Northwest
Seattle, WA
Cc: Hon. Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Hon. Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
Hon. Steven Chu, Secretary, Department of Energy
Hon. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
Hon. Barbara Boxer, Chair, Environment and Public Works