NRC Commissioner Magwood refuses to resign, recuse himself

NRC Commissioner William Magwood IVIn response to a demand made last month by attorneys Diane Curran and Mindy Goldstein on behalf of 34 groups, including Beyond Nuclear, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner (NRC) William Magwood IV (photo, left) has refused to resign from the Commission, and refused to retroactively recuse himself from all votes related to nuclear power safety.

The environmental coalition has argued that, over the past many months, Magwood's application, and acceptance of the offer, to become the Director-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in Paris -- a nuclear power promotional institution -- has biased him in his role as a nuclear safety regulator. Magwood has indicated he will leave the NRC in September to begin his new job. But the coalition has demanded his immediate resignation, as well as his recusal on all safety-related votes dating back to his initial bid for the NEA directorship.

On June 25th, attorney Terry Lodge, on behalf of several groups (including Beyond Nuclear) intervening against the proposed Fermi 3 reactor in Michigan, likewise moved for Magwood to recuse himself from the adjudicatory proceeding (see motion, and affidavit). Attorney Wally Taylor of the Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Committee has done the same in a Fort Calhoun, Nebraska NRC proceeding. However, Magwood has also refused to recuse himself in these particular proceedings.

The environmental coalition is preparing its response to Magwood's intransigence.