Nominee pledges to return ‘collegiality’ to nuclear agency

Allison Macfarlane was happy to comply, pledging to restore "collegiality" to the troubled agency.

Macfarlane, a geologist and associate professor of environmental science at George Mason University, took a step toward confirmation during a hearing at which senators said they were willing to overlook her lack of management experience in order for a fresh start at the nuclear safety body.

Macfarlane, 48, said that if confirmed, she would "devote all my energies to serving on the NRC with the attributes I consider important to good governance – openness, efficiency and transparency."

The Senate appeared on target to confirm Macfarlane, a Democratic choice, by the end of the month, with Kristine Svinicki, a Republican commissioner who has been nominated for a second term and who also faced members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a Macfarlane supporter, struck a deal with other leaders to move the pair in tandem. Nothing that happened Wednesday appeared to threaten that agreement.

Macfarlane would replace Gregory Jaczko, who resigned last month after a turbulent stint as chairman. Jaczko was accused by four other commissioners and agency staff of a bullying management style that served to amplify policy differences on the Yucca Mountain Project in Nevada and nuclear plant safety.

A member of the expert commission that in January completed a two-year study of nuclear waste policy, Macfarlane has said nuclear waste must be buried underground but has criticized Yucca Mountain as a flawed site.

A federal court is considering a lawsuit that could force the NRC to resume considering a license for the Yucca site, but Macfarlane was not asked how she would handle that, and the controversial Nevada project played only a peripheral role in Wednesday’s hearing.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.