Holtec International

The owner and prospective buyer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts said this week that the state and a local advocacy group should not be allowed to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license transfer review needed for the sale to proceed. In separate filings Monday with the NRC, power company Entergy and […]

By John Stang Pacific Gas & Electric plans to issue a request for proposals around September for accelerated transfer and storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. Representatives from the utility briefed its Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel on this plan during a March 13 […]

By John Stang With little discussion, the California State Lands Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the final environmental impact report on decommissioning the two standing reactors at the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The three-member panel also signed off on a lease application authorizing decommissioning of offshore components of the plant. The commission’s […]

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

A San Diego attorney is asking a federal judge to force the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to release documents related to investigations of problems related to transfer of spent fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Michael Aguirre, a familiar legal presence in cases involving used fuel management […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

A case could be made for arranging the transport and temporary storage of U.S. commercial spent nuclear reactor fuel without involving the Department of Energy, according to a senior representative for the nuclear industry trade group. However, key stakeholders aren’t tipping their hands yet regarding their positions on such an approach to resolving the decades-old […]

The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday affirmed an adjudicatory body’s decision not to recuse itself from ruling on petitions for intervention in the licensing proceeding for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Texas. In their memorandum, the five commissioners said they concurred with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) […]

For the second time, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved four nominees for senior Department of Energy positions, including Rita Baranwal as assistant secretary for nuclear energy. By voice vote Thursday, the panel advanced all four to the full Senate. A committee press release did not say when the Senate […]

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has requested cooperating agency status in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility planned for the state. Then-NMED Secretary-designate James Kenney made the request in a Feb. 14 letter to the NRC, which was posted Tuesday to the federal […]

Donald Schneider will step down as president of bankrupt nuclear power provider FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) effective Saturday, but he will stay on as executive chairman until his retirement on May 1. Schneider’s voluntary retirement package will include a lump-sum payment of slightly over $1 million, along with company health insurance for 18 months and a […]

An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pushed back an earlier schedule for ruling on requests to intervene in licensing of a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The three-person panel last month indicated it would issue its decision in March. But that was before oral […]

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and a local watchdog organization this week petitioned for intervention and a hearing in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of the license transfer application for the nearly retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. An affirmative decision from the NRC is required for owner Entergy to sell the plant to Holtec […]

Entergy expects this year to select a company that will take ownership of its Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York for decommissioning, Chairman and CEO Leo Denault said Wednesday during an earnings teleconference with financial analysts. Denault did not elaborate on the numbers and identities of the prospective bidders for the deal. He said […]

By John Stang Duke Energy is keeping its options open for eventual decommissioning of its retired Crystal River nuclear plant in central-western Florida. In a request last week to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to release the bulk of the Crystal River property for unrestricted use, the Charlotte, N.C.-based power company mentioned that “Duke Energy […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts could in March receive an improved safety rating from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, just a couple months before its scheduled permanent closure. The Entergy boiling-water reactor plant on Cape Cod has since 2015 been in Column 4 of the NRC’s Action Matrix, multiple/repetitive degraded cornerstone — the […]

By John Stang U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) has announced creation of a task force to study safety issues at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in his state. “Today I’m launching a task force made up of local stakeholders and experts to tackle the enormous safety challenges we face with the San Onofre […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday formally began accepting petitions for hearings and intervention on the application to transfer the operating and spent fuel storage licenses for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. Power company Entergy plans to close the single-reactor plant by May 31 after nearly 47 years of operation. It hopes […]

By John Stang Holtec International argued Thursday that several advocacy groups do not have legal standing to contest the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing of the company’s planned New Mexico interim storage site for used nuclear fuel Jay Silberg, an attorney for the New Jersey energy technology company, made the case during the second day of […]

By John Stang Southern California Edison said Thursday that training and procedural shortfalls led to a mishap last year in relocating spent reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California, but contended there was no danger of a storage canister falling hard enough to cause it to leak out radioactive material. […]

The advocacy group Beyond Nuclear has asked a federal appeals court to order the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to revisit its 2018 decision against dismissing two licensing proceedings for facilities for interim storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The agency erred in kicking the legal question raised by Beyond Nuclear to a quasi-judicial NRC […]

A three-member Atomic Licensing and Safety Board at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to decide which organizations can intervene in the agency review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The board has scheduled oral arguments on the intervention and hearing petitions for Wednesday and […]

By John Stang The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office plans to formally raise concerns about decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission decides whether to allow owner Entergy to transfer its license to Holtec International. “The Attorney General intends … to intervene in the pending license transfer proceeding to articulate … […]

A three-member Atomic Licensing and Safety Board at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to decide which organizations can intervene in the agency review of the license application for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The board has scheduled oral arguments on the intervention petitions for Jan. 23 and […]

The partial shutdown of the federal government has forced relocation of oral arguments next week on requests to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license application for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage site in New Mexico. The oral arguments will now be held at the State Bar of New Mexico in Albuquerque rather than […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to take nine months to a year to complete its technical review of the request from Entergy and Holtec International to transfer the federal license for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The two corporations in November submitted the request to transfer the plant reactor […]

By John Stang Holtec International is philosophically at ease with accepting a pair of potential violations being considered by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but contended Wednesday there was no safety threat in procedural glitches in modifying the design of a storage container for spent nuclear fuel. During a meeting at NRC headquarters, Holtec President […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to take nine months to a year to complete its review of the request from Entergy and Holtec International to transfer the federal license for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The two corporations in November submitted the request to transfer the plant’s operations license and license for […]

The partial shutdown of the federal government appears likely to force relocation of oral arguments on requests to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license application for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage site in New Mexico. The NRC has received its full-year funding for the current fiscal 2019, but federal courts are expected to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing to accept public comments and requests for intervention for its review of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. Pilgrim is scheduled to close by June 1 after nearly 47 years of service. Owner Entergy wants to sell the single-reactor facility on Capd […]