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88–768 PDF 2015

S. HRG. 112–923 

NOMINATIONS OF WILLIAM C. OSTENDORFF, RICHARD C. HOWORTH AND LIEUTENANT GENERAL 

THOMAS P. BOSTICK 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

ON 

THE NOMINATIONS OF WILLIAM C. OSTENDORFF TO BE A MEMBER 

OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION; 

RICHARD C. HOWORTH TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF 

DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY; AND 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL THOMAS P. BOSTICK TO BE CHIEF OF 

ENGINEERS/COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

MAY 25, 2011 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gpo.gov 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

BARBARA BOXER, California, Chairman 

MAX BAUCUS, Montana 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

BETTINA POIRIER, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

RUTH VAN MARK, Minority Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

MAY 25, 2011 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of California ........................ 1 

Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma .................... 3 

Webb, Hon. Jim, U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia .................. 6 

Cochran, Hon. Thad, U.S. Senator from the State of Mississippi ...................... 7 

Wicker, Hon. Roger, U.S. Senator from the State of Mississippi ........................ 8 

Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ................ 9 

Alexander, Hon. Lamar, U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee ................... 11 

Lautenberg, Hon. Frank, R., U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey .......... 12 

Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming ......................... 13 

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ................. 15 

Bozeman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas ........................ 16 

WITNESSES 

Ostendorff, William C., nominated by President Obama to be Commissioner, 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission ......................................................................... 17 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 19 

Responses to additional questions from: 

Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 20 

Senator Lautenberg ................................................................................... 24 

Senator Udall ............................................................................................. 25 

Howorth, Richard, C., nominated by President Obama to be a member of 

the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors .......................................... 28 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 30 

Responses to additional questions from: 

Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 32 

Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 34 

Bostick, Lieutenant General Thomas P., nominated by President Obama to 

be Chief of Engineers/Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 36 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 

Responses to additional questions from: 

Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 41 

Senator Baucus .......................................................................................... 44 

Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 47 

(1) 

NOMINATIONS OF WILLIAM C. OSTENDORFF 

TO BE A MEMBER OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION; RICHARD C. 

HOWORTH TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE 

VALLEY AUTHORITY; AND LIEUTENANT 

GENERAL THOMAS P. BOSTICK TO BE 

CHIEF OF ENGINEERS/CONMMANDING GENERAL OF THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, 

Washington, DC. 

The full committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room 

406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Barbara Boxer (chairman of the full committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Boxer, Inhofe, Cardin, Lautenberg, Carper, Alexander, Vitter, Barrasso, Boozman, Sessions. 

Also present: Senators Webb, Cochran, Wicker. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. BARBARA BOXER, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

Senator BOXER. Good morning, everybody. The Committee will 

come to order. 

I just want to say before anything else that our hearts go out to 

all the people across this country that are dealing with the most 

extraordinary weather events. I know that Senator Inhofe in particular was just, I was just riveted to see what was going on in 

Oklahoma. I heard the Governor speak, and I just, my heart is 

with everybody there in Missouri and Texas, it is just happening 

all over. So I wanted to make sure that was on the record. 

Senator INHOFE. Let me respond to that, please. 

Senator BOXER. Yes, please. 

Senator INHOFE. It has been a real tragedy. Those of us from 

Oklahoma and Kansas and Northern Texas, they call that Tornado 

Alley, and a lot of the people, I have been in aviation for many 

years, and a lot of people, actually won’t even fly through that 

area. We have really been through it. Three weeks ago, we had another community go through it, just like El Reno in Oklahoma, 
2 

Piedmont last night. My wife was down in the basement with a lot 

of our staff who didn’t have basements. 

So I appreciate your sympathy for our plight, not just us but also 

Texas, Kansas and Missouri, who are having the same kinds of 

problems. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you for your remarks. 

Well, today, we are here to consider nominations for three important positions within the NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; also the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers. We have three esteemed colleagues with us who I 

will call on after I make a comment. We will try to hold comments, 

if we can, until after our colleagues speak. 

So I will just do a quick opening, Senator Inhofe will do a quick 

opening. After our three colleagues, we will turn to the rest of our 

colleagues. 

Is that all right with everybody? Good. 

So first, I would like to say, Mr. Ostendorff, if you could raise 

your hand high, we welcome you. Current commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he has been renominated for a 5- 

year term. We know the NRC is an independent agency created by 

Congress to regulate nuclear powerplants and use of nuclear materials through licensing, inspection and enforcement. By statute, 

they are charged with protecting the health and the safety of the 

American people and minimizing the danger to life or property. 

We certainly know, after what happened in Japan, that the NRC 

is taking steps to do just that. We know that their resident inspectors have inspected and issued reports on the 104 operating nuclear reactors and their ability to address power losses or damage 

during extreme events and following extreme events. The NRC is 

conducting a 90-day review of its processes in light of what happened in Japan. I think it is a good first step. But I expect the 

NRC to take a hard look at current practices and making more improvements to current safeguards. 

I want to quickly say, NRC inspectors have already identified deficiencies at the two nuclear powerplants in California. I want to 

make sure those plants undergo thorough reviews and implement 

the changes necessary, because we have millions of people who live 

within 50 miles of those. 

This committee will hold an NRC oversight hearing next month, 

and we will learn more then. So I do look forward to Commissioner 

Ostendorff’s testimony and response to questions. 

I would also like to welcome Richard Howorth. Would you raise 

your hand? Hello. Mr. Howorth is nominated to be a member of the 

Tennessee Valley Authority. Congress created TVA in 1933 as part 

of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was an ambitious and unprecedented government effort to help a deeply impoverished area. 

TVA’s mandate is to be a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power, environmental stewardship. We know the 

great opportunities for jobs that lie within that mandate. 

We understand TVA may expand its reliance on nuclear power. 

However, earlier this month, one of TVA’s three nuclear plants received a red finding, the most serious, from the NRC, for a faulty 

valve that could have impaired emergency cooling and could have 
3 

risked core damage. So in light of what is happening, TVA needs 

to make sure its nuclear powerplants are safe and secure. 

So I do look forward to Mr. Howorth’s testimony. 

Finally, I would like to welcome Lieutenant General Thomas 

Bostick, hello, sir, nominated to be Chief of Engineers, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps. General Bostick, while 

your nomination is not in our committee’s jurisdiction, I appreciate 

your agreeing to appear today, given our oversight responsibility 

for the Corps’ civil works. The Army Corps is so critical to the people. We know the historic floods on the Mississippi River clearly 

demonstrate the importance of flood control infrastructure. We 

know General Walsh is working 24–7 on that to spare lives and 

property. 

In my State, we rely on levees. In partnership with the Corps, 

Sacramento has invested significant funding to initiate design and 

construction of levees. We have extraordinarily large populations in 

that flood plain. So there is a lot at risk there. The Corps maintains harbors, such as in Oakland and Long Beach, which facilitate 

the flow of much of our Nation’s commerce. Many of the Nation’s 

most ambitious efforts to restore degraded ecosystems, such as the 

Everglades and the Coast of Louisiana, are led by the Corps. 

So I do expect the Corps to play an important role as efforts continue in all these projects, and in California’s Bay Delta. Strong 

leadership is needed. I also look forward to working with everybody 

on both sides of the aisle, for sure, on a WRDA bill. We have to 

get through this matter of figuring out how you write a bill without 

naming a project, when that is what the WRDA bill is. So I don’t 

know another way to do it. I almost call him my co-chairman, on 

issues such as this, we really need to figure it out. We are working 

to do that. 

So that is where we are. It is now my privilege to call upon my 

Ranking Member, my friend, Senator Inhofe. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA 

Senator INHOFE. Thank you, Chairman Boxer. First of all, the 

nomination of William Ostendorff to serve the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, he has served with such dignity in the past, I don’t 

think anyone can find anyone who knows more about this issue 

and this subject than Commissioner Ostendorff. In his 26-year career in the U.S. Navy, he was elevated to the rank of Captain, commanded a squadron of attack submarines and served as the director of the math and science division at the U.S. Naval Academy. 

He also served as counsel for the staff director for the House 

Armed Services Committee, which I knew him at that time, and on 

Strategic Forces and a principal deputy administrator. In his current role as commissioner, he contributes knowledge to the reactor 

operations and nuclear security issues that is unmatched by his 

colleagues. His perspective is essential to the commission’s work as 

it unravels lessons learned from the Fukushima accident and concludes its review of the first new nuclear plant licenses in over 30 

years. 

It is very significant, I think that I could really cut it short. I 

notice that Senator Webb is going to be here to make an introduc-
4 

tion. I also saw this morning, Madam Chairman, an article that 

quoted U.S. Senator Patty Murray, that supports Ostendorff’s nomination, given the full slate of issues pending before the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission. I believe it is imperative that we have a 

full set of commissioners. So he enjoys the endorsement of Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Today we also will be honored to consider the nomination of 

Richard Howorth to serve on the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority. He was a fellow mayor. I often say to my colleagues here, 

you don’t know what a hard job is until you have been a mayor. 

There is no hiding place. So I know what you have been through. 

Today we will also hear from General Bostick. While the Chairman is correct in that technically, it doesn’t have to go through this 

committee, it will be going through the Armed Service Committee, 

of which I am the second-ranking member. We will look forward to 

treating that nomination. 

It is very important, in a challenging time that we have significant water resources needs across the country, and the Corps is 

currently engaged in an historic flood fight along the Mississippi 

River. I commend the Corps for their work. 

Additionally, in my State of Oklahoma, where many important 

water projects, such as the dredging of the McClellan-Kerr Waterway, a lot of people don’t realize that my State of Oklahoma is actually the home of the most inland port in America. So we have 

that dog in the fight too. So we will look forward to working with 

you, General, in that new capacity. 

Last, the Chairman talked about the WRDA bill and how important that is, and what our role is going to be at that time. I would 

like to finally, I have talked to Senator Boxer about this, I understand that the staff has talked about trying to move today’s nominees through the committee in the week of June 4. That is when 

we come back, next week. I would ask, is that the intention of the 

Chair? 

Senator BOXER. It is. 

Senator INHOFE. Good. I look forward to that, and we need to 

keep moving with that. 

I only have two other things I want to mention. There was an 

article this morning in Politico that talks about the fact that I have 

been wanting to have, there is lots of legislation on some of this 

regulation, I am talking about the Boiler MACT regulation, Utility 

MACT, the cap and trade, the ozone and all these things, about the 

cumulative effect it has on business and industry. It is very significant. 

So I have been wanting to, the article this morning, Madam 

Chairman, in Politico, said I was going to suggest shadow hearings. 

I don’t think that will be necessary, because I think you are looking 

forward to having those anyway. 

Senator BOXER. We are, yes. 

Senator INHOFE. All right. 

Senator BOXER. Come out of the shadows. 

Senator INHOFE. Last, I don’t think we are going to be talking 

about it today, but we are joining together and trying to do something with a transportation reauthorization bill. We have been trying now for a long period of time. The opposition is not really par-
5 

tisan, it is just opposition. We are going to try to overcome it with 

an announcement we are making today. 

I might add that I have several people from my State of Oklahoma who are here and interested in the transportation bill. 

Senator BOXER. Good. 

Senator INHOFE. I told them how closely we work together. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Inhofe follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

Thank you, Chairman Boxer, for holding this hearing. One of the Senate’s more 

important responsibilities is to offer advice and provide consent to the President’s 

nominations. 

The nomination of William Ostendorff to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is crucial, especially as the Commission continues to make important 

decisions regarding nuclear safety. Only last year, he was confirmed in the Senate 

by unanimous consent to serve the remainder of a term, and President Obama has 

renominated him to serve another full, 5-year term. Commissioner Ostendorff’s 

qualifications are stellar: In his 26-year career in the U.S. Navy, he was elevated 

to the rank of Captain, commanded a squadron of attack submarines, and served 

as the Director of the Math and Sciences Division of the U.S. Naval Academy. He 

also served as Counsel and Staff Director for the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and as Principal Deputy Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

In his current role as Commissioner, Ostendorff contributes knowledge of reactor 

operations and nuclear security issues that is unmatched among his colleagues. His 

perspective is essential as the Commission works to unravel lessons learned from 

the Fukushima accident and concludes its review of the first new nuclear plant licenses in over 30 years. The public would be ill-served if politics impedes the confirmation of one of the Commission’s most distinguished members—and the only one 

with significant reactor operations and nuclear security experience. 

We are also considering the nomination of Richard Howorth to serve on the board 

of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Mr. Howorth was Mayor of Oxford, MS from 

2001–2009. In this capacity, he served as chairman of the Oxford Electric Department, a municipal customer of TVA. He also served 8 years as a director and officer 

of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association, an economic development consortium made up of power association directors and mayors of cities in 29 

Mississippi counties in the Tennessee Valley Authority service area. 

Today, we will hear from Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick who is nominated to be the Chief of Engineers/Commanding General for the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers. General Bostick has had a distinguished military career and is currently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army. Although nominations 

for this post are officially in the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee, I 

think it’s important that we hear from him given the importance of water resources 

issues to this Committee. 

General Bostick’s nomination comes at a very challenging time—we have significant water resources needs across the country and the Corps is currently engaged 

in a historic flood fight along the Mississippi River. I commend the Corps for their 

work and I hope that the committee will have an opportunity to learn more about 

the Corps’ efforts in the near future. 

Additionally, in my home State of Oklahoma, there are many important water resources projects—from dredging the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River System to 12 

feet to the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan—that should be priorities. 

In previous fiscal years, the Arkansas Senators and I have requested funding to 

deepen the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System to a depth of 12 feet 

in Oklahoma consistent with the vast majority of the 445-mile-long System. Currently the portion of the System in Oklahoma only provides a 9-foot depth. This 

funding would deepen the navigation channel to a depth of 12 feet consistent 

throughout the System as authorized by the fiscal year Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act which also provided $7 million of operations and maintenance funds to begin work for the 12-foot channel. One billion dollars of trade transportation already reaches ports in Oklahoma through the McClellan-Kerr System. 

Barge traffic delivers $1.3 million per day in commerce to Oklahoma. Deepening 
6 

this channel to 12 foot is not only consistent with the remainder of the System but 

will significantly enhance economic development and job creation in Oklahoma. 

The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 authorized the Secretary of the 

Army to participate in the construction of features identified in the Arkansas River 

Corridor Master Plan for flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and recreation. Based on two independent economic analyses, local officials estimate that implementation of the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan would initially create several hundred jobs. Those estimates grow to creating nearly 10,000 new jobs after 

full construction under the Plan. Implementation of this plan is one of my major 

priorities. 

Improving and investing in the Nation’s water resources infrastructure fosters 

economic growth, creates jobs, and ensures Americans’ quality of life. Earlier this 

year, Chairman Boxer and I signaled our intent to draft and move a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). We understand the need for the Administration’s 

involvement in this process. General Bostick, I hope you will give us your commitment to work closely with the Committee on this critical piece of legislation. 

Commissioner Ostendorff, Mr. Howorth, and General Bostick, I look forward to 

hearing from you. 

Senator BOXER. We do. Yes, we do have some great news on that. 

We have an agreement on a skeletal bill, which I believe is going 

to be very, I think very well received by both sides. I wanted to say 

thank you to Senators Baucus and Vitter for joining with the two 

of us in a statement. So it is a good day for this committee, a very 

good day for this committee. 

It is always a good day when we have our colleagues here. Senator Webb, I understand that you have a pressing issue. Is it OK, 

Senator Cochran, if he goes prior? OK, go ahead. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JIM WEBB, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

Senator WEBB. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, Senator 

Inhofe, other members of the committee. 

I would like to begin by joining you in the condolences that you 

expressed. Our fellow Americans who have undergone all this tragedy with the tornadoes that have ripped through what Senator 

Inhofe called Tornado Alley, heavily in Missouri, where I happen 

to have been born. All of us share in our willingness to try to do 

something to help those communities. 

I would also like to thank you, Madam Chair, for your leadership 

in agreeing to hold this important hearing in a very timely manner, 

just after the President renominated Commissioner Ostendorff to 

serve a full 5-year term as Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, and to congratulate the other two nominees who are 

before you today. General Bostick has done a wonderful job in the 

Department of the Army, as manpower chief. I am the personnel 

committee chair that oversees that, and I wish him the best in his 

new assignments. 

I recently traveled to Japan, and during discussions on a wide 

variety of issues was allowed, actually brought by the Japanese 

self-defense forces up to the Sendai area, and was able to take a 

visual reconnaissance of that area of Japan that was so tragically 

devastated by the earthquake and tsunami and the aftermath of 

that. I would agree with the points that you made, Madam Chairman, that the incident in Japan will require the incorporation of 

a large number of lessons learned that may impact the management of our nuclear sector here. That review, and a host of other 

issues, will require credible and capable leaders. 
7 

I don’t believe we could find a more credible or more capable 

leader with the type of background and skill sets that Commissioner Ostendorff has brought to the NRC. Senator Inhofe mentioned a number of these credentials, but let me go over them 

quickly. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy and Georgetown 

Law Center. He has followed a strong career path, not only with 

hands-on experience in the Navy, but also in the Congress as someone overseeing policy at the Department of Energy, the National 

Academies, and at the NRC. 

While on active duty in the Navy, Mr. Ostendorff served on six 

submarines, including as commander of the USS Norfolk attack 

submarine. He also commanded 1,200 men and women of submarine squadron six, based in Norfolk, VA. After retiring, he joined 

the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services 

Committee, as Senator Inhofe pointed out, serving as counsel and 

staff director, with oversight responsibilities of the Department of 

Energy’s atomic energy defense activities. 

In 2007, he was confirmed by the Senate to become principal 

deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Agency. In 

2009, he joined the National Academies as director of the Committee of Science, Engineering and Public Policy. During the 14 

months that Mr. Ostendorff has served as an NRC commissioner, 

he has carried his integrity, professionalism and good government 

approach to execute the NRC’s principle of good regulation. Mr. 

Ostendorff and his wife, Chris, are residents of Oakton, VA. They 

have three children. Their daughter, Becky is an attorney in New 

York City. Their son, Chuck just left the Army last week as an 

Army captain after two combat tours in Iraq. Another son, Jeff is 

a backpacking guide with the Boy Scouts in New Mexico. 

So I again would like to express my gratitude for your moving 

forward with this nomination on a very timely basis. I believe that 

what Mr. Ostendorff brings to the NRC is going to be extremely 

valuable as we evaluate our nuclear programs in the future. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you so much, Senator. We know you need 

to rush off, so please do that. 

We are very honored to have Senator Cochran here. 

STATEMENT OF HON. THAD COCHRAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

Senator COCHRAN. Madam Chairman, thank you very much. I 

am very pleased to be here to introduce and recommend Richard 

Howorth from Oxford, MS for confirmation on the Tennessee Valley 

Authority board. 

Mayor Howorth has served as mayor of Oxford, MS, so he is familiar with the challenges of public service. But he acquitted himself very well. He and his entire family are some of the finest citizens we have in our State. So I am sure he is going to reflect credit 

on all of us through his service on the TVA board. I am pleased 

to be here today with my colleague to recommend his confirmation. 

He and his fine family are active in a wide range of civic and 

educational interests, the schools, the chamber of commerce, the 

development authority in the region. It is so important to our continued growth and prosperity. So it is without any qualms whatso-
8 

ever, but with a great deal of pleasure and appreciation that I recommend Richard Howorth for confirmation in this important position. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you so much for taking the time out of 

your hectic day to come here for Mr. Howorth. I think you are doubly honored, because you have Senator Wicker here. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER WICKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Madam Chair, and let me say that 

Senator Cochran knows the importance of brevity. I will try to follow suit. I know there are demands on your time today. 

I have a prepared statement, which I ask you to include in the 

record at this time. 

Senator BOXER. Without objection, so ordered. 

Senator WICKER. Let me simply echo what Senator Cochran has 

said. We are both very supportive of this nomination. TVA is very 

important to the economy, not just the power generating part of it, 

but the job creating part, very important to the economy of our 

State. As a matter of fact, my home town of Tupelo is known as 

the first TVA city. Some 329,000 households in Mississippi in 36 

counties are served by TVA. 

So I want to commend the Administration for nominating a Mississippian and a fine Mississippian for the TVA board. Richard 

Howorth is himself a small business person, as Senator Cochran 

said. He was mayor of Oxford for 8 years, and he did such a fine 

job as mayor of Oxford, Madam Chair, that Senator Cochran, my 

colleague, was persuaded to move to Oxford during the administration of Richard Howorth. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator WICKER. Richard understands the importance of working 

together at the municipal level with TVA. He is smart, he is cooperative. He had a wonderful run as mayor, and you will like him 

and you will enjoy working with him as a board member of TVA. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Wicker follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER WICKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

Thank you, Madame Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee on 

Environment and Public Works. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to 

offer my support for fellow Mississippian, Richard Howorth, to serve on the board 

of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. 

TVA is important to all of us because it is the Nation’s largest public utility, but 

it is especially important to Mississippi. In fact, my hometown of Tupelo is proud 

to be known as America’s first TVA city. TVA utilities are located in 36 counties 

and serve more than 329,000 households in Mississippi. Their service area covers 

15,551 square miles, about one-third of the entire State of Mississippi and about 18 

percent of TVA’s territory. 

TVA also has made significant contributions in the area of economic development 

in Mississippi. In fiscal year 2010, 7,300 jobs were created or retained in Mississippi, and $534 million was invested our State by TVA. TVA’s effective partnerships with its customers and communities in Mississippi have helped to produce 

quality jobs and resulted in significant investments in new and existing companies 

in Mississippi. TVA has announced plans for 33 expansion project locations in Mississippi. 

TVA’s innovative programs and financial assistance combine to create powerful 

tools for sustainable economic development that we hope will continue for years and 

years to come. 
9 

Given these facts, Mississippi deserves representation on the TVA Board of Directors. I was pleased to see President Obama nominate Richard Howorth, who possesses a wealth of public and private sector experience that will serve him well on 

the Board of Directors for TVA. As Mayor of Oxford, 1 of 14 municipally run electric 

departments in TVA’s 36-county Mississippi service area, Richard Howorth became 

intimately familiar with the ins and outs of TVA. Earlier, Mr. Howorth served 8 

years as director and officer of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association, an economic development consortium related to TVA. 

It is also important to note that Mayor Howorth is both a household and business 

consumer of TVA power. For 32 years, he and his wife, Lisa, have owned Square 

Books—a wonderful independent book store—on the historic square of Oxford, MS. 

I believe his unique combination of private and public experience will provide TVA 

with an invaluable perspective. 

I congratulate Mayor Howorth on his nomination and I look forward to working 

with him in this new endeavor. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you both so very much. We appreciate it. 

Mr. Mayor, you should be greatly honored. 

Now we are going to turn to our colleagues in the order of their 

arrival. While you leave, we will start their statements, and then 

we will call up our first nominee. Let’s start with Senator Cardin. 

On our side it is Cardin, Lautenberg, Carper. On the Republican 

side, it is Alexander and Vitter. 

STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND 

Senator CARDIN. First, Madam Chair, let me thank our colleagues for their introduction. It certainly helps us when the colleagues from the State in which the nominees are nominated from 

are here to share their personal knowledge of their qualifications. 

I want to thank all three of our nominees for their willingness 

to serve in the public. It is not an easy time, on any of the three 

positions that are the subject of today’s hearing to serve. So we 

thank each of you and we thank your families for your continued 

sacrifice. 

To Mr. Ostendorff, as far as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

is concerned, extremely important position. In Maryland, of course, 

we have the Calvert Cliffs nuclear facility, which is extremely important to our economy in Maryland. As we look forward to a nuclear power policy in this country, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will play a critical role. You come to this hearing with incredible credentials and experience. We look forward to your testimony 

and we look forward to your continued service. 

In regard to Mayor Howorth, again, thank you for your service. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority is not only important for energy, 

it is important for land management and flood control. It is a very 

important agency. You bring to this position the type of experience 

that I think is very valuable for the Tennessee Valley Authority. 

We thank you very much. 

To Lieutenant General Bostick, you are assuming a position of 

incredible importance to our Nation. In the State of Maryland, we 

depend upon the Army Corps for many water projects to keep our 

economy flowing, not the least of which is the Port of Baltimore, 

which is critically important to our economy. I think it is $2 billion 

of the Maryland economy. Critically important. 

We need to get to have the Army Corps focus on the present 

challenges. At the present time, Poplar Island, which is a model 

project for environmental restoration and a site for dredged mate-
10 

rial, has been a very important project that is serving now, I think, 

as a model for other places in the country. I mention that, because 

there are still funding needs to complete Poplar Island, and the 

Army Corps has done an incredible job. But Mid-Bay is the next 

site, and Mid-Bay has already passed the Chief’s report and has 

been approved to move forward. 

The challenge, and I talked to the Chairman about this, the challenge is that this project needs to be authorized through Congress, 

through our Water Resources legislation. The challenge is how the 

Administration is going to help us make sure that we move forward 

with these types of important projects. So during your confirmation 

process, I want to make sure that we have you focusing on how we 

can move these types of projects forward, which are critically important to our economy and jobs, not just in Maryland, but around 

the Nation. 

We also want to make sure that the work that you do continues 

the tradition of the Army Corps to be sensitive to our environment, 

and we will be asking for your comments in that regard. 

So Madam Chair, I am going to put my entire statement into the 

record. I will look forward to the witnesses’ testimony. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Cardin follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE

STATE OF MARYLAND

Madame Chairman: 

Thank you for holding this hearing today. 

I look forward to hearing from the nominees, each of whom is being considered 

for a role that is critically important to the protection of our environment, with implications for human health and safety, economic growth, and countless other issues 

of vital importance to our Nation. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission provides the regulation and safeguards that 

are so crucial to the operation of our Nation’s nuclear system. My home State of 

Maryland is home to one operating nuclear plant, Calvert Cliffs in Calvert County, 

and its safe and reliable operation is of paramount importance to my constituents. 

In addition to providing electricity to millions of people throughout the southeast, 

the Tennessee Valley Authority provides critical flood control, land management, 

and economic development services for the Tennessee River system. Because of its 

wide reach, the TVA’s policy decisions—including with respect to such issues as coal 

ash, coal-fired plants, and mountaintop removal mining—have significant impacts 

on environmental quality in the region. 

I am especially interested to learn more from Lt. Gen. Bostick, who is nominated 

to lead the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I represent a State that is home to a 

number of critical Army Corps civil works programs. 

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the Nation: home to an invaluable 

diversity of animal and plant life and a major economic driver for the entire midAtlantic region. The Corps’ oyster and habitat restoration, shoreline protection, and 

sediment management programs are critical to the health of the Bay. 

The Port of Baltimore, one of the largest ports on the east coast and worth about 

$2 billion per year to Maryland’s economy, is in the midst of a major expansion that 

will make it even more central to the global shipping economy. The navigation channels serving the Port of Baltimore are therefore critical to Maryland’s economic future and that of the Nation. Beyond the Port of Baltimore, Maryland also has more 

than 70 smaller Corps of Engineers navigation projects around the Chesapeake Bay 

and Atlantic Ocean. In Western Maryland, the Corps provides essential flood protection and water supply services in Western Maryland. 

As you can see, the Corps of Engineers is deeply involved in the safety, economic 

well-being, and environmental health of the State of Maryland. I therefore anticipate working especially closely with Lt. Gen. Bostick going forward. 

I want to thank each of the nominees for their time; I look forward to their testimony. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you so much, Senator. 
11 

Senator Alexander. 

STATEMENT OF HON. LAMAR ALEXANDER, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 

Senator ALEXANDER. Thanks, Madam Chair. I want to congratulate the President for three excellent nominations. First, for the 

Tennessee Valley Authority, while most of TVA serves Tennessee, 

it serves other States in important ways, and it strengthens the 

Tennessee Valley Authority to have strong nominees from other 

States. 

I will be looking forward to talking with Mr. Howorth about what 

his thought is about the mission of TVA today, and especially in 

light of the $4 gasoline prices, what we can do to encourage the use 

of electric cars and trucks. TVA is a Federal utility, it ought to be 

a model for the rest of the country. It is astonishing to me that we 

sit here worrying about $4 gasoline when we have enough fuel sitting on the sidelines in terms of unused electricity at night, which 

could power 40 percent of our cars and trucks at a lower cost without using oil. A big utility like TVA ought to be able to do something about that. 

As far as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mr. Ostendorff 

has been twice in the last year to the only nuclear reactor in America currently under construction. That is in the TVA system, at 

Watts Bar. I will be interested in talking with him about his sense 

of the progress there, and the interaction of that with the TVA decisions. For example, TVA has just decided to close some coal 

plants and put pollution control equipment on others. But if it does 

that, where will it get its energy? It will have to come from nuclear 

power. 

So TVA is at the same time a leader in the country on nuclear 

power, a leader in the country on energy efficiency, a leader in the 

country on clean air, because of the number of pollution control devices it will be placing on its coal plants between now and 2020. 

It is important that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have 

strong leadership, people who are not afraid of nuclear power, but 

are not afraid also to ask tough questions about it and make sure 

that our plants are operated safely, as they have been. 

I think it is always important, particularly in light of the tragedy 

in Japan, that we remember that the nuclear reactors that Mr. 

Ostendorff worked on when he was in the Navy, there are 104 of 

them today, there has never been a fatality since the 1950s. There 

has never been a fatality in any of the civilian reactors. We have 

104 of those. We want to keep it that way. So that is why I am 

glad Mr. Ostendorff is here. 

I want to also welcome Mr. Howorth’s family, whom I had a 

chance to meet earlier. 

General Bostick, I thank you for your willingness to take on this 

responsibility. I want to congratulate the Corps of Engineers for 

what in my judgment is an excellent job of management of the Mississippi River during the last several weeks. It hasn’t been easy for 

a lot of families who have been hurt by the flooding. But that 

wasn’t the Corps’ fault, the Corps managed things well and the levees seemed to work at Memphis and apparently in New Orleans 

and other places. Colonel Reichling and others have done a good 
12 

job. I want to thank you for that, because I know the Corps gets 

lots of advice and comments. 

One thing I want to be asking you about, and I hope you will be 

thinking about it, is the Inland Waterway Trust Fund. The Chickamauga Lock is an example. We all ask about the locks and the harbors that matter to us. Chickamauga matters to Tennesseeans. It 

is crumbling, it will have to close in a few years if it is not fixed. 

Nothing is happening there. 

My question is, why is it not on the priority list, No. 1, and No. 

2, why did the Corps walk away from a proposal from industry to 

raise fees on itself to put another money in the Inland Waterway 

Trust Fund to be able to move ahead with very-needed projects like 

the Chickamauga Lock? If the Corps is going to walk away from 

a proposal by industry to basically tax itself, then what is the 

Corps’ proposal for dealing with these urgent projects? 

I want to ask about that when the time comes. But I thank you, 

Madam Chair. I think these are three excellent nominees. I look 

forward to supporting them and to having a chance to ask questions of the three of them. 

Senator BOXER. Very good. 

Senator Lautenberg. 

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK LAUTENBERG, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I want to begin by thanking today’s nominees for agreeing to 

serve our country. I too want to commend the Chairman for mentioning the difficulties in Missouri and along the Mississippi River. 

We send our condolences, and I hope that we will stand up and 

send our services there as requested, when we face that, when we 

have a chance to do it. 

If confirmed, William Ostendorff, Lieutenant General Thomas 

Bostick and Richard Howorth will play a significant role in protecting our country’s environmental and economic well-being. William Ostendorff is nominated, as you know, to be a member of the 

NRC, which is critical to keeping America’s nuclear facilities and 

materials safe and secure. There was a time not too long ago when 

one couldn’t mention nuclear in full voice, because we didn’t know 

what the reaction was going to be in the public. The reaction now 

says it is a vital part of our power production, and we have to figure out the safest ways to do it. 

This mission is always important, but it has taken on an added 

urgency in the aftermath of the disaster in Japan, where the 

world’s worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl is still unfolding. 

Fortunate, there have been few nuclear accidents and few injuries 

here in the United States. But we can’t afford to take our success 

for granted. Today’s New York Times has an article, and the headline there says, ‘‘Risk from spent nuclear fuel is greater in the 

United States than in Japan,’’ so says the study. We will have a 

chance to talk about that. 

This means revisiting the laws intended to keep nuclear plants 

safe by strengthening the NRC’s regulation and ensuring plants 

are all in compliance at all times. It also means doing a better job 
13 

making sure that Americans know what to do in the case of a nuclear emergency. 

In March, I was troubled to learn that when American citizens 

in Japan were told to stay at least 50 miles away from the site of 

the meltdown, in our country the NRC’s emergency guideline required only plans to evacuate people to an area 10 miles from a 

plant. We shouldn’t be sending mixed signals to the public. The 

stakes are too high. This is one reason why it is so important to 

ensure that all the seats on the NRC are filled. These five commissioners are among our country’s most important guardians, and we 

need leaders to fill these seats and to help our country make sure 

nuclear facilities are protected and the public is prepared if a crisis 

arises. 

Safeguarding the public is also the critical mission of the Army 

Corps of Engineers, which builds the infrastructure that keeps our 

economy moving and protects our communities. This includes the 

dams, levees and beaches that shield homes and businesses during 

major storms. We are learning these lessons only too quickly and 

too sharply. The engineering and expertise that the Corps provides 

saves lives. That is why I am pleased to be working closely with 

the Corps on several important projects in my home State. I look 

forward to discussing the Corps’ work with Lieutenant General 

Thomas Bostick, who is nominated to be the Chief of Engineers 

and Commanding General there. 

Finally, Richard Howorth, nominated to the board of directors of 

the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity for 9 

million customers in seven States. What an asset the TVA is. The 

Government owns the Authority, ensuring its goal remains public 

service and not private sector profit. So we have to make the Authority a model for environmentally sound energy practices, using 

it as a foundation to build a cleaner energy future for the United 

States. 

Madam Chairman, I look forward to hearing from all of today’s 

nominees. We have an excellent group of people that are going to 

appear. I look forward to hearing their testimony. Thank you very 

much. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you, Senator Lautenberg. 

Now Senator Vitter has asked that he retain his extra 5 minutes, 

so he will have 10 minutes in the question period. Is there any objection to that? If not, it is fine with us. 

So we will call on Senator Barrasso at this time. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. 

I would like to first thank and welcome the nominees who are 

here with us today, and want to congratulate each and every one 

of you and also want to thank your family members and congratulate you as well. 

I had a chance to visit with Mr. Ostendorff. You have exemplary 

credentials and experience in the field, currently serving on the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I believe it is important, as stated 

by the NRC chairman and by others that the Commission needs to 

operate at full strength. I believe it is important that that be done 
14 

quickly and the American people do not want their elected representatives playing politics with nuclear safety. The nuclear incident in Japan is a stark reminder of that. 

So as the Ranking Member of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety 

Subcommittee, I believe it is vital to have the full complement of 

commissioners available to address the safety reviews of our domestic nuclear powerplants and urge swift confirmation of Mr. 

Ostendorff. 

One of the key qualities for any nominee before us today is that 

they make decisions in a transparent way. I believe that major decisions that have real policy implications on the ground need to be 

transparent. Decisions that impact farmers, ranchers, small business owners, local communities, all need to be conducted through 

the appropriate administrative procedures required by the law. 

When an agency seeks to change or implement rules that will 

have consequences on the public, it must adhere to the rulemaking 

procedures of the Administrative Procedures Act. For example, the 

Supreme Court says there was a limit to the Clean Air water jurisdiction. Congress also said that there was a limit to the Clean 

Water Act’s jurisdiction when it said waters needed to be navigable. 

Well, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers now have issued 

what they call guidance that doesn’t strike any meaningful limit on 

Clean Water Act permitting authority over wet areas of the 50 

States. The agencies have stated that they intend to finalize this 

guidance and then potentially do a rulemaking in the future. 

Now, I disagree with this approach and I believe that it violates 

the requirements of the law. If the agencies want to eliminate the 

limits on their jurisdiction, then they should be asking Congress for 

that authority. However, I doubt that Congress would grant that 

request. When changing a regulation, the Agency should follow the 

Administrative Procedures Act. 

Unfortunately, this Administration is instead making major decisions through guidance. The proposed guidance is intended to and 

will have a material impact on Clean Water Act permitting and enforcement nationwide, and multiple industries and stakeholders 

will be subject to the new criteria set forth by the agencies. 

The response from the Administration to these concerns is that 

this is ‘‘simple guidance,’’ it does not have the force of law, and that 

at some point, there may be a rulemaking. Well, this is a 40-page 

document. This is the guidance document. To say it has no real impact on the ground for folks, I am just not buying it. I think it does 

have an impact. 

The president of the American Farm Bureau stated on April 18, 

and I have a poster, he said ‘‘The proper procedure for putting Federal policy in place is either by proposing formal rules after taking 

public comments into consideration or proposing legislation for 

Congress to consider. This current regulatory guidance effort for 

the Clean Water Act circumvents that process, implements controversial new policy and expands the Federal Government’s regulatory reach without public input or Congress’ authorization.’’ 

I agree with that statement by the president of the American 

Farm Bureau. This is not how major decisions that affect the lives 

of people all across this country should be made. 
15 

I would hope that General Bostick, who is the Administration’s 

nominee to head up the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would agree 

that ‘‘guidance’’ is not how we should be making major policy decisions. I would hope as the nominee moves through the confirmation 

process that we get more concrete assurances from this Administration as to exactly when a rulemaking on this issue will commence. 

I want to thank the Chair and look forward to the testimony. 

Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you very much. 

So we will next go to Senator Carper. 

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS CARPER, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF DELAWARE 

Senator CARPER. Thanks very much. Our witnesses, our nominees, Commissioner Ostendorff, Mr. Howorth, General Bostick, it is 

very nice to see you, General. Always glad when you can come to 

Delaware, thanks for doing that. We look forward to hearing your 

testimony and your response to our questions. 

Madam Chair and colleagues, I am impressed by the technical 

breadth and depth of each of these three nominees and the set of 

skills that they bring to the positions for which they have been 

nominated or renominated. As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, which oversees both 

the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I am especially happy to see us moving forward with Commissioner Ostendorff’s and Mr. Howorth’s nomination today. 

Over the years, along with other members of this committee, I 

have worked with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure 

that we establish a culture of safety in our U.S. nuclear energy industry. In no small part because of the hard work by the NRC commissioners and the NRC staff, we have not seen any direct, as Senator Alexander mentioned earlier, direct deaths from nuclear powerplant radiation exposure in this country in gosh, 50 years. 

However, the events that struck Japan, Alabama and recently 

Joplin, MO, are reminders that we are all vulnerable to unexpected 

disasters, whether they are an act of nature or a terrorist attack. 

While we cannot predict when or where the next major disaster 

will occur, we know that adequate preparation and response planning are vital if we are to minimize injury and death when it does 

happen. It is especially true for nuclear powerplants. 

While I am a proponent of clean energy, my top priority for nuclear power remains public safety. Under this committee’s encouragement, the NRC is currently reviewing our domestic nuclear fleet 

to make sure that every precaution is being taken to safeguard the 

American people from a similar nuclear incident and we anxiously 

await their results. 

I expect and the public expects that the NRC must be a strong, 

independent and effective regulator, a regulator that acts firmly 

and decisively, a regulator that acts openly and transparently, a 

regulator that produces results and is worthy of the public’s confidence. In sum, when it comes to domestic nuclear power, the NRC 

must ensure the Nation’s health, safety and security and the protection of the environment as it pertains to nuclear power. 
16 

Although Commissioner Ostendorff and I don’t agree on every 

single issue, I might add I don’t agree on every issue with my wife, 

but he has shown a commitment to safety and to make the NRC 

a very strong and impartial regulator. For that, we thank him. At 

a time when we have so many challenges in the nuclear industry, 

I hope we can quickly move forward on the nomination process for 

Commissioner Ostendorff and make sure that we have a fully complemented NRC. 

In the past few years, the TVA has also seen its fair share of 

challenges, as we know. Being a Federal corporation means higher 

responsibilities. A few years ago, TVA was not meeting them. Two 

years ago, I called on TVA’s board of directors to change its culture: 

clean energy, conservation and transparency that are needed to be 

a priority, not an afterthought. I felt that TVA needed to be on the 

forefront of new, clean energy, and not a laggard. 

So far, I believe that TVA has stepped up to the plate and met 

that challenge. I look forward to at today’s hearing to hearing how 

Mr. Howorth will help TVA continue on this path. We welcome you 

today. 

I believe all three of these nominees, Madam Chair, fill critical 

leadership vacancies that help provide a vital balance and 

strengthen the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Tennessee 

Valley Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers. I want to 

thank each of you for being here today and for your willingness to 

serve our country in these important roles. 

Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator Boozman. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF ARKANSAS 

Senator BOOZMAN. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member Inhofe, for having the hearing today. 

I want to thank the nominees for their history of service and 

their continued willingness to serve our country. You all have impressive backgrounds and credentials. Mr. Howorth, I have not had 

a chance to visit with you, but I appreciate your willingness to 

serve at TVA and look forward to reviewing your testimony. 

General Bostick, congratulations on your nomination. I appreciate your appearing before the committee. The Civil Works program of the Corps is so important to the Nation. If confirmed, your 

responsibilities in this new role will be great. The Corps has been 

asked to do more with less. I want to help the Corps become more 

efficient and effective. I will support providing the tools and resources the Corps needs to accomplish each mission. I look forward 

to reviewing your testimony. 

Commissioner Ostendorff, thank you for decades of service to the 

country. I am glad that President Obama has renominated you to 

continue your service on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I 

know that you have been confirmed by the Senate twice before to 

important positions, including to serve as Principal Deputy Administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration. You 

served our country in uniform for 26 years. All the current Commissioners have strengths, but you are the only current Commis-
17 

sioner with real-world hands-on experience dealing with nuclear reactors. Your service on the six nuclear-powered submarines and as 

the commanding officer of a nuclear attack submarine squadron 

with eight nuclear attack submarine provides you with a unique 

background. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to operate at full 

strength with five members. This is especially true as the Commission conducts the review of safety at existing U.S. nuclear powerplants that has been ordered by President Obama. Based on your 

experience, background and record of service, I hope the Senate 

will move quickly on your nomination so that you can continue 

your important work. 

With that, I yield back. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you so much, Senator. 

So at this time, we will ask our honored nominees to take their 

seats together at the podium. We will start with Hon. William 

Ostendorff. 

Mr. Ostendorff, do you have any members of your family or 

friends you would like to ask to stand? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Madam Chair, unfortunately, none could be 

here today. My wife is administering special education standards 

of learning in the State of Virginia, so she could not attend. But 

I appreciate the invitation, thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Well, good for her. Go right ahead, sir. 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM C. OSTENDORFF, NOMINATED BY 

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BE COMMISSIONER, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Thank you, Madam Chair, Senator Inhofe and 

members of the committee. I appreciate the kind introduction earlier by Senator Webb. I am certainly grateful to President Obama 

for nominating me to a 5-year term on the Commission. If confirmed, I look forward to continuing my work with this committee 

and with the NRC. 

This is my third appearance before this committee. I am grateful 

for your leadership and oversight commitment to the NRC’s mission. 

When I last appeared here in May 2010, I had been in office just 

over 1 month. Now I have 14 months under my belt, and an even 

greater appreciation for the mission of the NRC. It has been a true 

privilege to serve our country as a commissioner, and I hope to continue to have that opportunity after June 30. 

In the last 14 months, I have worked and closely with all my colleagues, Chairman Jaczko, Commissioners Svinicki, Apostolakis, 

and Magwood, to tackle the work we have before the Commission. 

My colleagues on the Commission bring a diverse set of experiences 

and knowledge to the table. I value and respect their insights. 

The Commission has been involved in a number of important 

issues related to nuclear safety and security over the last year. Together, we have accomplished a great deal. I have cast votes in well 

over 200 matters in the last 14 months as a commissioner. 

Throughout my tenure, I have done my best to adhere to the 

NRC’s principles of good regulation: independence, openness, efficiency, clarity and reliability. I have also strived to get out fre-
18 

quently to visit our regulated facilities. Pursuant to my open door 

policy, I have met with people of all backgrounds and opinions, 

both those in favor of and those opposed to nuclear power. I have 

found that doing that enriches my perspective as a regulator. 

As this committee well knows, the events at Fukushima are tragic and significant. I am fully supportive of the NRC’s task force the 

Commission approved on March 23 of this year. I am fully committed to systematic and methodical review of the lessons learned 

from Fukushima and how they may be applied to improve our nuclear safety regulation. I know that if we need to make changes to 

our regulatory framework as a result of this accident, we will. 

Madam Chair, Senator Inhofe, members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to be here today and I look froward to 

your questions. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ostendorff follows:] 
19 
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Senator BOXER. Thank you very much. 

Mayor Howorth. 

STATEMENT OF RICHARD HOWORTH, NOMINATED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BE A MEMBER OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY 

AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Mr. HOWORTH. Good morning, Chairman Boxer and Ranking 

Member Inhofe and distinguished members of the committee. I am 

honored to have been nominated by President Obama to serve on 

the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. I am also 

very grateful to Senators Cochran and Wicker for coming here this 

morning and expressing support. I appear humbly before you 

today. 

I also want to thank you for all of your welcoming comments and 

the graciousness you have extended to my family. 

Senator BOXER. Would you like to introduce them? Why don’t you 

stand up. 

Mr. HOWORTH. My wife, Lisa, and Claire, my oldest child. 

Senator BOXER. That is very nice. 

Mr. HOWORTH. She came down on the train from New York. 

Senator CARPER. Which is which? I am sorry. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. HOWORTH. As one who has had a lifelong interest and stake 

in the progress of the region where I am from, Mississippi in particular, I must say that the TVA has been and remains a vitally 

important entity. It has a great track record of providing low-cost, 

efficient and reliable power to the many municipal and co-op power 

associations that serve as its distributors and has brought great 

benefits to ratepayers and economic development in our area. 

A recent example of that is the Blue Springs auto manufacturing 

site, which is 40 miles away from Oxford, where I live. Toyota is 

reportedly on track to begin producing its fuel-efficient Corolla 

model this fall, creating 2,000 new jobs in Mississippi. A key attraction to that site was the presence of TVA. 

As mayor of Oxford, the Oxford Electric Department is a municipal enterprise. I served as chairman of the authority that oversaw 

the department. Thus I am familiar with TVA as a municipal customer. As a member of the board of directors of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association, I also had contact 

with TVA’s economic development initiatives and their staff, whom 

I have found to be quite effective. 

I believe both my for-profit and public service experiences can 

contribute to the TVA board’s strength. I started my own business 

32 years ago, with $10,000 that Lisa and I had saved, combined 

with a $10,000 loan that I secured after three attempts to persuade 

the banker that I had a solid proposal. The business grew well over 

time, eventually reaching a point where I could delegate its management in order for me to have the time to lead a national trade 

association, and then later serve as mayor of Oxford, a full-time position. 

The experience of wearing three different leadership hats has 

taught me the necessity of healthy communication with customers 

or stakeholders or constituents, the proper distance a board member takes to a chief executive and staff of an organization, the im-
29 

portance of trust and respect among fellow board members, and indeed, within an entire organization, and the tremendous responsibilities and obligations a Government authority has to the general public. 

I am a big believer in planning, a key component of my mayoral 

administration and my trade association experience as well. Leadership in the trade association involved undergoing major industry 

and legal transitions, which would have proved disastrous without 

extensive strategic planning, an initiative that I chaired. With the 

city of Oxford, we created the city’s first major comprehensive plan 

in 30 years, which paved the way for a robust annexation, historic 

preservation, major infrastructure expansion, the city’s first sustainability committee, and its first public transit system. 

Oxford Electric Department also required attention, enhancing 

technical staff and bringing in a new superintendent who made 

both the field and the clerical sides of the department operate more 

efficiently. Those who know me at home I hope would tell you that 

I have a strong work ethic. 

If confirmed as a board member of the TVA I will be engaged in 

and committed to its ambition to be an industry leader for safety, 

technological innovation, low-cost reliable energy and environmental stewardship. As we face rising demand for energy against 

the backdrop of increasingly extreme challenges that exist in generating power, I am particularly eager in working to make the TVA, 

being the unique public entity that it is, a national leader in conservation. 

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Howorth follows:] 
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Senator BOXER. Thank you so very much. 

Now, Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick. General, if you 

want to introduce anyone, feel free to do so. 

STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL THOMAS P. BOSTICK, 

NOMINATED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS/COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

General BOSTICK. Thank you, Madam Chairman, Ranking Member Inhofe and members of the committee. I am honored to appear 

before you today as the nominee to be Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

I want to thank the President, the Secretary of Defense and our 

Army leadership for this opportunity to continue serving this great 

Nation. I also join in the condolences for those affected by the tornadoes and the flooding throughout the country. 

It has been my privilege to serve the country in uniform for the 

past 33 years. The Bosticks are a typical Army family, engaged in 

military and community service. My wife, Renee, who could not be 

here today, is an elementary school principal in Arlington, and my 

son, Joshua is an undergraduate student in California. 

My father was an Army Master Sergeant and my father-in-law 

a Marine Corps Sergeant Major. So it has been an honor for all of 

us to serve the Nation. 

For the past 18 months, I have served as the Army’s Deputy 

Chief of Staff for Personnel, responsible for 1.1 million soldiers and 

over 300,000 civilians. I had the opportunity to lead the Army’s recruiting command for nearly 4 years, where our soldiers were the 

face of the U.S. Army all across America. I deployed with the First 

Cavalry Division and served with the Corps of Engineers in Iraq. 

I had several opportunities as a young officer to learn at the strategic level here in Washington, as executive officer to the Chief of 

Engineers during the 1993 floods that devastated much of the Midwest, as special assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 

as executive officer to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. These 

diverse experiences have prepared me to lead one of our Nation’s 

most vital organizations. 

If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Congress, the 

Administration, the Department of Defense, as well as State and 

local leaders, to continue executing the important civil works and 

military missions of the Corps of Engineers. The recent flooding 

throughout the Midwest, the tornadoes, all remind us of the vital 

need for the Corps of Engineers. The Corps must be ready to provide assistance to State and local governments in developing integrated water management strategies and reliable inland navigation 

systems. Our Nation’s continued economic prosperity depends on 

these vital infrastructure investments. 

The Corps continually balances competing needs throughout the 

Nation. It has an excellent record of compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act, and other environmental laws. The 

Corps’ overseas construction missions remain vital to our success 

in operational engagements across the world. 

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today and I 

look forward to answering your questions. 
37 

[The prepared statement of General Bostick follows:] 
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SENATOR CARPER [presiding]. General Bostick, thank you for 

your testimony, Mr. Howorth and Captain Ostendorff. Our Chair 

has had to leave the room to take a phone call from our Majority 

Leader. She will be back shortly, she has asked me to proceed. I 

will ask a few questions and then yield to Senator Inhofe. 

Mr. Ostendorff, you served a lot of years in the Navy. You are 

familiar with the idea of a shakedown cruise, on a new submarine 

or whatever, just going out there and taking it out for a spin, 

maybe for months. You have had a shakedown cruise with the 

Commission here. Let me just ask, first, how is it going? 

General BOSTICK. Senator, thank you for the question. I think 

things are going well. An independent regulatory commission that 

brings together five people with diverse backgrounds is a very different situation than one would have when I was captain of a nuclear-powered submarine or principal deputy at the NSA in a single leadership, single administrator role. An independent regulatory commission, by its very nature, I think has a more complex 

decision structure. I would say that my experience so far has been, 

I learn from my colleagues, I think I am a better commissioner for 

having talked to my fellow commissioners. Though we don’t always 

agree on matters of policy or rulemaking or adjudications, I think 

we go into those decision steps better informed and better equipped 

by virtue of our dialogs. We meet every week, at least once a week, 

to talk to our colleagues on their viewpoints and matters. 

I would say that in spite of controversies that have been in the 

news with respect to high-level waste proceedings in Yucca Mountain, that we are getting a tremendous amount of work done in a 

very collegial manner. 

Senator CARPER. Thanks. Madam Chair, would you like for me 

to yield back to you at this time? 

Senator BOXER [presiding]. No, no, you continue, and then we 

will go to Senator Inhofe, and then I will go after him. 

Senator CARPER. All right, thanks so much. 

Speaking of Fukushima, Mr. Ostendorff, in your testimony you 

mentioned the NRC task force that was commissioned with reviewing our domestic nuclear fleet in light of the crisis of Japan. Do you 

have any insights into how that investigation is going that you 

might share with us? What do you think will be some of the main 

lessons we learn from Fukushima? Or do you think our domestic 

nuclear fleet might be vulnerable? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Yes, sir. The task force was commissioned on 

March 23, and that task force was to divide this effort into two 

pieces: one, a near-term, 90-day effort. We should receive the draft 

report of that 90- day effort in the middle of the month of July. 

Then a longer term 6-month effort to follow that 90-day effort. We 

have had three commission public meetings on this topic since 

March 21. 

Some areas that that task force is looking at include the resilience of U.S. nuclear powerplants to disasters, whether it be an 

earthquake, a tsunami, hurricane, tornado, flooding. What happens 

at a nuclear powerplant when there is what is called a station 

blackout, which is the loss of all AC power, and what are the roles 

of emergency diesel generators that are backup power supplies, as 
50 

well as direct current batteries. What are methods to reduce the 

buildup of any pressure in the containment. 

At Fukushima, there were significant hydrogen explosions in the 

containment buildings as a result of overheating of the fuel elements that caused hydrogen gas to buildup. So the task force is 

looking at what are the methods we have in this country to deal 

with that. I will note that in 1989 the Commission promulgated requirements to have hardened vents installed at our boiling water 

reactors to preclude a buildup of hydrogen gas that cannot be vented. That is just one example. 

I can’t say at this point in time where this task force will head. 

We had a report just on May 12, an initial 30-day report, that 

there was nothing to suggest that currently we believe there are 

safety concerns at our existing facilities. But we fully well know 

that there will be a more in-depth look taken across those areas, 

as I just mentioned. We will take actions to enhance regulations, 

if appropriate. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you. Mr. Howorth, could you critique Mr. 

Ostendorff’s statement? 

Mr. HOWORTH. I agree with it. 

Senator CARPER. All right, thanks very much. I thought you 

might. 

Mr. Howorth, as you and I discussed earlier this week, I think 

you know I am very interested in clean air, I think we all are. I 

would like to say that the cleanest, cheapest form of energy is the 

energy we never use. I was happy to see that you would like TVA 

to be a national leader in conservation. I applaud that. I just want 

to know if we have your assurance that if confirmed as a board 

member, you will push the TVA to become a leader in conservation, 

especially in the area of energy efficiency. 

Mr. HOWORTH. I think so, Senator. I don’t want to describe myself as pushing anything when I am neither confirmed nor on the 

board yet. But yes, you know that is where certainly my interest 

and ambitions lie. I think that there is a lot we can do. TVA has 

a tremendous opportunity due to its model, with its customers, 

with its ratepayers, who own the place. There is a cooperative relationship that I believe, and an engaged relationship, that I believe 

can lead us to a lot of initiatives that aren’t so easily accomplished 

elsewhere. 

Senator CARPER. All right. Thanks so much. Madam Chair, 

thanks for allowing me to ask those questions. I will yield back to 

you and Senator Inhofe. 

Senator BOXER. Yes, Senator Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

Let me just really quickly, Commissioner Ostendorff, there have 

been some things in the publications about some discord among the 

members and so forth. Do you want to make any comment about 

that in terms of the congeniality of what is happening in the NRC? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Senator Inhofe, I would be very pleased to 

comment on that. I tried to address some of that in my response 

to Senator Carper’s question as to how things are going. But let me 

delve a little bit deeper into that. 

I have publicly disagreed with some of my commissioners on certain topics at different times in an attempt to be very transparent 
51 

as to what my views are. I have responsibilities to the Congress, 

the American taxpayers to communicate with them, where is 

Ostendorff on this issue. I tried to do that in a professional, collegial manner that has clearly stated my position, at the same time 

being respectful that others on the Commission have disagreed 

with me. 

Senator INHOFE. Yes, and that is really enough said on that. I 

just want to make sure, because it is my impression, I know where 

you stand on issues, I know where most of the rest of them do. 

That is what these commissions are all about, each one to get out 

there, if you all were rubber stamps, we might as well not have a 

commission. 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Exactly. 

Senator INHOFE. So I appreciate that. 

Let me mention to you, General Bostick, we have a concern right 

now for a WRDA bill. We are concerned about that. The Chairman 

has talked about that, I have talked about that. We are concerned 

on that. There is one area there that I would like to, General 

Bostick, address. I see that my colleague John Boozman has had 

to leave, but he was here a short time ago. 

We have been concerned, I think it was back in 2005 that we actually did the 12-foot channel for the Kerr-McClellan Waterway. It 

is about 90 percent 12-foot, but it is 10 percent 9-foot. Now, we 

know what kind of result that is, and that is that it cuts back 

about 40 percent of the capacity that we can have. I would like to 

personally invite you to come out and see this and to understand 

the problem that we have, talk to some of our importers and exporters as to what it means to them. 

Do you have any comment to make about that? Where would 

that be on your priority list to try to complete that as it was originally intended and was authorized just a few years ago to be a 12- 

foot channel? 

General BOSTICK. Senator, thank you. First I will say that it is 

an honor for me to be nominated for this position, and I look forward to visiting many locations. It would be a priority for me to 

visit, to make an assessment and then with the help of the Corps, 

the Administration and the Congress, decide what the right priorities ought to be. I think all of these navigation and port issues 

that have funding issues are something that we as a Nation need 

to look at. The infrastructure has been allowed not to be maintained at the level for which it was designed, and much of that is 

understood by where we are with funding. 

Senator INHOFE. Yes, that is happening, that is also happening 

to the locks and dams. We know the problems that exist out there. 

I am sure Senator Boozman and I would both like to have you look 

at this in terms of priorities. 

There is one other thing that is of a local nature. Our Arkansas 

River Corridor master plan, while the WRDA bill 2007 had $50 

million, authorized $50 million to carry out an ecosystem restoration, flood damage and a few other things, nothing has happened 

on that. There are a lot of people in my area, in the Tulsa area, 

that are willing to come out there and front this thing and start 

funding, putting some of the funding in. The question they always 
52 

ask me, if this happens, can the Corps assure us that local sponsors will get some kind of a credit. 

Have you thought very much about that approach to getting 

some of these things done that are currently just hanging out 

there? 

General BOSTICK. Senator, I have not looked at the details of 

that. But I have thought about my approach in entering the Corps. 

If confirmed, one of the first things I would do is go out, visit and 

make assessments of these critical projects, talk to the local government entities. 

Senator INHOFE. Yes, I can set that up, too. So we will do that 

maybe in one trip handle the Arkansas end of it and then handle 

the Oklahoma end. 

General BOSTICK. I would be delighted to visit. 

Senator INHOFE. Good. We look forward to that. 

Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

Senator BOXER. Surely. Gentlemen, before I ask you your questions, I have to ask you just the boilerplate questions we have to 

do, so we make sure that you can move forward. I am going to go 

down the line and ask you three questions. 

Do you agree, if confirmed by the Senate, to appear before this 

committee or designated members of this committee and other appropriate committees of the Congress and provide information, subject to appropriate and necessary security protection, with respect 

to your responsibilities? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. I do. 

Mr. HOWORTH. I do. 

General BOSTICK. I do. 

Senator BOXER. OK. No. 2, do you agree to ensure that testimony, briefings, documents and electronic and other forms of communication are provided to this committee and its staff and other 

appropriate committees in a timely manner? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. I do. 

Mr. HOWORTH. Yes. 

General BOSTICK. Yes. 

Senator BOXER. All right. Finally, do you know of any matters 

which you may or may or have disclosed that might place you in 

any conflict of interest if you are confirmed? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. No. 

Mr. HOWORTH. No. 

General BOSTICK. No. 

Senator BOXER. All right. You each get an A plus on these. Very 

good. 

So I will start my time now. Mr. Ostendorff, I understand that 

you disagreed with Chairman Jaczko on his decision to use highlevel waste disposal funds for an orderly closure of the Yucca 

Mountain license review under the short-term continuing resolution of 2011. Do you still disagree with the Chairman’s interpretation of NRC’s high-level waste budget, now that we have a final 

continuing resolution that is consistent with the President’s fiscal 

year 2011 funding request for Yucca Mountain? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Madam Chair, that circumstance, if I can just 

expand upon this a bit. 

Senator BOXER. Go ahead, yes, of course. 
53 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Certainly back in the first of October 2010, 

when the continuing resolution for Fiscal Year 2011 came out, 

there was no explicit direction from Congress on what to do with 

the high-level waste activities. At that point in time, I did disagree 

with Chairman Jaczko. We had a very collegial discussion, quite 

frankly, twice on that first day of October to discuss my disagreement, which led me to initiate what is called a commission memorandum, in accordance with our internal commission procedures. 

I issued that to suggest this is a policy matter for my fellow commissioners. I did not receive majority support. I respected that my 

position did not prevail. 

As we have gone down this path, for many months, until last 

month, we had the uncertainty of the CR. Based on the CR that 

we received in the month of April, I understand that is Congress’ 

intent and I do not have any objection to the direction the program 

has taken. 

Senator BOXER. That is a good answer for me. Thank you. 

Mr. Ostendorff, the current situation in Japan has indicated that 

damage to the reactors at Fukushima is worst than first thought. 

It appears that fuel rods in units 1, 2 and 3 all suffered partial 

meltdowns in the early days of the disaster. What is your latest understanding of the situation there? Do you believe the Japanese 

will be able to meet their goal of reaching cold shutdown of all reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant within 6 to 9 

months? 

This is just asking your opinion, sort of friend to friend. 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Sure. 

Senator BOXER. Because I don’t know when I listen how accurate 

they are being, or if they are being too optimistic. 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Yes, ma’am. The information flow has certainly 

changed over X number of weeks since March 11. My understanding, the best information we have today is that unit 1 has 

about 55 percent fuel damage, core melt. Unit 2, about 30 percent, 

unit 3, about 35 percent. Those percentages may change during the 

final lessons learned and the data analysis. 

Currently, there is water being provided to keep the fuel rods in 

the three reactor units, 1, 2 and 3, covered. The temperature is stable. There are concerns and challenges ahead with respect to where 

the water that is being used to provide that cooling, where does 

that water go. 

Because of the problem with respect to discharging that water 

into a tank, these tanks are full. There are private sector efforts 

underway and being planned right now to provide filtering and a 

contamination cleanup capability that is not currently in place. 

That will be critical to ensuring the long-term stable cooling of the 

facility while protecting the environment. 

There have been leaks of radioactive contaminated water into the 

Pacific Ocean. That is of concern. 

Senator BOXER. Just because my time is running out, do you 

think they will be able to achieve this cold shutdown in 6 to 9 

months? What is your opinion? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being for 

sure they can do it, what is your sense of it? I won’t hold you to 

anything. 
54 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Sure, I understand. I am between a six and a 

seven. 

Senator BOXER. OK, thank you, that is fair. 

There has been a series of articles in the New York Times about 

the NRC. One of them basically poses the question, is the NRC too 

close to industry? It pointed to a tendency of plant licensees to 

defer maintenance until serious safety problems develop, and the 

NRC’s reluctance to establish new requirements on licenses. 

Do you think this is a fair criticism? Are there things the NRC 

could do better to give us more confidence? I just speak for myself, 

other people may not share this, but I do have some of these annoying questions. I wondered how you felt about it. 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Madam Chair, I would answer as follows. I 

hear that criticism frequently. I personally have an open door policy, if anybody from industry wants to meet with me, I meet with 

them. If a group from GreenPeace, Union for Concerned Scientists 

or an anti-nuclear group wants to meet with me, I meet with them. 

I think it is important as a regulator to have all the different perspectives that are out there. I do my very best to receive those. 

With respect to, are we too close to industry, I personally don’t 

think we are. I am very confident in the safety and security regulations that we have. I am very confident that we are very open with 

the American public as to how we regulate. At times, I think we 

could improve our communications ability with the American public. That is an area I am committed to working on. 

Senator BOXER. Good. Excellent. Thank you very much. 

So now I will turn it over to Senator Vitter for 10 minutes. 

Senator VITTER. Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to all of our 

nominees for all of your service. 

Because of the Corps of Engineers’ significance to the country 

and Louisiana, General, I am going to focus on the Corps. We will 

see how time goes. But I certainly don’t want to minimize the extreme importance of the other two roles as well. 

General, this is a statement, then I will get on to questions. I 

have one general concern about your background, which is, simply, 

while you are clearly a very smart, very well-qualified engineer, 

you don’t have direct civil work experience. Is that correct, or am 

I missing something? 

General BOSTICK. Sir, I have not worked directly on Civil Works 

projects. 

Senator VITTER. OK. That shouldn’t disqualify you, but I will 

note, since 1900, of the 34 distinguished folks in this position, only 

one other did not have that direct civil work experience. I think impartial observers would not rate that particular leader high in the 

Corps’ history. So I just make that note and urge you, if you are 

confirmed, to fill that void with sort of intense education. 

A lot of what I am concerned about again comes out of our Louisiana experience. In particular, Hurricane Katrina, which is one of 

the two biggest events in the Corps’ history, bar none. The other 

one being the great flood of 1927. Have you had an opportunity to 

visit the greater New Orleans area to understand what happened 

during Hurricane Katrina and to see first-hand the enormously important work that has been done since then? 
55 

General BOSTICK. Senator, I would first like to followup on the 

earlier question about experience in civil works. Even though I 

have not directly worked on Civil Works projects, I served as the 

Executive Officer to the Chief of Engineers during the 1993 floods. 

General Art Williams was the Chief, and I helped him as we moved 

around the country during the Midwest floods, which were very 

damaging, and we lost 47 lives across the country and a lot of 

money in damages. 

So I have that experience, and I have worked at high levels; I 

understand Congress and I understand the local population. 

As to your question about visiting New Orleans, I have been 

down there. As I mentioned, I was the head of Recruiting Command between 2005 and 2009. I came out of Iraq and one of my 

first visits after becoming the head of recruiting was to visit our 

recruiters down in the post-Katrina area. I saw the initial aftermath of the damage there, and saw the great work of the Corps 

and the local community and the country coming together to try to 

help the people in the local area. 

I have not visited since to see the great progress that they have 

made. 

Senator VITTER. Great. A big source of the flooding of the city 

were three what we call outfall canals that go into the heart of the 

city. Are you familiar with the dynamics of what caused those 

breaches? 

General BOSTICK. I am not familiar with the specifics of that. I 

have read up on it and I know that there were some concerns on 

design, there were some concerns on weather patterns, there were 

some concerns on the magnitude of the storm that hit during that 

time. 

Senator VITTER. Well, I guess I am particularly focused on the 

fact it has been concluded that the fundamental cause of those 

breaches were design flaws, not a storm that was greater than 

what it was designed for, but design flaws under Corps projects. 

Are you familiar with that? 

General BOSTICK. I am familiar with the concern that it was a 

design flaw. I have not reviewed the details of the after-action review of that project to see how much of it was design and how 

much of it was a combination of other factors. But if confirmed, I 

think one of the great strengths of our military is that we take a 

look at ourselves, and we are very critical about where we made 

mistakes and what we are going to do to try to fix it in the future. 

Senator VITTER. Great. 

I would certainly encourage you to do that before and after confirmation. Again, I just want to emphasize, this is not a concern 

that it was a design flaw, this is a conclusion that I think is universally shared, that it was a design flaw. 

With that sort of history in mind, do you have an opinion about 

the most important two or three lessons the Corps has or should 

take away from the whole Katrina experience? 

General BOSTICK. As I look at it from an outside perspective, 

first, I think the country responded, after some initial setbacks, 

very well in terms of the Congress providing the authority and the 

appropriations for the State and the Government and the Corps of 
56 

Engineers to react very quickly. Although I haven’t visited that location, I know that a great amount of work has occurred. 

So this country can do anything, and I think the Corps and the 

local community can come together and do anything. The key is to 

have a strong communications plan, a strong plan in how you react 

to disasters. I think looking forward to the future, one of the key 

takeaways for me is our response: how do we respond, both with 

FEMA, with the Corps and as a country to disasters. So that is 

one. 

The second is that I think that our infrastructure across the 

country, we need to look at how we prepare that infrastructure for 

the long haul. Funding has been a challenge, not only in the country but specifically, I think, in the Corps and some of the inland 

waterways that we are responsible to protect. So I think in balancing priorities, as we look at a disaster like Katrina, we as a Nation have to decide where the infrastructure development and 

maintenance for the future will take the country. Most of the 

money in the Corp, currently, as I understand it, is dedicated toward operation and maintenance. There are very few new projects, 

although some are needed, there are very few that can be paid for 

given the current funding constraints. 

Senator VITTER. Let me encourage you to think about lessons 

that we need to learn, including within the structure and bureaucracy of the Corps, because I think there are many lessons we still 

need to learn and incorporate. 

Let me also note a military lesson from history, which is, you always need to prepare for the next war, not the last war. I am concerned that we are responding very well after the fact to Katrina. 

But my concern is, Katrina was the last war, the last hurricane. 

Almost by definition, it is not going to be the next one. I think we 

need to look more fully at other scenarios and what the next one 

could be. Because there are plenty of similar vulnerabilities out 

there that were laid bare by Katrina. 

Certainly in this process, before, and if you are confirmed, after 

confirmation, I would really urge you to visit the area and look directly at both what happened in the past and the ongoing work 

there. Thank you very much. 

General BOSTICK. Thank you, sir. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you, Senator. 

I apologize, Senator Alexander, according to arrival, you were 

supposed to get that opportunity. Gracious Senator Cardin said, 

please, go right ahead. 

Senator ALEXANDER. Well, I don’t want to hold up Senator 

Cardin. 

Senator BOXER. No, he said to go on. 

Senator ALEXANDER. Are you sure? All right. Thank you for your 

courtesy. 

Mr. Howorth, do you agree with the decision TVA recently made 

to close some coal plants and put pollution control equipment on 

all the remaining coal plants by 2020? 

Mr. HOWORTH. Essentially, yes. As I understand it, that was part 

of the EPA settlement. So obviously, it seemed like the right decision there. Also from what I understand, those plants are aging. 

Yes. 
57 

Senator ALEXANDER. Do you agree with TVA’s stated goal to lead 

the country in nuclear power? 

Mr. HOWORTH. I know that that is a big part of the integrated 

resource plan, which to me appears to be an extremely well-considered plan. With the closing of the coal plants, there is going to have 

to be energy generated elsewhere. It seems that nuclear is where 

that should be. 

Senator ALEXANDER. One of the things that astonishes me is that 

we are worried about $4 gasoline, but we have a resource sitting 

over here that is not oil that would power 40 percent of our cars 

and trucks, namely, all the electricity we have at night. With your 

background in local power and now about to be on the board, can 

you think of ways to create a better environment for electric cars 

and trucks in the TVA region? 

Mr. HOWORTH. I think that what you have described is one of 

many projects that could be done. If we perhaps, I don’t know, because I haven’t really gotten into this and discussed it with the existing board, but I hope that we are taking every measure toward 

conservation and efficiency before generating, trying to generate 

more, just more power and using off-peak capacity, do the sorts of 

things with electric cars, like you mentioned. 

Senator ALEXANDER. Thank you. 

Mr. Ostendorff, you have gone twice in the last year to the only 

reactor being built in the United States today at Watts Bar. I was 

there when you were there a month or so ago. One reactor was operating; another one was being built. Based on what you have seen 

in those two visits, is the reactor being operated in a safe manner, 

and is the new reactor being built on time and on schedule? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Senator, I would say yes to both questions. I 

think the Watts Bar Unit 1 operation is being done safely and 

properly. That is the assessment of our NRC resident inspectors 

and our oversight team. 

With respect to the construction of Unit 2, I think that is proceeding in a professional manner. I am not aware of there being 

any concerns from our staff as to the proper quality assurance or 

soundness of the construction currently underway. 

Senator ALEXANDER. Thank you. 

Madam Chair, I notice you are planning a nuclear oversight 

hearing next month. Senator Carper had a good hearing some time 

ago with his subcommittee. I would like to suggest we have more 

hearings on oversight of nuclear power. We have two main objectives here. One is to begin to build nuclear powerplants. Because 

at least half the ones we have are going to wear out before very 

long. We need new ones for that purpose, and to expand. 

Second is to make sure they are operated safely. I think the more 

people understand and hear about nuclear power, the more confidence they have in them or the more likely we are to correct mistakes that are being made. 

So I think hauling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission up here 

once a quarter before at least a subcommittee might be a useful 

way to move us toward a nuclear plant construction program and 

to convince Americans and ensure ourselves that they are being operated safely. 
58 

One last question, General Bostick, and I will make a statement 

rather than a question. I noticed committee members are arranging 

your travel schedule. I will be glad to get in line for that, because 

I would like for you to come to Chattanooga and see the Chickamauga Lock, which if it closes, as it will do if it is not replaced, 

will put 100,000 trucks on I–75, and will seriously interfere with 

cargo shipments to not only TVA and Oakridge, but to the nuclear 

weapons compound at Y12. 

So what I would ask you to do is, one, consider visiting Chickamauga Lock; two, consider whether it is a new start or not. We 

think it is not a new start, since a coffin dam is already built. 

Three, consider the security impacts of the traffic that is moving 

up the Tennessee River to Oakridge National Laboratory and the 

Y12 nuclear compound. 

Then finally, I hope you and your associates will look at the decision last year by the court, it turned down a plan from the industry 

to tax themselves to put money in the Inland Water Trust Fund 

to build projects like nuclear, like Chickamauga Lock, why you 

turned that down, and if you turned it down, what your substitute 

is. Right now, all the money is being spent on a lock in Kentucky 

on which we have already spent $1.6 billion, they say we are going 

to spend $3 billion, there is no money for anything else. 

So the industry is willing to tax itself to provide money for 

Chickamauga and other places. What is your plan? 

Thank you, Madam Chairman, for your courtesy. Thank you, 

Senator Cardin, for yours. 

Senator BOXER. Absolutely, thank you very much. 

Senator Cardin. 

Senator CARDIN. Once again, let me thank all three of our nominees for their willingness to continue in public service. 

To General Bostick, I want to concentrate a little bit. Not only 

do I want to get on your travel schedule, I want to get on your 

travel schedule early. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator CARDIN. I have the honor of representing Maryland. 

That means I am close by. It is very easy to get to where I want 

you to get to. 

So I won’t take any excuses. 

General BOSTICK. I look forward to joining you, Senator. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you. I’ll take that as a commitment. 

General, I want to talk about the Chesapeake Bay, I want to talk 

about Poplar Island, which we are very proud of. The Federal Government has made an investment in Poplar Island which is the site 

of a lot of dredged material, but also an environmental 

restorationsite. Poplar Island used to be an inhabited island. It is 

disappearing within the Chesapeake Bay, and with it a lot of its 

environmental issues of protection and diversity, et cetera. The restoration project has returned Poplar Island to a major asset for the 

Chesapeake Bay and our environment, and also for our economy, 

because it is a site where we have placed a lot of dredged material. 

The next one onsite will be Mid Bay. Mid Bay, very similar to 

Poplar Island, is a series of islands that are disappearing as a result of several reasons. There is the water elevation as well as the 

currents, et cetera. 
59 

Now, the good news for us in regard to Mid Bay is that the 2009 

Chief’s report was favorable. The 2009 Chief’s report indicated that 

there is substantial environmental benefits and recommend the 

project go forward. So we have crossed that hurdle. 

My question to you will be, how do we get the funding for this 

project? Will the Administration be recommending funding to move 

forward with Mid Bay and supporting efforts in Congress to authorize it in the next water legislation? If you are prepared to answer that, I would welcome that. If you need to get back to me, I 

will accept that. But I need to know your position as to moving forward with Mid Bay. 

General BOSTICK. Senator, I would be happy to get back with you 

on the specifics of Mid Bay. In general, I would say that because 

of the difficulty with funding across the Nation, one of the principal 

duties I will have upon taking the Chief of Engineer position, if 

confirmed, is to look at the priorities and to review the funding situation on all of these projects, and then to work with the Administration, to work with Congress and work with the States to make 

sure we are making the right decisions, the best decisions for all 

parties involved. I am committed to looking at Mid Bay specifically, 

and then to come back to you with an answer. 

Senator CARDIN. I thank you for that. 

Let me just underscore this. Keeping our channels properly 

dredged is absolutely vital to our economy, as a Nation. Many jobs 

depend upon our ports being open. Baltimore is one of the largest 

ports on the east coast of the United States. We have many other 

projects that are involved along Maryland channels. It is vital. 

If we don’t plan ahead and have sites for dredged materials that 

are economically viable, it will jeopardize the economy of our region 

and our Nation. So my only point for emphasizing this, it has gone 

through the process. It has gotten a favorable report. We are ready 

to move forward. I understand funding is tight. 

There have been some funds already made available for Mid Bay. 

The Administration has made some funds available. We are going 

to be looking to you to set the priorities, we understand that. But 

I just urge you to understand how critically important this project 

is to our entire region. 

General BOSTICK. Sir, absolutely, you have my commitment. I 

understand the importance and I will look at the priorities and see 

the funding and come back to you with an assessment. 

Senator CARDIN. I look forward to visiting with you to show you 

first-hand the success of Poplar Island and the future site at Mid 

Bay. 

I want to just ask one more question of you, and that is, in 2007, 

Congress established the National Water Resources Planning Policy to ensure our Nation’s water resources projects both are economic, to encourage both economic Development and protect our 

environment. As you know, the Council for Environmental Quality 

is in the process of modernizing the economic environmental principles and guidelines, the P&Gs. 

We are going to seek your input as to how you are working with 

this process to make sure that we do protect our Nation’s waters. 

A lot of our concern is just economic, but also the environmental 

risks involved. I don’t have time, because of the limited amount of 
60 

time we have today, but I would like your input as to how you intend to operate to make sure that we protect our environment as 

well, moving forward with the critically important projects. 

General BOSTICK. Sir, I think it is very important. As I said in 

my opening comments, I think the Corps has been a good environmental steward while balancing the importance of the inland navigation and the ports. I will continue to reinforce that, if confirmed. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you. 

Senator Sessions. 

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

I thank all of you, congratulations on being nominated. I am sure 

each of you will be able to move forward, hopefully with not too 

much delay. 

General Bostick, in your response to your questions and after our 

conversation with you, I am a little uneasy, in that you have not 

been connected to the Corps and its work for some time. Your responses are, I am not familiar with that particular contract or 

background to this matter. These are matter, another question, I 

would inquire about and consider prior to making any decisions. 

Another answer, I understand the Corps must operate on all of its 

projects in a manner that fulfills their authorized purposes. I am 

not familiar with the shoreline management plan for Lake Eufala. 

Well, I understand that, and I understand that you can be a fine 

leader of the Corps. But as you can tell from the questions, Senator 

Vitter and Senator Cardin and others, these matters are often very 

tough decisions that require your attention and ultimately will fall 

in your lap to make those decisions. They have a lot of history behind them and with regard particularly, as you and I discussed, 

and I won’t go into it today, what has come to be known as the 

water wars between Alabama, Georgia and Florida, over the flow 

of rivers that come into Alabama, the headwaters of which are in 

Georgia. 

I guess I will just ask you, are you committed to following the 

law? Will you persist with rewriting the manuals for the Corps, if 

that is not consistent with court decisions and law and contracts 

that the Corps has? 

General BOSTICK. Sir, first let me say that I regret that I could 

not answer your questions more specifically, especially since we 

had a chance to chat in your office. But given that I am the G1 

of the Army, it was difficult for me, not being confirmed, to work 

on the specifics of those questions with the Corps. I assure you that 

if confirmed, one of my first priorities will be to look into the details, and then come back and talk to you. 

Senator SESSIONS. Well, what I would like is a commitment, if 

you would, that you will comply with the law, existing binding contracts of the Corps and the court decisions relevant to the situation. 

General BOSTICK. Sir, absolutely, you have my commitment that 

we will comply with the law. 

Senator SESSIONS. Well, the Corps has been saying they are, but 

they I think eventually had to be reversed by the court of appeals 

court. I thank you for that, and I think that is probably all I can 

ask you at this time and insist on. But it is real important. Our 
61 

Governor and the Governors of Georgia and Florida have not been 

able to reach an agreement. You and I agree the best thing would 

be an agreement reached by those Governors. 

But it is an important issue and they have not been able to. They 

just have not. I hope that they can. That would really be a helpful 

thing. 

Mr. Ostendorff, thank you for your leadership on the panel. I do 

believe nuclear energy has a real part to play in clean energy for 

the future, clean and economical. It is all-American. It keeps the 

costs at a reasonable level. That helps economic growth. It is allAmerican, basically, creates jobs in America. It is not imported energy. It also emits no pollutants into the atmosphere. 

So your position is important. We understand safety is first. But 

if the NRC, through inaction or not paying sufficient attention to 

these questions, delays legitimate progress for plants, it can drive 

up costs significantly and take a program, a nuclear power project 

and make it from viable to not viable. Would you agree with that? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. We have an obligation to professionally and in 

a disciplined manner move through our license applications. I think 

we are doing that now. I agree that we cannot afford to not pay 

close attention to how our process is working. 

Senator SESSIONS. I hope that you will have an opportunity to 

visit the Bellefonte Plant in North Alabama. One of the reactors 

was 60 percent completed; the other 80 percent completed 30 years 

ago. It was the most modern plant in the country at the time. TVA, 

after they finished their Watts Bar Plant in Tennessee, I think will 

be looking forward to going forward there with that. It has been 

on the drawing board for some time. 

So to the extent to which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

can do its evaluation and be prepared and move promptly on that, 

I think it would help us economically in the region and environmentally. 

Mr. Howorth, one of the projects, one of the plans for reducing 

coal-fired plants—is my time up? 

Senator BOXER. It is. 

Senator SESSIONS. OK, thank you. 

Senator BOXER. If you want to stay for a second round, I am 

going to do one. 

Senator SESSIONS. I understand that, fine. Thank you. I enjoyed 

the opportunity to talk with you yesterday. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you very much, Senator. 

Senator Lautenberg. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Madam Chairman, we have to be careful 

with our friend from Alabama, Senator Sessions, inviting him to a 

second round. It could be something of significance. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you, no. This day I have to go, Senator 

Lautenberg. So I appreciate the courtesy. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Thanks very much. 

Madam Chairman, we have these outstanding candidates here 

and each one’s contribution is going to be so meaningful in our 

country. General, you in particular, you are very popular here 

today. We have all invited you over and to come in early and stay 

long. But come and see us as quickly as you can. The popularity 
62 

is serious, because the Corps is such an important element in our 

society. 

But Madam Chairman, there is something I don’t understand. 

Two and two doesn’t make four. This is about the only place, and 

that is, we get requests from everybody here, and we are delighted 

to have General Bostick here. But when it comes to the budget, I 

don’t know that we get the same requests for funding when we are 

preparing budgets as we do when the budgets are in place, and 

when we look at a $270 million cut in the Corps funding, and everybody again, General Bostick, would love to see you in our 

States. I am one of those as well. 

But it is just kind of an anomaly here that we can’t do the arithmetic at the same time we are doing the requests. 

Mr. Ostendorff, I have enjoyed our conversations. There are 

many nuclear plants in the United States that use the same Mark 

I design as the one in Japan, including two reactors in New Jersey. 

Now, as Chairman Jaczko has said, modifications to the design in 

the United States would improve the safety of U.S. reactors. 

But now it appears that the Japanese plant had made modifications like the ones made at plants in the United States. If those 

modifications could not prevent the Japanese accident, how do we 

know our plants are not similarly vulnerable? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Senator Lautenberg, I appreciate the question. 

I would offer that your specific question is one that our ongoing 

Fukushima task force is looking at right now. We had, as Chairman Jaczko has told this committee, we had the hardened vent 

modifications installed in the late 1980’s, in the United States, for 

these BWR Mark I reactors. We are trying to learn more about the 

modes of failure at Fukushima as to exactly what happened and 

why could they not operate these vents. I don’t have an answer for 

that today, but I assure you, that is a key part of the task force. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Thank you. The NRC requires evacuation 

plans only for areas within 10 miles of a plant. But the U.S. Government warned Americans in Japan to stay at least 50 miles away 

from the damaged reactors there. Would it make sense to require 

evacuation plans to address the same distance around U.S. facilities as was recommended in Japan? 

Mr. OSTENDORFF. Similar to the event question, this emergency 

planning, emergency preparedness issue you are raising, Senator 

Lautenberg, is also being looked at by the task force. I will tell you 

that although I was not part of the direct decisionmaking on that 

recommendation for Fukushima, I can tell you it is my understanding that there were perhaps four factors that led to the 50- 

mile recommendation in Japan. No. 1 was lack of information, No. 

2 was concerns on the accuracy of information that was provided, 

No. 3 was the fact there were three reactors that had issues at 

multiple reactor sites, as opposed to single reactor units that our 

10-mile policy is based on. No. 4 was tragically the tsunami that 

killed 25,000 people had also caused significant disruption to communications infrastructure that lessened our confidence in the ability of the Japanese to deal with certain aspects because of the damage. 

I know that our task force is looking at this. We have had a commission meeting on this topic recently. I think we will look forward 
63 

to getting back to this committee on where our recommendations 

are. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. We are anxious to hear from you as soon 

as that can be done. 

General Bostick, the Passaic Snake River Basin in New Jersey 

frequently floods and has received five Federal disaster declarations since 1990. The State, local governments and the courts have 

set the framework for a long-term solution which would cost the 

Corps approximately $7.5 million to complete the reevaluation 

study. 

Now, I would like to know if this confirmation goes as we expect 

that you will commit to work with me and our State to find a solution to the flooding problems in the Snake River Basin. 

General BOSTICK. Senator, thank you. You do have my commitment that I will visit your great State, along with the others. I 

spend most of my life in the Pentagon, so it looks like if confirmed, 

I will do a lot of traveling. I will visit you and I will look at this 

specific project. I don’t have the details of it now, but rest assured 

I will look at it. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Mr. Howorth, TVA has a Federal mandate 

to provide low-cost, reliable electricity. What role should TVA play 

in protecting the environment and public health from powerplant 

emissions? 

Mr. HOWORTH. As a public entity, I think it has a very great responsibility to play that role in terms of ensuring that we are not 

polluting, we are not sending pollution contaminants into the atmosphere or that our nuclear plants are safe and secure. If it must 

be affordable, then we have to be efficient in production and use. 

I think it is a role that TVA generally has satisfied over the 

years and I believe will continue to. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Madam Chairman, since we have been 

here quite a while, I would like to ask one more question. That is, 

what is the composition of the generating components of the TVA? 

Where does the energy come from? 

Mr. HOWORTH. I believe it is about 50 percent coal, 40 percent 

nuclear, 8 percent—— 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Fifty percent coal? 

Mr. HOWORTH. Right. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. Forty percent? 

Mr. HOWORTH. Nuclear. Eight percent hydro, 2 percent other. 

Senator LAUTENBERG. That is close enough. Madam Chairman, 

one of the problems that we worked so hard here, and that you are 

so leaderly in, and that is the question of the environment, how do 

we protect our families from pollution in the air? I would like to 

submit a question now for review by Mr. Howorth after confirmation as to what we do to minimize the pollution that comes from 

50 percent of the coal plants that produce that power. 

Senator BOXER. We have a situation where Senator Paul is going 

to object to any committees meeting beyond noon. That is why I am 

trying to wrap this up. 

I want to say, just piggy-backing on Senator Lautenberg’s question to you, Mr. Howorth, I want you to know that in the original 

Act, which I suggest you look at, because it is interesting, the original Act that was written setting up the TVA, it says, ‘‘shall affirm 
64 

support for the objectives and missions of the corporation, including 

being a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power 

and environmental stewardship.’’ It doesn’t say one or the other. 

So I think the answer is if you don’t do environmental stewardship, then you are breaking the law, not you, the TVA. So let’s be 

clear: we have to do that, you have to do that, you and your fellow 

board members, commissioners. 

I would say this. EPA, and you alluded to this, just settled with 

TVA. They said that their settlement in terms of North Carolina 

air pollution from coal-fired powerplants, that that settlement will 

prevent 3,000 deaths, 21,000 cases of asthma, $27 billion in health 

care costs each year, and it includes $315 million in clean energy 

projects. I laud that settlement. 

But I just ask you rhetorically, you don’t have to respond, you 

are just headed over there, it shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit. What 

is going on with TVA? You should be a leader. I just worry about 

it, because I don’t see it happening. I take a little responsibility. 

I wish I had, frankly, when I took the gave originally, made it a 

priority to talk to TVA more. But let’s just say I am talking to you, 

and I will talk to the others. 

You should be a leader in solar and wind. What percentage of 

power do you think ought to come from solar and wind and geothermal? 

Mr. HOWORTH. As much as possible. Especially solar. I think 

wind is much more challenging. 

Senator BOXER. But what percentage? Because my State has 30 

percent. It depends, I mean, my State has a heck of a lot of sun 

and a heck of a lot of wind, and a lot of geothermal. We talk here 

about a 25 percent mandate, a 20, a 15. Without pinning you down, 

where do you see, between what and what do you think the TVA 

ought to do? 

Mr. HOWORTH. Ideally, I would like to see every house in the 

Tennessee Valley with a solar panel on its roof generating power 

back to TVA, paying the way for the consumers. I would like to see 

perhaps a universal building code, adopt some green elements so 

that houses, that is where we lose most of our money now, poorly 

built houses. 

Senator BOXER. True. 

Mr. HOWORTH. So I think these things are achievable. 

Senator BOXER. I am glad. 

Mr. HOWORTH. You are right, I think it is our business to go 

about doing it. 

Senator BOXER. I think this infusion of new energy into TVA is 

a moment, you could do this. I mean, I am saying to you, and you 

can express my views to your board of directors there, that coming 

from the State I come from and seeing what we have been able to 

do, it is just extraordinary. There is a new announcement of a big 

solar project that is going to power 460,000 homes in the Mojave 

Desert. Now, this is saying no to imported oil, saying no to the 

folks that we don’t want to keep giving our money to. More than 

half of our trade deficit goes to importing oil. 

So you are in a position to do something really good over there. 

I hope that you will question the old ways of doing things. Because 

it is not right for these times. I think in the amazing clarity of the 
65 

Members of Congress those many years ago, saying environmental 

stewardship, it is pretty important, it works. 

The other thing I would say, on the nuclear front, and we do 

have gradations of differences, there is a lot of talk about, let’s 

move forward very strong nuclear, as if nothing ever happened in 

Japan. There is talk about how, don’t slow it down, because it will 

cost business money. How much is it costing the business that is 

dealing with the disaster in Japan? We don’t even know how many 

billions. 

So we can’t cut any corners, and I know, Mr. Ostendorff, you 

would never do that. But I do want to point out, it is really an important issue. As I said, I have more than half a million people living within 50 miles of one of my nuclear powerplants, no, let me 

say, a half a million in one and 7 million, 7 million living within 

50 miles of the other. Candidly, when I took someone aside, and 

I said, what is the evacuation plan, the woman looked at me and 

whispered in my ear, just look at the freeway at 5 o’clock at night. 

That is our evacuation plan. 

So whether it is looking at dry casks, which is very, very key, 

and I am going to send you, if you don’t mind, all of you, some followup questions, because in about 2 minutes, you will be happy to 

know, I won’t be able to talk any more. They are going to pull the 

proverbial plug on me. 

I just want us to move forward in a way that doesn’t ever expose 

our people to what the people of Japan have gone through. It is the 

worst economic hit, it is a horrific loss of people, families, people 

never get over this, what happened over there. So it is something 

I would say, Godspeed to all of you. You have a moment. Look, we 

all are here for a very short period of time, to be philosophical 

about it. Either we are going to just get along and go along, or we 

are going to bring something to the job that really makes an impact. People might never even know that you did it. It might be 

one conversation you have with a fellow commissioner, it might be 

one moment in time that you didn’t meet with someone who 

showed you a new way. 

I deal with this in my work. How can I make sure that I am here 

and am making a good difference for the people, a good, solid difference. I don’t always do it, there are days I waste, there are days 

I make mistakes. But there are some things I do right. I am just 

hopeful in all of you, you will realize this moment you have, this 

short moment. It could be 20 years, it could be 10 years, it could 

be 5 years or a year. It is important, what you are doing, each of 

you, is so important. You have the lives of people in your hands, 

you really do. You have the very lives of people in your hands, and 

you have the ability to make their lives better and bring about economic growth and all those good things, and avert disaster. It is 

all in your hands. 

That is why I am so proud that you stepped up to the plate. 

These are not just unimportant nominations. That is why so many 

of us stayed so long. 

But I will not let the General go by without saying, after you 

leave Oklahoma, you just head west. A little birdie told me that 

you have a son in California. So we promise you your evening will 

be free. We will work you hard in the day. 
66 

I hope that all of you think about what we have all said and understand the great respect we have for each of you and the hopes 

that we have for each of you. We hope that these nominations go 

smoothly. 

With that, we stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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