New EnergySolutions Lobbyist Well-Connected Nuclear Regulator

None by KCPW

"Conflict of Interest" Worries Anti-Nuclear Activists

(KCPW News) Nuclear waste disposal company EnergySolutions has hired a top official at the U.S. Department of Energy to lobby on its behalf. The result could mean more waste at the company's dump in Tooele County through lucrative government contracts:

"She'll have an instrumental role in helping us prepare and better understand the work that's available at these different D.O.E. sites," says EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker.

Beginning in April, Jill Sigal will switch from Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the D-O-E to full-time D.C. lobbyist pressuring her former employer on behalf of Energy Solutions.

Anti-nuclear activist Vanessa Pierce of HEAL-Utah says it's the latest example of the need for a cooling-off period to slow the practice of government employees becoming lobbyists.

"There's definitely a conflict of interest when it comes to the revolving door between the industry and the regulators who are charged with overseeing that industry," says Pierce. "EnergySolutions is buying influence by hiring Sigal."

Company spokesman Mark Walker calls Sigal "a very ethical" person. Hiring top regulators and Washington staffers is common practice for big business.

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