Stello Is Not the Man for NRC

The tenure of James D. Watkins as President Bush’s secretary of energy has been brief but refreshing. Watkins, a retired admiral who brought order out of chaos at the Reagan Administration’s AIDS commission, has initiated a long overdue review of U.S. energy policy and has dealt forcefully with the alarming problems at the department’s 17 nuclear weapons plants. But Watkins’ record so far has one serious blot that would vanish if he would drop the choice of Victor Stello Jr. to be assistant secretary for defense programs in charge of the weapons program.

In choosing Stello, former chief of staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Bush Administration clearly wanted someone who knew the nuclear industry and had a capacity for cracking heads to get jobs done. Stello may fit those criteria, but his credibility was so damaged at the NRC that his chances of fulfilling his mandate at the Energy Department are undermined before he even gets an opportunity to start. In advance of Stello’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, five Democratic senators distributed a letter urging President Bush to withdraw the Stello nomination. The senators, including California’s Alan Cranston and Nevada’s Richard Bryan, said that even if Stello is confirmed, the controversy surrounding him would critically impair his ability to run the department’s weapons program. They are correct.

During his time at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Stello became embroiled in several curious controversies and exhibited questionable behavior for a regulator of such a sensitive industry. In one instance, he approved a $6,000 cash payment to a former utility company worker to obtain information that would imply dereliction of duty on the part of another high NRC staff official. The propriety of the payment has been under investigation in Congress. A Senate subcommittee reported that the affair appeared to be motivated as much by “personal and professional animosity” as by safety concerns. Rep. Peter H. Kostmayer (D-Pa.) claimed that Stello’s testimony before the Senate on the payment matter contradicted what he told a House subcommittee. The House subcommittee staff said the payment was part of “a wasteful investigation with revenge the primary motive.”

As head of the NRC investigation of the Three Mile Island accident, Stello was accused of failing to pursue allegations that TMI operators had falsified cooling system leak rates to keep the reactor running and of withholding information about the severity of the accident. Critics have brought other claims of Stello’s alleged interference in NRC safety enforcement.

Not all of the claims have been substantiated. But this critical job demands an appointee who is above any such suspicion, a person with unimpeachable credibility. Adm. Watkins would do well to renew his search for such a person.