The Congressionally-created safety watchdog for nuclear defense facilities was not denied access to any Department of Energy records or personnel during the first six months of 2022.
In a regular update to Congress, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) said July 1 that the Secretary of Energy did not deny any written requests for access submitted during the six-month period ended June 30.
Likewise, DOE did not refuse any DNFSB access requests in 2021 as the two entities appeared to move beyond the turf wars of the early Donald Trump administration.
Last month the DNFSB and DOE announced details of how they plan to carry out a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in February to ensure prompt access to federal nuclear defense sites, records and personnel.
The MOU pledging full cooperation between the agencies is meant to improve the relationship following DOE’s issuance of Order 140.1 during the Trump administration, which DNFSB members complained illegally restricted their Congressional mandate to provide independent safety analysis and recommendations to DOE.
Order 140 had included a provision saying DOE staff and contractors should basically await approval from DOE headquarters before talking with DNFSB staffers.
