The country's top nuclear regulator yesterday rebuffed past Republican criticism that he inappropriately halted a review of the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, and instead he said his priority is nuclear safety.

Gregory Jaczko, the Democratic chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said he is very comfortable with the commission's decision to halt review of the Yucca Mountain waste dump.

Speaking at a roundtable at the agency's headquarters in Rockville, Md., Jaczko also told reporters that he welcomes criticism and debate and that it helps the agency make better decisions.

"I think congressional oversight is good for this agency," he said. "We are in an important position for the American people to ensure safety of the facilities we regulate. I welcome debate, I welcome discussion, I welcome criticism."

Jaczko has come under fire from several Republican lawmakers and a handful of high-ranking NRC employees in recent months for halting the agency's review of DOE's application to build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Obama administration has fully abandoned the repository and cut funding for NRC's review.

An inspector general's report this summer said Jaczko withheld information from other commissioners in an effort to influence their decision on closing the dump (Greenwire, June 10). Republicans also accused Jaczko, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) who opposes the project, of halting the review for political reasons.

But Jaczko said he acted consistent with the law and provided information "accurately and correctly" to his colleagues before making any decisions.

Stopping the agency's review was an "emotional decision" for many NRC staffers that invested years on the project, he said. "That's always difficult to move on, to put that work behind," he said. "In the end, the agency did its job."

But Republicans are closely eyeing interactions within the commission, and next week the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing to probe whether fissures have developed among members of NRC.

Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has invited all commission members to testify at a Dec. 14 hearing before his panel and has said the panel will discuss Yucca Mountain and the agency's response to Japan's Fukushima crisis.

Safety agenda

Even so, Jaczko said his focus is on the safety of the current operating fleet and working within a tight financial landscape.

The chairman said limited staffing and resources at NRC could slow reviews of license renewals for new plants.

He also said he is concerned some plant operators are becoming complacent only nine months after Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex was hit with a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami.

NRC has approved a handful of safety recommendations aimed at making the country's 104 nuclear power plants safer in response to Japan's crisis. In October, the commission ordered its staff to begin taking actions to protect plants against extreme disasters and set a 2016 goal for completing most measures.

Although there was disagreement among the commissioners on how quickly the safety proposals should be implemented, Jaczko said he's pleased with the agency's action and that public debate is a healthy sign. "I don't think that a commission that simply agreed on these things would be the sign of a healthy commission," he said.

Jaczko also expressed concern about a number of incidents at nuclear power plants that may indicate decline in performance, namely from human error. Improper planning led to workers at plants in Ohio and Missouri almost to being exposed to significant radiation levels, while three other plants were shut down for an extended period of time, he said.

"It was an indication there are some things out there that we want to keep an eye on," Jaczko said. "We're not seeing immediately true declines in performance."