nuclear-news

Revolving door for job between US Department of Energy and nuclear corporation

Critics view former DOE official’s $1.7 million job at uranium-enriching corporation with concern, Daily Kos, 16 Mar 15  by Meteor Blades  It’s another story of the revolving-door between the corporate world and high-level government officials. But this one about the uranium enrichment company—Centrus Energy Corp.—is unique.

For nearly five years Dan Poneman was deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and as acting secretary before Ernest Moniz got the post. Effectively, he was the department’s chief operating officer. During that time, DOE directed hundreds of millions of dollars to the struggling Centrus, which was then called the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). The company emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy just last September.

Later this month Poneman, who left DOE in October, will take over as president and CEO for an annual paycheck of $1.7 million. That has disturbed some people:

Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said Poneman’s move is one of the most glaring examples of the revolving door he has seen. The move also shows that the government’s decision to privatize the company in the 1990s—spinning the company off from DOE—has failed, he said.”This doesn’t really pass the smell test,” he said. “You’re putting a top former government official in charge of the company; it’s safe to say his appointment as CEO is all about maximizing their influence with key federal officials for all types of federal support.”

……..in 2009, the government said it wouldn’t provide a $2 billion loan guarantee to USEC because the proposed plant had technological issues and was not ready to go fully operational. That, plus the move away from nuclear power in some countries because of the Fukishima reactor meltdowns, caused the market for concentrated uranium to contract and USEC’s stock price plunged. The bankruptcy filing followed.

And then there was a Government Accountability Office report that concluded DOE had violated the law several times when it arranged four uranium transfers in 2012 and 2013 to bolster USEC. DOE argued the GAO had got the law wrong.

Last September, the company emerged from bankruptcy with its new name—Centrus—and a bland branding slogan: “Fueling the future of nuclear power.” Last week, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) sent a letter to Secretary Moniz, reminding him of the transfers and asking for more transparency in such matters in the future: He also wrote:

DOE has long had an improper relationship with USEC. Mr. Poneman’s appointment as President and CEO only promises to make that record worse. His appointment to the Board of Directors of the Traxys Group, the sales agent for the current recipient of publicly-owned uranium, is also troubling. For these reasons, I ask that you conduct a rulemaking, with full notice and public comment, before authorizing all future sales or transfers of uranium. Only by adhering to the transparency and accountability requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act will DOE be able to restore confidence in its management of publicly-owned uranium.”

On the barbs being addressed at him and Centrus, Poneman says:

“It’s got to operate successfully on its own two feet as a viable commercial operation to get away from the perception that it’s running to the government all the time,” he said.

Given the volatility of the business he’s in, that could be a tall order.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO METEOR BLADES ON MON MAR 16, 2015  HTTP://WWW.DAILYKOS.COM/STORY/2015/03/16/1371313/-CRITICS-VIEW-FORMER-DOE-OFFICIAL-S-TOP-POSITION-AT-URANIUM-ENRICHMENT-COMPANY-WITH-CONCERN?UTM_SOURCE=FEEDBURNER&UTM_MEDIUM=FEED&UTM_CAMPAIGN=FEED%3A+DAILYKOS%2FINDEX+%28DAILY+KOS%29&UTM_CONTENT=ICEROCKET+BLOG+SEARCH#

March 18, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA