Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
3/27/2015
Another lawmaker raised concerns this week regarding former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman’s new position as CEO of Centrus Energy Corp., as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned Poneman’s potential influence on Department of Energy staff. Earlier this month the uranium enrichment firm, which under its previous name USEC received substantial support from DOE, announced Poneman would serve as its new CEO and president. “He was heavily involved in decisions to keep USEC afloat, particularly when that’s just what was being done,” Feinstein said at a Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. She added: “I understand there are goals and restrictions on Mr. Poneman relative to his contact with DOE for the balance of this Administration, but this seems to ignore his potential influence with career bureaucrats.”
Poneman stepped down as Deputy Energy Secretary in October, and as part of the restrictions holding over from his DOE post he is barred for two years on interacting with DOE. Centrus is pinning its hopes for future revenue on the American Centrifuge technology, which the company is currently maintaining through a subcontract to Oak Ridge National Laboratory under a DOE program. Feinstein asked Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz at the hearing this week: “I’m really less concerned about the optics for Mr. Poneman than I am for the Department. Given Mr. Poneman’s direct role in advancing USEC, how can anyone fully trust a DOE or contractor decision that benefits Centrus?”
Moniz: Poneman Had ‘Refresher Course’ on Restrictions
The newly minted Centrus executive, who officially started the job this week, had a “refresher course” on restrictions regarding interaction with government officials, Moniz replied. “We have also made sure to distribute those guidelines to those in the Department. We will certainly try to adhere absolutely to that wall as called for in those restrictions,” he said. “We will be having to make some difficult decisions going forward, you mentioned the [American Centrifuge Plant], that’s an area where combining our enrichment and tritium studies will be coming back to the Congress soon and it will have broad implications for the future of the project.”
Feinstein’s comments come after Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) first raised concern about Poneman’s appointment earlier this month. “Under Mr. Poneman, the Department of Energy gave away significant quantities of publicly-owned uranium for the benefit of USEC,” Barrasso said in a March 12 letter to Moniz. “Centrus’ announcement epitomizes the inappropriate and legally questionable relationship that DOE has had with this private company.” Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) have also asked questions about Poneman’s post.
Centrus has maintained that Poneman will comply with all applicable restrictions on interactions with government officials. “Poneman has stated repeatedly that he and the company will fully comply with all applicable post-employment restrictions and government ethics requirements,” Centrus spokesman Jeremy Derryberry said earlier this month. “This will not be an issue; he was not hired to conduct government relations. He was hired to lead Centrus as it rebuilds its business of delivering nuclear fuel to reactors in the United States and internationally.”
