NRC 'Coup' Leader Magwood Consulted For Fukushima Parent Company

"WASHINGTON -- Bill Magwood, the man at the center of an effort to overthrow the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and his most likely successor if the move is successful, served as a consultant for Tepco, the Japanese company that owns the Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to information provided by Magwood as part of his nomination and confirmation process, which was obtained by The Huffington Post.

On Friday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) released a letter signed by Magwood and three other commissioners attacking the panel's chairman, Gregory Jaczko, setting off a firestorm in the energy industry. Issa and the four commissioners framed the dispute as personal and managerial, but emails released by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) show a political and ideological battle underway over post-Fukushima safety standards.

Issa and Markey appeared opposite one another on MSNBC on Monday, continuing to debate whether the issue is one of personality or the politics of nuclear safety. Magwood's previously unreported relationship to Japan's nuclear industry, via the firm he founded and ran, Advanced Energy Strategies, sheds new light on that debate."

Ryan Grim reports for Huffington Post December 12, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"Dispute Between Nuclear Regulatory Commission Members About 'Organizational Issues,' White House Says" (Washington Post)

"Nuclear Regulatory Board’s Open Feuding Gives Obama Another Energy Dispute" (Bloomberg)

"Nuclear Agency Moving to Tighten Plant Safety" (Wall St. Journal)

"NRC Chief Warns Nuclear Industry Must Heed Lesson of Japan, Guard Against Complacency" (AP)

"Gregory Jaczko Has 'Apologized,' Hopes To Ease Tensions at NRC, White House Says" (Politico)

"White House Backs NRC Chairman Jaczko Against Calls for His Ouster" (Las Vegas Sun)