"Fatally compromised" NRC Commissioner Magwood urged to resign immediately

NRC Commissioner William Magwood IVAs explained in a press release, 34 groups, including Beyond Nuclear, have urged U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioner William Magwood IV (photo, left) to resign immediately, due to his apparent and actual conflict of interest. Several months ago, Magwood agreed to become Director-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA), which has an explicit mandate to promote nuclear power. His job there begins in September, and he has indicated he will leave NRC before his term expires sometime this summer.

The coalition's letter to Magwood, calling for his resignation, was written by the Joint Counsel to the Environmental Organizations, Diane Curran of Harmon Curran Speilberg + Eisenberg LLP in Washington DC, and Mindy Goldstein of Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory Law School in Atlanta. It also calls for Magwood to retroactively recuse himself from any votes made in the past many months, after he began negotiating with OECD for his new job at NEA. The letter was cc'd to the other four NRC Commissioners, as well as to the White House and U.S. Senate oversight committee.

The NRC and its Commissioners are not supposed to promote nuclear power, but rather to regulate its safety, in order to protect the public and environment. In fact, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was disbanded in the mid-1970s, due to its schizophrenic promotional and safety regulatory roles. NRC was then formed, mandated to regulate safety, while the U.S. Department of Energy was given the promotional role.

Tellingly, Magwood directed DOE's promotional Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) for several years, as well as working in the nuclear industry itself, before President Obama nominated him, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him, as an NRC Commissioner. Beyond Nuclear helped lead a coalition of more than 100 groups opposing Magwood's nomination and confirmation.

In late 2011, during an oversight hearing, U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), cited the group letter spearheaded by Beyond Nuclear, opposing Magwood's nomination and confirmation. Boxer was angry with Magwood for leading the mutiny against then serving NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko. As reported by the Huffington Post, it was an apparent bid by Magwood to take the NRC Chairmanship for himself -- similar to how Magwood got the top spot at DOE ONE. As also reported by the Huffington Post, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) ended any such notion, citing Magwood's broken promises regarding the proposed Yucca Mountain dump.