Is Gregory Jaczko US Public Enemy # 1?

Messrs. Obama and Reid teamed up to elevate Gregory Jaczko to chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the nation's independent regulator. Mr. Jaczko was anything but a neutral designee, having served for years on the staffs of both Mr. Reid and Massachusetts' antinuke Rep. Edward Markey. As a Reid adviser, Mr. Jaczko headed up opposition to Yucca. The clear intent in making him chairman was to ensure Yucca's demise. _WSJ

But Jaczko was meant to kill all new nuclear power, not just the Yucca Mountain repository.

Image via WSJ
Gregory Jaczko is Obama's Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman. He is also the #1 enemy of safe, new, advanced nuclear power in the US. This means that Mr. Jaczko is the enemy of an abundant and clean future for the US, which places him rather close to the top position as public enemy # 1 in the US. Of course, he would have to compete with a number of other Obama administration officials, including the top dog himself.

Mr. Jazcko has been unilaterally closing down agency work on Yucca, even as the Energy Department's actions remain in adjudication. He's overridden fellow commissioners on Yucca decisions. He recently gave himself extraordinary emergency powers in the wake of the Japanese nuclear incident—without informing fellow commissioners or Congress. Mr. Jaczko has yet to make clear whether those powers are ongoing, when they will cease, or what actions he's taken with them.

All of this has inspired a revolt among agency staff and commissioners, and it's undermining the body's other work. Only this week, the NRC's inspector general finished an investigation into the chairman's actions. Mr. Jaczko claims the report vindicates him (though he refuses to release the report). House Energy and Commerce Republicans have their own copy (which they intend to release), and they'll be telling a starkly different story come Tuesday, when they hold a hearing on the report's gory details _WSJ

Brian Wang presents more details on how Obama's NRC is obstructing the licensing and permitting of new nuclear designs:

The NRC has over $1 billion per year in budget and over 3000 staff (charts below). Not only is the US not competing with China in building new reactors but the paperwork of its regulations continues to slow it down from even basic operations. The NRC also collects $200 an hour from utilities to cover the costs of license reviews. _Much more w/graphs atNextBigFuture

The NRC charges hundreds of millions of dollars for licensing new designs -- which eliminates all entries but the ones with the deepest pockets. Of course, those with close ties to the Obama administration -- such as General Electric -- receive priority treatment. But even in such cases of cronies, the NRC tends to drag its feet. Such bureaucratic foot dragging often means billions of dollars in extra expenses for nuclear projects -- often enough to break the project entirely.

Jaczko is costing the US dearly in energy, jobs, GDP, and future prospects. He is a man to be despised and held in contempt, for what he has done and what he continues to do. Yet he is but one of many powerful obstructionists and energy starvationists who has taken up residence in the Obama regime.

If US voters cannot find it within themselves to clean out this nest of rats in 2012, future prospects for the US will grow much dimmer, and very quickly.

Cross-posted from Al Fin Energy blog.

More: Nuclear advocate, blogger, and engineer Rod Adams demands that the NRC be audited

Gregory Jaczko is making implausible excuses for lack of productivity under his leadership at the NRC.