Chris Schneidmiller and Lance Moore
WC Monitor
8/7/2015
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Monica Regalbuto as the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for environmental management.
The DOE veteran will lead the office tasked with managing the cleanup of U.S. nuclear arms operations and government-supported atomic energy activities. She most recently served as associate principal deputy assistant secretary for environmental management, and before that was deputy assistant secretary of fuel cycle technologies in the Office of Nuclear Energy.
“Having served in both the Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Nuclear Energy, Monica is more than ready for her new role at the Department,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in a statement. “Her hands-on experience in all aspects of nuclear waste cleanup and her tenure as an Argonne National Lab scientist have prepared her for the position of Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management. I thank the Senate for approving Monica’s nomination, and look forward to continuing to work with her on some of the most complex challenges facing the Department.”
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) had said in June he would put a hold on Regalbuto’s nomination until he saw “corrective action – concrete action – from the Department of Energy to address” both what he termed as a hostile environment against whistleblowers at the Hanford Site in Washington state and concerns about wasted spending during cleanup operations at the facility. The lawmaker issued the hold on July 20 and lifted it on Tuesday.
“As I said at the confirmation hearing, my concerns were not about Dr. Regalbuto’s qualifications. My concerns were and still are about the hostile culture for whistleblowers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear Site and across the DOE complex,” Wyden said in a statement to Weapons Complex Monitor. “I’m encouraged that the Department has agreed to take steps to address these issues, such as the improper use of non-disclosure agreements. That said, I will be continuing to hold the Department accountable for the safety of workers at Hanford and ensure the rights of Department employees and contractors are protected.”
DNFSB Nominees Also Make the Cut
The Senate on Wednesday also confirmed Joyce Connery and Joseph Bruce Hamilton as members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). Connery is leaving her post as director of nuclear energy policy within the National Security Council (NSC) Office of International Economics, a position she has held since 2012. Hamilton has since 2013 been a consultant to the nuclear industry.
Both nominations were positively reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week before heading on for approval by the full Senate. These nominations were put on indefinite hold last month, which delayed current DNFSB Vice Chair Jessie Roberson’s planned move to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Roberson’s nomination to the NRC is pending approval by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, but her departure from the DNFSB would have put the board below the minimum three members legally required for it to function. With the approval of both Connery and Hamilton, that barrier to Roberson’s NRC nomination is resolved.
The DNFSB will now have four of a maximum five members. Connery’s term expires on Oct. 18, 2019, while Hamilton’s term expires on Oct. 18, 2016.
