Clark has served as a member of the ND PSC since 2000, and Clark was President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“NARUC”) from November 2010 to November 2011.   Also, prior to being elected President of NARUC, Clark served as Chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, but he resigned from that position in November 2010.  Before joining the ND PSC, Clark served as a state legislator for District 44 in the North Dakota State House of Representatives and also served as North Dakota’s Labor Commissioner.  Clark focused on a variety of issues while serving as President of NARUC, including pipeline safety.  During his tenure, NARUC sponsored a report on state pipeline safety requirements and initiatives. 

Clark’s Senate confirmation will be undertaken by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  The Committee will likely hold a hearing on Clark’s nomination and may choose to report the nomination favorably, unfavorably, without recommendation, or take no action at all.  If the Committee votes to report the nomination, then the process will move to the full Senate.  In some instances, one or more Senators may place a “hold” on a nomination, thereby delaying or preventing it from reaching the floor for further action.  The Senate then has three options: confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination.  Confirmation requires a simple majority vote.  The last three FERC Commissioners have averaged 97 days to confirm.

A copy of the President’s press release is available here.

Chairman Upton will be splitting the Energy and Environment Subcommittee into two separate subcommittees: 1) Energy and Power and 2) Environment and Economy.  The Energy and Power Subcommittee will be chaired by Ed Whitfield (R-KY).  John Sullivan will serve as the Energy and Power Vice-Chair (R-OK).  John Shimkus (R-IL) will lead the Environment and Economy subcommittee, and Tim Murphy(R-PA) will serve as that subcommittee’s Vice-Chair.  Cliff Stearns (R-FL) will lead the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.

Just one day earlier, Upton also named Gary Andres, a former Assistant for Legislative Affairs to President George H.W. Bush and advisor for the George W. Bush presidential transition team, as the entire committee’s Staff Director.   Also, on December 29, 2010, Upton named senior staff members that will be joining Andres.  Michael Beckerman, a former Michael Conaway’s (R-TX) Legislative Director, will be Deputy Staff Director.  General Counsel for the entire committee will be Jim Barnette, and Maryam Brown will serve as the General Counsel for the Energy and Power Subcommittee.

A copy of the press releases announcing Upton’s subcommittee chair selections are available on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s website and here.  Also the press release announcing Upton’s senior staff is available here.

Upton won critical support from John Boehner (OH) and other senior party members.  Upton has already named Joe Pitts (R-PA) as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, but Upton has said no further selections will be made until the entire Committee meets next week.

The press release from Upton’s website is available here.

Before a brief question and answer session, Senators Scott Brown (R-MA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) expressed their support for LaFleur. LaFleur previously worked in the Northeast as the former CEO of National Grid’s U.S. electric distribution business. All of the past five nominees have all worked in the West prior to serving at the Commission. Thus, Senators Brown and Shaheen were enthused about a Commissioner who would bring geographic diversity to the Commission in a leadership role. Meanwhile, Senator Patty Murray introduced and supported Commissioner Moeller’s re-nomination, noting his experience with hydroelectric power.

During the hearing, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked the candidates to address three specific topics: 1) whether the Commission has authority to allocate transmission costs; 2) whether the candidates supported the current natural gas projects in Alaska; and 3) if Commissioner Moeller could give her an update on a reliability study on integrating wind and other renewable energy currently being conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Both candidates said they feel that the Commission does have the authority to allocate transmission costs, but they were also open to more guidance from Congress on the matter. Both also pledged their commitment and support to learn about the pipeline projects in Alaska and their development. Finally, Commissioner Moeller also reported that the reliability analysis is still being conducted and perhaps was delayed because the issues were more extensive than they had anticipated.

While questioning the nominees, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) explained that in his view there has been a policy change where the states’ roles on natural gas pipeline projects have been mitigated and that he has introduced legislation to provide states with a larger role. To that end, he asked each of the nominees if states should have an extended voice in these decisions and if so, how that can be accomplished. Commissioner Moeller answered that states should have an extended role but was unsure how to formulize such a role. LeFleur stated that she was open to the idea of expanding state participation, especially when multiple projects are being considered within a state at the same time.

A full copy of the prepared testimony of Commissioner Moeller and LeFleur is available at:
http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/Files/20100427101112-moeller-testimony-04-27-2010.pdf and
http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/Files/20100427101218-lafleur-testimony-04-27-2010.pdf.

The Obama administration inherited the NRC with two vacancies to fill, and Dale Klein, Republican and former Chairman, announced he was leaving the NRC as soon as a replacement could be confirmed.  Ostendorff will replace Klein with a term that is set to expire June 30, 2011.  He is a former deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.  Prior to that, Ostendorff served on the House Armed Services Committee where he was responsible for oversight of the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Atomic Energy Defense activities.   Ostendorff also previously served as director of the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy at the National Academies, and served in the Navy where he commanded the nuclear-powered USS Norfolk attack submarine.

Apostolakis is a nuclear science and engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was chair of the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.  Apostolakis’s term will expire in June 2014.  Apostolakis has received numerous accolades, including the Tommy Thompson Award from Nuclear Installations Safety Division of the American Nuclear Society in 1999 and the Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education in 2005 from the American Nuclear Society for developing innovative ways to educate students and professional engineers in the art and science of probabilistic risk assessment.  He also was elected in 2007 as a Member of National Academy of Engineering for innovations in the theory and practice of probabilistic risk assessment and risk management.

Magwood is a former DOE Director for the Office of Nuclear Energy, and he was confirmed for the remainder of a term expiring June 2010 and a second term expiring June 2015.  While at DOE, Magwood created the Nuclear Power 2010 program to promote building more nuclear plants.  Magwood also served as the head of the United States civilian technology program and managed nuclear policy programs at the Edison Electric Institute.  Magwood retired from the government in 2005, but later returned as a contractor.  The Project on Government Oversight recently criticized Magwood for his advocacy of nuclear energy and not enforcing health and safety standards.  However, Magwood responded to the criticism during a committee hearing earlier this year, stating that he would promote safety first.