The Department of Energy has decided not to have a potential member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) lead its discussions about communications between the agency and the safety watchdog.
In a Sept. 15, letter to the now former DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton, Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said Todd Lapointe, DOE’s deputy associate undersecretary for environment, health and safety, will be the agency’s point person on a potential memorandum of understanding about the board’s interactions with DOE.
A Navy veteran, LaPointe’s prior jobs within DOE have included serving as a senior technical safety manager in the National Nuclear Security Administration and the chief of staff for the DOE’s undersecretary for management. He also held posts within the Office of Environmental Management and was nuclear safety team lead for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant accident investigation following the February 2014 radiation leak at that deep-underground disposal facility.
The appointment is a reversal from Menezes Aug. 26 letter to Hamilton when he tapped Matthew Moury, DOE’s associate undersecretary for environment, health, safety and security, to lead DOE talks with DNFSB over revisions to Order 140.1.
“Following our discussion on Sept. 2 and because of the Donald Trump administration’s July nomination of Moury to serve on the safety board, Menezes said he decided to make the switch.
The Senate received the nomination from the president on July 21 and it was assigned to the Senate Armed Services Committee. There are only a few weeks left in the Senate work calendar, making the chances of Moury getting a SASC hearing and being confirmed by the prior to the November election slim at best.
DNFSB said Order 140.1 would limit its access to DOE and contractor personnel, and records, at DOE defense nuclear facilities. To comply with a law Congress passed last year, DOE revised the order to note than DNFSB must receive “prompt and unfettered” access to defense nuclear facilities within the board’s jurisdiction. However, the revision has not entirely eliminated the board’s concerns about freedom of interaction between its own technical staff, and personnel at DOE sites.
Also in the Sept. 15 letter to Hamilton, Menezes said he wished to “reiterate our gratitude” for Hamilton’s leadership of DNFSB. The DOE under secretary also said he looks forward to working with Vice Chairman Thomas Summers, who is stepping in as acting chairman following Hamilton’s Sept. 12 departure. Hamilton informed DNFSB a few weeks ago that he was leaving the board, reportedly for personal reasons.
The DNFSB has contacted DOE but has yet to schedule a date for the MOU meeting, a board spokesperson said by email this week.
