Budget & Policy

Legislation supporting consolidated interim storage for nuclear waste is unlikely to get consideration in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, a committee aide said Wednesday. The Interim Consolidated Storage Act, the latest version of which was introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in January, would allow the Department of Energy to enter into public-private contracts […]

The United States should continue modernizing its nuclear arsenal while it considers pursuing new nuclear capabilities, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Monday at the American Enterprise Institute. “We need to modernize our nuclear arsenal and missile defenses,” Cotton said at an event on renewing American strength abroad, where he also called for rebuilding the U.S. […]

One of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation technology development programs does not sufficiently track its project outcomes, the Government Accountability Office found in a newly released report. The NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) implements programs worldwide meant to eliminate and help prevent the spread of sensitive nuclear material. DNN features two programs […]

Chris Kemp’s job title at the Energy Department is director of the environmental compliance division at the Office of River Protection’s technical and regulatory support office (“DOE’s Kemp Switches Jobs at Hanford,” Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, Vol. 2, No. 16).

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its proposed fees charged to license applicants and licensees for fiscal 2017. Most annual fees would drop from the fiscal 2016 fee schedule, but the NRC proposed to slightly increase the hourly rate for NRC staff work, from $265 to $267, or 0.8 percent. The proposed rule […]

A highly critical congressional report this week could open the door for Energy Secretary-designate Rick Perry to reverse the Obama administration’s finding that the Energy Department should build a deep-underground disposal site specifically for nuclear waste created by Cold War weapons programs. “DOE did not show that benefits outweighed costs in recommending to the President […]

Nevada’s Commission on Nuclear Projects on Tuesday finalized its biannual report to state lawmakers, which outlines an aggressive strategy in contesting potential resumption of licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The commission was established in 1985 to advise the governor and the Nevada Legislature on radioactive waste disposal activities in the state. […]

Nevada’s Commission on Nuclear Projects on Tuesday finalized its biannual report to state lawmakers, which outlines an aggressive strategy in contesting potential resumption of licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The commission was established in 1985 to advise the governor and the Nevada Legislature on radioactive waste disposal activities in the state. […]

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a series of federal funding cuts that might result in the redirection of a portion of the Department of Energy budget into the National Nuclear Security Administration’s defense programs. The Hill reported last month that Trump’s transition team staffers have planned major funding reductions for the DOE and other […]

One week into his term, President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum that calls for rebuilding the U.S. military and requires the development of a new Nuclear Posture Review. The Jan. 27 order directs the development of a National Defense Strategy, encompassing a new Nuclear Posture Review “to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is […]

The House of Representatives this week approved refiled legislation that would require the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to document the value of its research and development spending. The “Gains in Global Nuclear Detection Architecture Act” of 2017 is identical to the bill U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) submitted last year. That […]

Congressional advocates of the Savannah River Site’s controversial plutonium disposition project, known as MOX, are unfazed by reports that President Donald Trump intends to significantly reduce the Department of Energy budget, saying it’s too early to predict how Trump will handle the project. Multiple news outlets this month reported details of apparent Trump administration plans […]

A highly critical congressional report this week could open the door for Energy Secretary-designate Rick Perry to reverse the Obama administration’s finding that the Energy Department should build a deep-underground disposal site specifically for nuclear waste created by Cold War weapons programs. “DOE did not show that benefits outweighed costs in recommending to the President that the […]

Two weeks into President Donald Trump’s first term, Energy Secretary-designate Rick Perry has crept closer to confirmation in the Senate, and the president’s beachhead and transition teams are laying groundwork to bolster the budget for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved Perry’s nomination by a vote […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is seeking approval from agency headquarters to redirect money not needed for salt waste work toward other liquid waste missions. The DOE facility in South Carolina, like the rest of the federal government, is currently being funded at fiscal 2016-enacted levels under a budgetary continuing resolution that expires […]

An Environmental Protection Agency transition team official for President Donald Trump expressed interest in picking up the pace of cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. Trump tapped Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R) to serve as one of 10 transition team members for the EPA in Washington, D.C.; the lawmaker also is the […]

Nuclear Energy Institute Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick voiced support Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s new executive order curtailing federal regulations in order to increase flexibility for businesses. The so-called “one-in, two-out” plan requires that federal agencies designate two regulations to abolish for every new regulation approved. Korsnick, who spoke on a panel at the United States […]

A Senate committee on Tuesday voted in favor of Rick Perry becoming the next secretary of energy in a mostly party-line vote, clearing the way for the full Senate to formally approve the former Texas governor to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Five Democrats joined all 12 Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee […]

Nevada’s Commission on Nuclear Projects on Tuesday finalized its biennial report to state lawmakers, which outlines an aggressive strategy in contesting potential resumption of licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The commission was established in 1985 to advise the governor and the Nevada Legislature on radioactive waste disposal activities in the state. […]

An Obama-era Energy Department plan to build a dedicated repository for nuclear waste generated by defense programs is full of faulty cost estimates and does not make a compelling case for scrapping The Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada that would store both defense and commercial waste, the investigative arm of Congress said Tuesday. “DOE did not show […]

An article in the Jan. 24 Weapons Complex Morning Briefing should have said Monica Regalbuto succeeded Mark Whitney, who had been acting assistant secretary for environmental management from July 2014 until August 2015.  Whitney succeeded David Huizenga, who had been acting assistant secretary for environmental management for about three years after Ines Triay resigned in 2011.

Congressional advocates of the Savannah River Site’s controversial plutonium disposition project, known as MOX, are unfazed by reports that President Donald Trump intends to significant reduce the Department of Energy budget, saying it’s too early to predict how Trump will handle the project. Multiple news outlets this month reported details of apparent Trump administration plans […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its proposed fees charged to license applicants and licensees for fiscal 2017. Most annual fees would drop from the fiscal 2016 fee schedule, but the NRC proposes to slightly increase the hourly rate for NRC staff work, from $265 to $267, or 0.8 percent. The proposed rule was published Monday […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s legal counsel and new Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki are determining the impact of President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze on the agency. The White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, issued an executive memorandum halting all proposed new or proposed federal regulations under consideration in executive departments and agencies, with exceptions to rules impacting […]

President Donald Trump signed on Friday a national security memorandum that calls for rebuilding the U.S. military and requires the development of a new Nuclear Posture Review. The order directs the development of a National Defense Strategy, encompassing a new Nuclear Posture Review “to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, flexible, resilient, ready, […]

President Donald Trump plans to nominate the Washington-savvy Dan Brouillette, a longtime lobbyist who has also worked at the Energy Department and on Capitol Hill, as deputy secretary of energy, a source familiar with the new administration’s thinking said Thursday. Brouillette, now a senior vice president at the United Services Automobile Association, has spent the past […]

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator Frank Klotz was asked to stay in his current role just before President Donald Trump’s inauguration last week and will stay on until Trump confirms a replacement for the position. Other top NNSA officials, however, have left the agency. “To help ensure continuity in our critical nuclear security work, […]

The Donald Trump administration is reportedly preparing executive orders that will limit or cut United States funding to international organizations under certain conditions. The New York Times reported Wednesday it had obtained two draft executive orders, one of which would cut U.S. funding for United Nations agencies and international organizations that meet certain criteria, including […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not be affected by President Donald Trump’s new federal hiring freeze, as the agency has been under a self-imposed suspension on hiring for more than a year as part of Project Aim. Trump signed a presidential memorandum Monday, effectively suspending hiring in most of the executive branch, save for positions in military, […]

The Department of Energy should take steps to correct some errors in its classification of national security information – which includes intelligence activities or programs meant to safeguard nuclear materials or facilities – according to a newly released DOE Office of Inspector General report. The IG found none of the 232 national security documents it reviewed […]