Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to William Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), regarding allegations that the Agency may not be fulfilling its obligations to support the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in timely reviewing the safety requirements for decommissioning nuclear power plants.

"Any attempt for federal agencies to circumvent their mandated responsibilities is unacceptable, especially when their actions, or lack thereof, affect a crucial portion of our nation's energy production and unfairly prejudice rate payers and utility owners," said Vitter. "I urge FEMA to continue reviewing exemption requests in a timely manner so that the NRC can move forward with safety and security decisions for decommissioning reactors."

Recently, Vitter obtained new information alleging that FEMA has delayed evaluations of one or more exemption requests by licensees who are in the process of permanently shutting down nuclear plants, likely as a result of unofficial requests by congressional staff members. In the letter, Vitter requests correspondence and records between FEMA, NRC, and congressional offices related to exemption requests.

Click here to read today's letter.

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