Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

The state of Texas doubled down Monday on its argument that federal law precludes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from licensing a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Lone Star State, new court filings show. NRC’s claim that neither the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) nor the Atomic Energy Act prevented the […]

The state of New Mexico hasn’t proven to a federal court that it has sufficient legal standing to challenge the licensing of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued this week. NRC’s Monday filing with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals aims to derail New Mexico […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not decide whether to license the second of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel until around Labor Day, the agency said this week. Although Holtec International has said that it expected NRC to license its proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in the second quarter of […]

The state of New Mexico hasn’t proven to a federal court that it has sufficient legal standing to challenge the licensing of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued Monday. NRC’s newest filing with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals aims to derail New Mexico Attorney […]

A round-up of public comments on how the Department of Energy should go about siting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel should be published before Labor Day, the agency said this week. DOE “is working to analyze the comments” on its interim storage request for information (RFI) unveiled in November, an agency […]

After the summer, DOE could launch a competitive funding opportunity aimed at potential host communities for an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel, the Secretary of Energy told Senators Thursday. The award, which the Department of Energy has been planning for some time as part of its quest to site an interim storage facility, […]

A round-up of public comments on how the Department of Energy should go about siting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel should be published before Labor Day, the agency said Wednesday. DOE “is working to analyze the comments” on its interim storage request for information (RFI) unveiled in November, an agency spokesperson […]

The company aiming to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in calling for a state lawsuit to be kicked out of a federal appeals court, according to a new filing on the docket. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s arguments against Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed […]

The Department of Energy requested $10 million to fund local and tribal participation in a quest to find a host community for a federally operated interim spent fuel storage site, according to a detailed fiscal year 2023 budget request released late last week. For the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, DOE says it wants […]

The company aiming to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in calling for a state lawsuit to be kicked out of a federal appeals court, according to a new filing on the docket. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s arguments against Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed […]

The Department of Energy requested $10 million to fund local and tribal participation in the agency’s quest to site and eventually build a federally operated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, according to a detailed fiscal year 2023 budget request released late last week. For the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, DOE says […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week continued to poke holes in the state of Texas’s lawsuit over an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for Andrews County, arguing that the Lone Star State had no right to sue — and even if it did, that its case was badly flawed. Texas hasn’t shown […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday continued to poke holes in the state of Texas’s lawsuit over an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for Andrews County, arguing that the Lone Star State had no right to sue — and even if it did, that its case was badly flawed. Texas hasn’t shown […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear waste management system saw a proposed funding increase for 2023, due in part to its absorption of the agency’s interim storage activities, according to the agency’s latest public budget document. For the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) Integrated Waste Management System, DOE requested roughly $53 million for the upcoming fiscal […]

The Department of Energy said Thursday it intends to accelerate removal of all spent nuclear fuel from the L-Basin storage area at Savannah River Site in South Carolina using conventional processing without recovering highly enriched uranium. In a press release, and accompanying Federal Register notice, DOE spelled out plans to  process spent fuel left in […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear waste management system saw a proposed funding increase for 2023, due in part to its absorption of the agency’s interim storage activities, according to the agency’s latest public budget document. For the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) Integrated Waste Management System, DOE requested roughly $53 million for the upcoming fiscal […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. As your rad waste reporter heads back to Washington after a successful Idaho trip, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week.   IAEA to visit Chernobyl, investigate alleged Russian trenches The U.N.’s nuclear authority plans to soon visit the Chernobyl Nuclear […]

In some of the first public details about decommissioning work at California’s last operating nuclear plant, Orano USA announced this week that it had locked down a contract to transfer the site’s spent fuel into dry storage post-shutdown. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which owns and operates Diablo Canyon Power Plant, selected Orano USA subsidiary […]

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO — The almighty dollar is the only thing standing in the way of Holtec International’s plans to build an advanced reactor at the site of a former New Jersey nuclear plant, the company’s CEO said here this week. “The government is the one that has to step up” to help fund Holtec’s […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Russian garrison at Chernobyl hands plant back to Ukraine, IAEA says Russian forces occupying the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant packed up and left late this week, leaving the site in the hands of Ukrainian operators, […]

The Department of Energy is looking for someone within the agency to run the Office of Nuclear Energy’s spent nuclear fuel programs, according to an internal job listing obtained last week by RadWaste Monitor. According to the posting, DOE is hiring a 120-day detail for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of assistant secretary for […]

If it became law, the White House’s 2023 budget proposal for the Department of Energy’s nuclear power portfolio would include an increase in nuclear fuel cycle research, according to a budget document published Tuesday. Of the roughly $422 million proposed for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) fuel cycle research and development program, around $20 […]

The Department of Energy is looking for someone within the agency to run the Office of Nuclear Energy’s spent nuclear fuel programs, according to an internal job listing obtained Friday by Exchange Monitor. According to the posting, DOE is hiring a 120-day detail for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of assistant secretary for spent […]

The Joe Biden administration was scheduled to release preliminary details about its fiscal year 2023 budget request on Monday, including top-line requests for defense and civilian nuclear programs at the Department of Energy. The annual budget rollout marks the start of the spring and summer negotiating season between the White House and Congress. Lawmakers traditionally […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. U.S. accuses Russia of war crimes in shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Even before the U.S. took a firm stance on the Russian military’s violence against civilians in Ukraine this week, its embassy in Kyiv accused […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated federal law when it licensed a proposed commercial facility in Texas to store nearly half of the country’s spent nuclear fuel, a coalition of anti-nuclear groups argued last week as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the agency. NRC, which in September gave its blessing to Waste Control Specialists-Orano USA […]

New Mexico’s attorney general moved his fight against commercial interim storage to an appeals court after a District Court threw out his first challenge to the site in early March, according to recent court documents. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has until May 9 to respond to state Attorney General Hector Balderas’s most recent arguments against […]

Public input about the Department of Energy’s proposed consent-based siting process for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel could be published by March 31, an agency official said this week. A full collection of responses DOE received as part of its November request for information (RFI) should be available “by the end […]

The federal government must prioritize changing U.S. nuclear waste law as it eyes a spent fuel storage solution, a community stakeholders group said during a panel discussion this week. Amending the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) is “one of the things that needs to happen” before the federal government can move forward on interim storage, […]

The federal government must prioritize changing U.S. nuclear waste law as it eyes a spent fuel storage solution, a community stakeholders group said during a panel discussion Wednesday. Amending the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) is “one of the things that needs to happen” before the federal government can move forward on interim storage, Kara […]