Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

A bill that would broadly prohibit storage of spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico is set up for a final vote in the New Mexico legislature with only days to go before the end of the session. On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee of the New Mexico House of Representatives passed an amended version of […]

Consent-based siting, or securing support at all levels of government for a nuclear-waste repository, “won’t be fun,” a Nuclear Regulatory Commission commission said Wednesday at an agency conference. “Even a consent-based process is going to take time and it’s not going to be fun, but it’s the only way that’s going to be lasting,” NRC […]

The budget for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy would fall about 12% to around $1.56 billion in fiscal year 2024 if the White House’s latest federal spending request became law. That’s about $210 million less than the 2023 appropriation Congress provided in December in an omnibus spending bill for the part of […]

Nevada’s senior senator last week expressed skepticism about the safety of spent-nuclear-fuel casks, which the director of the Idaho National Laboratory touted during a hearing about nuclear energy and waste.  The Thursday hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee veered into a discussion of a Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, […]

The Nuclear Waste Administration Act is all set and ready to go for this session of Congress, the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Thursday in a hearing — it just hasn’t been filed yet. “We have a text ready to go,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa.) said during the hearing, in […]

Butte County, Idaho sued Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in federal court this week over continued spent nuclear fuel storage at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The county says DOE should bear the “social” and “economic” costs of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) serving as a “default repository” for nuclear waste from entities […]

WASHINGTON — It will still be another decade or so before the Department of Energy identifies a willing host community for a federal interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel, a senior official said here. “We probably won’t have constructed interim storage acceptance for 10 years, 15 years,” Kathryn Huff, the agency’s assistant secretary for […]

Butte County, Idaho sued Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in federal court this week over continued spent nuclear fuel storage at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The county says DOE should bear the “social” and “economic” costs of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) serving as a “default repository” for nuclear waste from entities […]

State legislation that would ban storage of high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico was scheduled for a final committee vote on Wednesday. Senate Bill 53, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) was on the agenda for a Wednesday meeting of the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee, which was scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy has yet to select a candidate to lead its ongoing effort to find a willing community to host a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the agency’s nuclear power head said here this week. Although DOE is no longer accepting applications for its vacant deputy assistant secretary […]

PHOENIX — When it comes time to search for a potential host for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy could offer financial incentives to move things along, the agency’s top nuclear waste official said here this week. Once DOE finishes up its ongoing information-gathering activities among interim storage […]

PHOENIX — Opening a federally-run interim storage facility for the nation’s stranded spent nuclear fuel inventory might not be the only way the Department of Energy could declare victory in its most recent effort to build one, the agency’s nuclear waste lead said here this week. DOE’s consent-based approach for siting a federal interim storage […]

PHOENIX — Thanks to an updated agreement between the federal government and a nuclear power plant operator, owners of advanced nuclear reactors will likely have to foot the bill for spent fuel storage at their facilities, an industry expert said here this week. For advanced reactors, the new spent fuel management contract between the Department […]

PHOENIX — An executive with an industry trade group thinks that the U.S. could have a geologic repository for its nuclear waste inventory by mid-century, he said here this week. Rod McCullum, senior director of decommissioning and used fuel at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said Monday during a panel at the Waste Management Symposium […]

PHOENIX — A New Mexico bill could put Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in that state in jeopardy, a company official said here this week. “Despite all the efforts and resources used to inform and educate the public and organizations [on the proposed HI-STORE interim storage site], there is currently […]

PHOENIX — Opening a federally-run interim storage facility for the nation’s stranded spent nuclear fuel inventory might not be the only way the Department of Energy could declare victory in its most recent effort to build one, the agency’s nuclear waste lead said here Wednesday. DOE’s consent-based approach for siting a federal interim storage facility […]

PHOENIX — When it comes time to search for a potential host for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy could offer financial incentives to move things along, the agency’s top nuclear waste official said here Wednesday. Once DOE finishes up its ongoing information-gathering activities among interim storage stakeholders, […]

PHOENIX — Thanks to an updated agreement between the federal government and a nuclear power plant operator, owners of advanced nuclear reactors will likely have to foot the bill for spent fuel storage at their facilities, an industry expert said here Wednesday. For advanced reactors, the new spent fuel management contract between the Department of […]

PHOENIX — A New Mexico bill could put Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in that state in jeopardy, a company official said here Monday. “Despite all the efforts and resources used to inform and educate the public and organizations [on the proposed HI-STORE interim storage site], there is currently legislation […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy has yet to select a candidate to lead its ongoing effort to find a willing community to host a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the agency’s nuclear power head said here Monday. Although DOE is no longer accepting applications for its vacant deputy assistant secretary for […]

PHOENIX — An executive with an industry trade group thinks that the U.S. could have a geologic repository for its nuclear waste inventory by mid-century, he said here Monday. Rod McCullum, senior director of decommissioning and used fuel at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said Monday during a panel at the Waste Management Symposium in […]

A bill intended to check a proposed private interim storage facility for spent nuclear in New Mexico got a step closer to the governor’s desk last week. New Mexico’s House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee, in a 6-3 vote Saturday, approved the proposed measure, which would amend state law to prohibit the storage of […]

During a congressional visit to Japan this week, one of the House’s most politically-progressive members took to social media to talk about the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle — in particular, recycling spent nuclear fuel. “When we discuss the risk and controversial parts of nuclear, a lot of it centers on nuclear waste […]

Happy Friday, nuke watchers! Your RadWaste reporter is Phoenix-bound for the annual Waste Management Symposium, and will have the new season of Netflix’s Formula One documentary prepped for the flight. Before that, though, here are a few more stories from around the civilian nuclear-power space we were tracking this week. A train derailment in Ohio […]

In yet another setback for opponents of two proposed private interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel, a second federal court has dismissed the state of New Mexico’s lawsuit over the projects, court filings show. In a ruling published Feb. 10, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that state Attorney General Hector Balderas’s suit […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Your RadWaste Monitor reporter is still reeling from the Eagles’ tragic loss last Sunday — but at least we got Rihanna. Before we head off into Presidents’ Day weekend, here are some other stories we were tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Regulatory standards used to develop the […]

In a new rulemaking action this week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it had is considering an extension on design certifications for a spent fuel storage cask design used at nuclear power plants, according to a Federal Register Notice. The 40-year Certificate of Compliance (CoC) renewal amends Holtec International’s cask design certification to include […]

A bill aimed at keeping a privately-run interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel out of New Mexico cleared a legislative milestone this week after passing a floor vote in the state Senate. If signed by the governor, the proposed legislation would amend state law to ban the storage of spent nuclear fuel in New […]

Two members of Nevada’s congressional delegation this week reintroduced a bill that, if made law, would spell the final end of the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository. The Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, unveiled in a Tuesday press release by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev), “will ensure that […]

Two members of Nevada’s congressional delegation on Tuesday reintroduced a bill that, if made law, would spell the final end of the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository. The Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, unveiled in a Tuesday press release by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev), “will ensure that […]