Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

John Cowles, who at the turn of the century was chief engineer for the nation’s only federally-authorized repository for high-level nuclear-power waste, passed away in his sleep July 22, according to an obituary published in The Boston Globe Thursday. He was 88 years old. Cowles, who began his nearly 40 years in the energy industry […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before RadWaste Monitor begins its two-week hiatus, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space we were tracking this week. Indian utility orders first spent fuel casks from Holtec Holtec International last week announced that India’s only nuclear plant operator is buying spent fuel storage racks from the […]

The federal government, slow to return to normal contracting operations after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, was largely to blame for continued operating losses at Perma-Fix Environmental Services during the second quarter of 2022, CEO Mark Duff said in the company’s latest earnings call with investors. For the second quarter, Perma-Fix reported a net […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week submitted its last set of arguments against a coalition of anti-nuclear and other groups suing the agency over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. In its wrap-up brief, filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, NRC doubled […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published on Aug. 19, 2022 or Aug. 26, 2022, as part of the Exchange Monitor’s annual August recess. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monday submitted its last set of arguments against a coalition of anti-nuclear and other groups suing the agency over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. In its wrap-up brief, filed Monday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, NRC doubled down on its argument that […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Your rad waste reporter is headed off to Maryland’s eastern shore this weekend, but before that, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. NRC licenses Vogtle operations, fuel loading The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week said it cleared one of the […]

Entergy, New Orleans, reported this week increased earnings in its nuclear power segment for the second quarter of 2022, which the utility company credited largely to the recent sale of one of its nuclear plants. According to earnings documents published Wednesday, income for Entergy Wholesale Commodities, which manages the company’s nuclear fleet, was around $87 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state of Texas traded blows this week about whether a recent Supreme Court decision moves the needle in the Lone Star State’s ongoing lawsuit against a proposed, privately owned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Wednesday’s filings with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state of Texas traded blows Wednesday about whether a recent Supreme Court decision moves the needle in the Lone Star State’s ongoing lawsuit against a proposed, privately owned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Wednesday’s filings with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are the […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before the weekend starts, here are a couple of other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Testing reveals non-nuclear pollutants in Pilgrim wastewater A state test on spent fuel pool wastewater planned for release from a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning revealed non-nuclear pollutants, local media reported this week. […]

A proposed bill currently awaiting debate in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would create an independent federal agency to oversee the development of nuclear waste storage sites. The new organization proposed in Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) Nuclear Waste Administration Act would assume all of the nuclear waste management authority given to the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week joined the licensee of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in rejecting arguments that a recent Supreme Court decision invalidated the project’s license, court filings show. The new argument from local stakeholders and environmental groups center on the so-called major questions doctrine the Supreme Court invoked […]

Members of the public interested in how the Department of Energy interpreted community input about siting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel may not have to wait much longer, the agency’s nuclear energy chief said this week. A summary of responses to DOE’s November request for information (RFI) on its consent-based process […]

Members of the public interested in how the Department of Energy interpreted community input about siting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel may not have to wait much longer, the agency’s nuclear energy chief said this week. A summary of responses to DOE’s November request for information (RFI) on its consent-based process […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday joined the licensee of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in rejecting arguments that a recent Supreme Court decision invalidated the project’s license, court filings show. The new argument from local stakeholders and environmental groups center on the so-called major questions doctrine the Supreme Court invoked […]

Despite assertions made by an anti-nuclear group suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a recent Supreme Court decision doesn’t affect NRC’s authority to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, the company in charge of the project argued Monday. The high court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA “has nothing […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was scheduled this week to consider a proposed bill that would create an independent federal agency to oversee the development of nuclear waste storage sites. The new organization proposed in Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) Nuclear Waste Administration Act, set for debate Thursday during a meeting of the upper […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Oral arguments set in Texas interim storage suit The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week officially scheduled oral arguments in the state of Texas’s lawsuit over an interim storage facility for spent nuclear […]

The New Mexico chapter of a prominent environmental group voiced its opposition over the weekend to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s recent recommendation that the commission license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter joins New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in her fight […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is trying to kickstart a solution to U.S. nuclear waste storage problems, usurping Congress’ constitutional authority in the process, an anti-nuclear group argued this week in its lawsuit over commercial interim storage. Beyond Nuclear’s Wednesday comments to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals were the latest in the anti-nuclear group’s ongoing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is trying to kickstart a solution to U.S. nuclear waste storage problems, usurping Congress’ constitutional authority in the process, an anti-nuclear group argued Wednesday in its lawsuit over commercial interim storage. Beyond Nuclear’s Wednesday comments to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals were the latest in the anti-nuclear group’s ongoing struggle […]

The New Mexico chapter of a prominent environmental group voiced its opposition over the weekend to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s recent recommendation that the commission license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter joins New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in her fight […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Your RadWaste reporter is out of town this weekend for some much-needed vacation at Anna Maria Island, Fla., but before the beach, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Holtec won’t transport Pilgrim wastewater offsite, CEO tells Markey After weighing its options, Holtec International has narrowed down […]

The utility company in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant this week suggested some flexibility on its plans to close and decommission the facility as scheduled, according to a company spokesperson. “Given the recent amendment to the Dept. of Energy’s Civil Nuclear Credit program guidance, as well as the Governor’s request that we […]

The Department of Energy is planning to continue this year a legally-mandated working group aimed at developing incentives for communities impacted by spent nuclear fuel transportation efforts, the agency told the government’s independent nuclear waste technical committee in a recent letter. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy plans to resume operation of its Nuclear Fuels Storage […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked a federal appeals court this week to let its lawyers file a full response to the state of Texas’s claim that the agency’s decision to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state was nullified by a recent Supreme Court decision, court documents show. If […]

An anti-nuclear group spearheading a legal challenge to a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas took a page out of the state attorney general’s playbook this week, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling as evidence that the government cannot license the site. Beyond Nuclear, which is suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff this week recommended that the agency grant an operating license to an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for eastern New Mexico, according to a new report. In the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s proposed interim storage project published Wednesday, NRC staff recommended “issuance of a […]

An anti-nuclear group spearheading a legal challenge to a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas took a page out of the state attorney general’s playbook Wednesday, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling as evidence that the government cannot license the site. Beyond Nuclear, which is suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in […]