April 16, 2008

Nevada Senator Harry Reid called on the Department of Energy (DOE) this week to recuse the law firm – Morgan Lewis & Bockius – from any additional work on Yucca Mountain because of conflicts of interest recently acknowledged by the DOE’s Inspector General. “The Department set aside the Competition in Contracting Act to give Morgan Lewis this contract, potentially worth over $100 million, in a closed no-bid process that only involved two other law firms. With inadequate explanation, the Department reversed its policy of excluding from consideration any law firm that represents utilities in spent nuclear fuel litigation,” wrote Senator Reid in a letter signed by the entire Nevada Delegation.

Reid and his colleagues in the Nevada delegation further wrote, “The Department of Energy does not serve a specific industry, it serves the country and the American public. It is utterly disingenuous for the Department to claim that there are no other law firms with extensive experience in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s regulatory process that do not have a conflict of interest. For that reason, we request you to immediately terminate the Department’s contract with Morgan Lewis, and begin a competitive procurement process if the firm’s replacement is deemed necessary to comply with current law.” Click here to read the letter signed by the entire Nevada Delegation and sent to Samuel W. Bodman, Secretary of the DOE.