Whitehouse Taps Kotek for NE Assistant Secretary Position

The Obama Administration late last week nominated John Kotek for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy’s Assistant Secretary position. Kotek currently serves as Acting Assistant Secretary for the office following the former Assistant Secretary Pete Lyons stepping down earlier this summer. Kotek previously served as the former staff director for the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. In that role, Kotek helped form the report that much of the nation’s current waste management strategy draws from, including the emphasis on consolidated interim storage. Kotek will be responsible for implementing the Department of Energy’s strategy for managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes while also overseeing the nation’s nuclear energy research and development programs and infrastructure.