Senator Boxer Calls on NRC to Provide Documents Missing from Response to Committee's Request for Information

For Immediate Release                                                    Contact:  Mary Kerr or Kate Gilman: 202-224-8832
November 21, 2013                                                          mary_kerr@epw.senate.gov or kate_gilman@epw.senate.gov
                                                                       
U.S. Senate Committee on
Environment and Public Works

Senator Boxer Calls on NRC to Provide Documents Missing from Response to Committee’s Request for Information

Washington, D.C. – Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, expressed concern today that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may have impeded or obstructed the Committee’s oversight activities by removing requested documents and materials related to the ongoing investigation of the San Onofre nuclear power plant from boxes before they were delivered to Committee offices.  Senator Boxer sent a letter to NRC Chairman, Allison Macfarlane, asking NRC to provide the missing documents by December 2nd.

The full text of the letter is below:

November 21, 2013
 
The Honorable Allison M. Macfarlane
Chairman
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Rockville, MD 20852
 
Dear Chairman Macfarlane:
 
              I write to express my serious concern that some documents provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) Office of Investigations may have been removed from the boxes before they were delivered to my office on June 24, 2013.
 
              The documents NRC was supposed to provide me with are described in letters (attached) I sent to you on May 15, 2012, May 23, 2013, May 31, 2013 and June 19, 2013.
 
              When staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reviewed the materials delivered on June 24, 2013, they located evidence suggesting that documents were removed prior to delivery. Specifically, staff found portions of a second index that lists records that do not appear in the boxes delivered to my office (attached).
 
Any effort to obstruct or impede my oversight activities is unacceptable.  Please provide, no later than December 2, 2013, copies of the following documents and materials:
 
The complete version of the second index of NRC Office of Investigations documents that were responsive to my requests,
Each document that was withheld from me that was listed on the second index of NRC Office of Investigations documents,
Any documents, memos, or emails that relate to any direction to NRC staff to withhold documents from me or describe the types of documents that should be withheld,
Any additional documents that have been withheld from me that are responsive to any of my previous requests, and
Any new materials, transcripts or other documents that have been obtained or created by the NRC since May 23, 2013.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Barbara Boxer
Chairman
 
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Nathan McCray
Majority Staff
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510