US nuke panel says agency damaged by chairman

Four members of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission from both parties say they have "grave concerns" about the panel's chairman, charging that his actions are "causing serious damage" to the commission and creating a "chilled work environment at the NRC."

In a letter to the White House, the commissioners say Gregory Jaczko's bullying style could adversely affect the agency's mission to protect health and safety at the 104 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States.

The two-page letter, signed by all four of Jaczko's colleagues on the five-member panel, stops short of asking that Jaczko resign. It says, however, that he "intimidated and bullied" senior career staff, ordered staff to withhold information and ignored the will of the panel's majority. The letter was signed by Democrats William Magwood and George Apostolakis, as well as Republicans Kristine Svinicki and William Ostendorff.

Jaczko, in a detailed response also sent to the White House, said problems at the agency were not his fault, but instead stem from "lack of understanding" on the part of the other four commissioners.

Copies of the letters were obtained by The Associated Press.

The dueling letters come as Jaczko faces hearings in the House of Representatives and the Senate next week in which his behavior is likely to be featured.

Commission members and staffers have long complained about Jaczko's brusque style, particularly involving a decision he made last year to shut down the technical review of a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Republican lawmakers also complained that Jaczko may have acted illegally when he declared in March that Japan's nuclear crisis constituted an emergency in the United States.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the letter from the four NRC commissioners shows a serious breach in trust among the commission's five members. Issa's committee is scheduled to hold a hearing about the NRC on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama "has the authority to take action to address these concerns," Issa wrote in a letter Friday to White House Chief of Staff William Daley. "The public deserves to understand what actions have been taken and whether the president still believes that Chairman Jaczko is capable of leading the NRC."

Most of the criticism centers on Jaczko's response to the Japan crisis and his efforts to stop the nuclear waste dump.

The dispute comes after an inspector general's report released in June exposed long-simmering internal strife under Jaczko. The agency watchdog said Jaczko intimidated staff members who disagreed with him and withheld information from members of the commission to gain their support.

In August, Republican senators asked the inspector general to investigate whether Jaczko had authority to declare the Japan-caused emergency, which granted him additional powers, since the crisis occurred on foreign soil. The senators also said they were not certain that Jaczko has rescinded the order, despite his public claims to the contrary.

In addition to the Oct. 13 letter to Daley, the White House chief of staff, the four NRC commissioners also wrote to Jaczko, saying his "intemperate and disrespectful behavior towards your fellow commission members is completely unacceptable."

They cited an Oct 5 meeting with senior staff in which he reportedly expressed "disdain" for commission procedures and "contempt for the commission" itself.

Jaczko said in his letter that his "sole and passionate focus" since joining the agency in 2005 has been about nuclear safety and security. He has been chairman since May 2009.

"Unfortunately, all too often, when faced with tough policy calls, a majority of this current commission has taken an approach that is not as protective of public health and safety as I believe is necessary," Jaczko wrote.

He denied there is a "chilled work environment around me," and said he never attempted to intimidate anyone.

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