Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

A proposed bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Texas got a new lease on life last week after its second iteration made it through the state House. The measure, proposed by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R), passed via voice vote in a special meeting of the state House Friday evening. […]

The House should vote Sept. 27 on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes a cash injection for financially-struggling nuclear power plants, now that Democrats have resolved an intra-party logjam. Party leadership settled on that date Tuesday after several days of negotiations with dissenting House Democrats who did not want to continue work on a partisan […]

A bill proposing to ban high-level nuclear waste storage in Texas, which previously died in the state legislature, is getting a second wind during a special session, with some minor alterations. State Rep. Brooks Landgraf’s (R) reintroduced measure, which passed the Texas House’s environmental regulation committee on a 6-2 vote Monday, aims to prevent high-level […]

The Department of Energy is taking public comment on a draft environmental assessment of its plan to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and ship the material out of state.  The 14-day public comment period on the Test Best Initiative, officially started Saturday and runs through […]

San Diego’s county commission this week joined a group lobbying the federal government to remove the shuttered San Onofre Generating Station’s spent fuel from the California coast. The San Diego County board of supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to use as much as $100,000 to hire a contractor that would manage the county’s participation in […]

An unused spent fuel storage canister that arrived at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Wednesday will be used to investigate long-term storage solutions for the nation’s nuclear waste, according to a press release. The 22-ton empty canister will boost a research team at the Tennessee-based Oak Ridge (ORNL) that is “​​investigating methods to help the nation […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday offered a strongly-worded rebuke to the New Mexico attorney general’s claim that a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel violates federal law, according to a new court filing. NRC has the right to license commercial facilities under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the agency argued in the […]

Southwestern host states probably cannot stop construction of temporary spent-fuel depots in their territories by arguing that licensing such sites is against federal law, a couple of retired nuclear policy hands opined this week. Pending a few more reviews, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could license Interim Storage Partners’ proposed commercial interim storage facility in west […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published on Aug. 27, 2021 while the Exchange Monitor takes its annual August recess. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.

An unused spent fuel storage canister once intended for use at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station arrived at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday to become part of an investigation into long-term storage solutions for the nation’s nuclear waste, the lab said. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) research team in Oak Ridge, Tenn., […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday offered a strongly-worded rebuke to the New Mexico attorney general’s claim that a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel violates federal law, according to a new court filing. NRC has the right to license commercial facilities under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the agency argued in the […]

With growing federal alarm over the surging numbers of new COVID-19 cases, especially among the unvaccinated, the Department of Energy on Friday confirmed it is imploring government contractors to find ways to get workers to take their shots. The agency acknowledged the effort, spearheaded by Tarak Shah, chief of staff to Secretary Jennifer Granholm, after […]

Bethesda, Md.,-based Orano USA has a new management team and several new board of directors for its Federal Services Business unit that does business with the Department of Energy, the company said early Wednesday. Orano Federal Services President Dorothy Davidson said in a press release that the new management team will include: Joe Faldowskim, chief […]

Although it was on the menu for a special session of the Texas legislature, the body didn’t debate this week legislation to address a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the state. Several days of special sessions of the state Senate ended without discussion on Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed interim storage […]

A $1-trillion infrastructure bill with tax credits for financially-struggling nuclear power plants passed the Senate on a widely bipartisan vote Tuesday.  The infrastructure package cleared the Senate in 69-30 and now heads to the House, whose members were scheduled to return to Washington on Aug. 23 to vote on the measure. If the bill becomes […]

Despite being on the menu for a special session this weekend, the Texas legislature hasn’t yet heard debate on legislation to address a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the state. Saturday’s special session of the state Senate ended without discussion on Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed interim storage facility in Andrews […]

The Department of Energy needs to consolidate its agency-sponsored research on high-burnup spent nuclear fuel storage, the federal government’s nuclear waste panel said in a new report published this week. Although DOE funds “a variety of organizations” and their research on the viability of storing and transporting high-burnup fuel (HBF), there’s not currently a single […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning to fire its next salvo this month in an ongoing legal battle over one of two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel, according to a court filing this week. NRC will file its next brief in the case over Holtec International’s proposed storage facility in New Mexico […]

In a special session starting this weekend, the Texas state legislature will get another chance to pass laws that could make it harder to dispose of some radioactive waste in the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called the special session of the legislature at a time when a privately operated waste disposal company […]

After a Tuesday hearing to vet a nominee for a senior Department of Energy job, New Mexico’s senior senator pounded the table about making sure proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel do not turn into permanent repositories. “The concern, really, is that the department does not have a plan to ensure that any […]

Senate appropriators proposed about the same funding for the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy programs, including for a proposed interim storage inquiry, during a markup this week. If the Senate’s energy and water budget recommendation becomes law, it will green-light around $27.5 million in federal funds for nuclear waste disposal. The vast majority of that […]

Senate appropriators proposed about the same funding for the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy programs, including for a proposed interim storage inquiry, during a Wednesday markup. If the Senate’s energy and water budget recommendation becomes law, it will green-light around $27.5 million in federal funds for nuclear waste disposal. The vast majority of that money, […]

After a Tuesday hearing to vet a nominee for a senior Department of Energy job, New Mexico’s senior senator pounded the table about making sure proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel do not turn into permanent repositories. “The concern, really, is that the department does not have a plan to ensure that any […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning to fire its next salvo this month in an ongoing legal battle over one of two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel, according to a court filing Monday. NRC will file its next brief in the case over Holtec International’s proposed storage facility in New Mexico by […]

The full House on Thursday approved a Department of Energy budget that provides guns and gates for Yucca Mountain plus some money to begin siting a federally operated interim storage facility for nuclear waste — the same proposals with which the bill emerged from committee. The House’s seven-bill appropriations package, which passed on a 219-208 […]

A federal suit against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel remains in limbo while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works through licensing proceedings, according to a court filing from the agency this week. Holtec International’s application for a federal license to build an interim storage facility in Lea County, N.M. is “still under […]

Nearly 40 years have passed since the Nuclear Waste Policy Act went into effect, mandating that the U.S. government designate a location to permanently dispose of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel from power plants.  It never happened, as nuke-watchers well know, but this week, an interim waste storage site conceived by the privately owned Interim […]

In a major milestone for the otherwise moribund U.S. spent-fuel-storage scene, one of two proposed commercial interim storage sites got the environmental green light from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. If licensed, the site in west Texas would be allowed to store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and highly-radioactive Greater-than-Class-C […]

A federal suit against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel remains in limbo while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works through licensing proceedings, according to a Wednesday court filing from the agency. Holtec International’s application for a federal license to build an interim storage facility in Lea County, N.M. is “still under consideration […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing process for two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel can’t legally move forward without approval from host state governors, a Texas congressman argued Tuesday on the House floor. “The law is very clear … that the governor can disapprove [of an interim storage facility],” said Rep. Henry Cuellar […]