Holtec International

North Wind Site Services has won an $11.8 million contract to remove the largest building at the radioactively contaminated Luckey Site in Ohio, under the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). In a press release Friday, the Army Corps said the Production Building must be taken out to allow for […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico’s members of the U.S. Senate are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in their state. From Aug. 20 through Wednesday, the federal regulator conducted four webinars on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico’s members of the U.S. Senate are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in their state. From Aug. 20 through Wednesday, the federal regulator conducted four webinars on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec […]

Holtec International is seeking approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a new quality assurance program for its current and future fleet of nuclear power plants in decommissioning. The fleet decommissioning quality assurance program (DQAP) from subsidiary Holtec Decommissioning International would replace separate programs in place at the retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has begun procurement for a contractor to help prepare for a major cleanup job at the Niagara Falls Storage Site in New York state under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army branch ultimately intends to hire an architectural and engineering services provider for the […]

A U.S. nuclear industry group on Aug. 17 highlighted the sector’s track record of safety in pushing back against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) recent criticism of plans for temporary storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in her state and neighboring Texas. The Nuclear Industry Council responded to Lujan Grisham’s July 28 letter […]

The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to interim storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

Decommissioning contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) are readying for removal of large components from the plant’s two reactors, according to a recent update. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) laid out its decommissioning schedule during an Aug. 20 meeting of the site’s Community Engagement Panel (CEP). Right now, SCE and […]

Thirteen nuclear power reactors were permanently retired in 2019, including two in the United States, according to an industry performance report issued Tuesday by the World Nuclear Association. “This is the joint second highest number of reactors shut down in a single year,” the report says. “However, for the majority of these reactors, 2019 was […]

A U.S. nuclear industry group on Monday highlighted the sector’s safety record in pushing back against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) recent criticism of plans for temporary storage facilities for radioactive spent nuclear fuel in her state and neighboring Texas. The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council responded to Lujan Grisham’s July 28 letter to […]

All spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California has been transferred to dry storage, majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) said Friday. The dry-storage pad at the retired nuclear power plant in San Diego County now holds roughly 3.5 million pounds of fuel rods in 123 canisters. Fifty canisters store […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a series of additional webinars to discuss its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned facility in New Mexico for storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. In the document issued in March, staff at the federal regulator said the Holtec International project would largely have […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

By John Stang A New Jersey state judge on July 17 signed a consent order authorizing Holtec International to continue decommissioning of the retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The order nominally resolves a brief dispute between the energy technology company and leaders in largely rural Lacey Township in south New Jersey, home to the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it would extend the comment period to Nov. 3 on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. The 60-day extension is intended to give stakeholders sufficient time to provide input during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The NRC staff intends […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic could further extend its timeline to rule on two applications for facilities in Texas and New Mexico for storage of spent nuclear fuel. The agency’s reviews are now expected to wrap by next summer, but that is subject to change. They are already off their […]

By John Stang Local leaders on Thursday touted the anticipated economic benefits of a planned spent nuclear fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico, while others characterized the project as an example of economic racism. About 40 people spoke during a second webinar to discuss the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts’ court challenge to the transfer of the federal license for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is being dismissed with prejudice, which would prevent it from being refiled. The parties to the petition for review filed the dismissal agreement on June 30 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of […]

By John Stang The Sierra Club plans to appeal a June 18 order by a licensing board at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that rejected its remaining challenges to Holtec International’s application to build an interim used nuclear fuel storage installation in New Mexico. This will send the matter back to the full commission, which has […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing Holtec International to delay conducting a mandatory force-on-force security exercise at the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal regulator issued the exemption on June 18. The document was posted Friday to the agency’s website. Nuclear licensees for months have received expedited NRC […]

Congressman Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said Wednesday he is considering several legislative measures aimed at fixing the federal government’s decades-long failure to find a permanent disposal space for tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste. One of those steps could involve taking the mission away from the Department of Energy in favor of a Nuclear […]

By John Stang A draft federal environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed used nuclear fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico focuses on a 40-year licensing period, and does not sufficiently consider that the radioactive material might remain there long past that point, opponents of the project argued Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held […]

Holtec International faces a criminal probe for “misrepresentations” made in applying for millions of dollars’ worth of tax credits from its home state of New Jersey, a state agency said this week. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority cited the investigation in a June 22 filing for its motion to dismiss a Holtec lawsuit over […]

By John Stang A coalition of environmental organizations on Wednesday petitioned a federal appeals court to overturn a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision against several challenges to a proposed consolidated interim used nuclear fuel installation in southeastern New Mexico. This is the second lawsuit from organizations that say the agency has unlawfully prevented them from intervening in […]

A coalition of environmental organizations on Wednesday petitioned a federal appeals court to overturn a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision against challenges to a proposed consolidated interim used nuclear fuel installation in New Mexico. On April 23, the commission rejected nearly all appeals from several organizations to a 2019 decision by an NRC Atomic Safety and […]

A draft federal environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed used nuclear fuel storage site in New Mexico only looks at the next 40 years, and does not sufficiently consider that the radioactive material might remain there long past that point, opponents of the project argued Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public meeting […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again pushed back the deadline for the public to comment on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s planned spent fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The 60-day extension now allows comments though Sept. 22. The previous deadline was July 22, which was already a 60-day extension from […]

By John Stang Holtec International and Massachusetts signed an agreement Tuesday under which the commonwealth will drop its objections to the already-completed federal license transfer and sale of the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The deal calls for the New Jersey energy technology company to provide additional financial assurances for complete decommissioning of the single-reactor […]

Nominations are being accepted through Aug. 31 for the Southeast Compact Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management’s 2021 Richard S. Hodes, M.D. Honor Lecture Award. Nominees can be individuals, companies, or other organizations that have “contributed in a significant way to improving the technology, policy, or practices of low-level radioactive waste management in the United […]