Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

WASHINGTON — As federal budget season wears on, details are still scarce on the Joe Biden administration’s plans for a federal interim storage site for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, and one key appropriator isn’t happy with the lack of specifics. Asked after a Department of Energy budget hearing Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations energy […]

WASHINGTON — As federal budget season wears on, details are still scarce on the Joe Biden administration’s plans for a federal interim storage site for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, and one key appropriator isn’t happy with the lack of information. When asked after a Department of Energy budget hearing Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations […]

The state of New Mexico is pursuing its lawsuit over a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the wrong venue, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued in a recent court filing. Since New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas’s March suit in the state’s district court cited a violation of the Atomic Energy Act […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was scheduled to meet this week to affirm its decisions to again deny a minerals company’s request to reopen the record about an objection to the licensing of a commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, according to the commission’s schedule. During a meeting set for Tuesday, the commission will […]

The article “L.A. Court to Hear Enviros’ Petition Against SONGS Decommissioning” (RadWaste Monitor, Vol. 14 Issue 23, June 11, 2021) should have said that the spokesperson who provided comment represents Southern California Edison.

New Mexico is planning to voice its displeasure with the Department of Energy over a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in their state, a member of its Congressional delegation told the secretary of energy in a hearing Tuesday. The Department of Energy isn’t meeting its responsibility to designate a permanent repository […]

Nevada’s Congressional delegation got a chance to celebrate this week the Joe Biden administration’s decision not to fund the country’s only spent fuel repository project. During the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s budget hearing for fiscal year 2022, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) told energy secretary Jennifer Granholm that she was “pleased to hear” […]

New Mexico is planning to voice its displeasure with the Department of Energy over a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in their state, a member of its Congressional delegation told the secretary of energy in a hearing Tuesday. The Department of Energy isn’t meeting its responsibility to designate a permanent repository […]

The Joe Biden administration’s fiscal year 2022 budget request would shift $20 million in existing funding for the siting of a non-Yucca Mountain federal interim storage site into a different silo of DOE’s Nuclear Energy office, according to a budget document published this week. The administration also wants to increase the program’s focus on so-called […]

A proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel won’t need a special construction permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, the military civil works formation said in a recent letter. If Holtec International got the go-ahead from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build its consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in southeastern New Mexico, […]

The Joe Biden administration’s fiscal year 2022 budget request would shift $20 million in existing funding for the siting of a non-Yucca Mountain federal interim storage site into a different silo of DOE’s Nuclear Energy office, according to a recently published budget document. The administration also wants to increase the program’s focus on so-called consent-based […]

A proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel won’t need a special construction permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, the military civil works formation said in a recent letter. If Holtec International got the go-ahead from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build its consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in southeastern New Mexico, […]

Although details are sparse, funding to site a federal interim storage facility for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel would be included in the Department of Energy’s budget proposal for 2022 if it became law, according to the agency’s latest top-level budget summary. The Office of Nuclear Energy’s (ONE) fuel cycle program should receive funding “for […]

When it comes to radioactive waste in New Mexico, the head of the state’s environment department thinks the buck should stop — or really, start — with him. “This is the state to which things have been sent to. We are adamant that we will be the state that is first consulted with,” James Kenney, […]

Although details are sparse, funding to site a federal interim storage facility for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel would be included in the Department of Energy’s budget proposal for 2022 if it became law, according to the agency’s latest top-level budget summary. The Office of Nuclear Energy’s (ONE) fuel cycle program should receive funding “for […]

The Secretary of Energy this week told members of Congress that her department is planning to start gathering information from communities about the possibility of siting a federal repository for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel. “We at the Department [of Energy] are going to launch a request for information and start that conversation with communities,” […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will make a final decision about whether to license one of two proposed interim storage sites for spent nuclear fuel “shortly after” it completes environmental impact statements for the project this summer, the agency’s spent fuel licensing project manager said this week.  NRC is “currently close to completing the final safety […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will make a final decision about whether to license one of two proposed interim storage sites for spent nuclear fuel “shortly after” it completes environmental impact statements for the project this summer, the agency’s spent fuel licensing project manager said Tuesday.  NRC is “currently close to completing the final safety evaluation […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it still needs more information from Holtec International to complete a required safety evaluation of the company’s proposed interim storage facility in New Mexico — a precursor for licensing the facility to accept spent nuclear fuel. The agency’s Request for Additional Information (RAI) regarding the safety evaluation report for the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission isn’t looking too closely at disposal or repurposing of spent nuclear fuel from future advanced reactors, the agency’s fuel safety chief told a National Academies panel Tuesday. NRC won’t regulate the back end of the advanced fuel cycle until it has “a firmer idea of what advanced reactor developers are looking […]

The state of New York’s public service committee voted unanimously this week to approve a proposed joint settlement agreement in which the company set to decommission Indian Point Energy Center will commit to greater financial transparency and community engagement. The New York Public Service Commission’s 4-0 vote at a virtual meeting Wednesday to greenlight the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission isn’t looking too closely at disposal or repurposing of spent nuclear fuel from future advanced reactors, the agency’s fuel safety chief told a National Academies panel Tuesday. NRC won’t regulate the back end of the advanced fuel cycle until it has “a firmer idea of what advanced reactor developers are looking […]

New York’s public service commission will vote on the proposed settlement between the state, Holtec International and Entergy over decommissioning of the Indian Point Energy Center on Wednesday, state attorney general Letitia James said in a recent court filing. In the Thursday filing, the state asked a federal judge for a little more time to […]

The company seeking a federal license to build an interim storage facility in New Mexico doesn’t have standing to intervene in the state’s suit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, New Mexico’s attorney general said in a court filing this week. There’s no need for Holtec International to intervene in the case on NRC’s behalf since […]

The window is rapidly closing for a proposed bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Texas after a week of floor meetings in the state’s Senate ended without a vote on the measure.  Despite appearing on the regular order of business for the full chamber, S.B. 1046, sponsored by state Sen. […]

With just over two weeks left in the session, the Texas state Senate has not yet debated a suddenly controversial proposal to ban storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Lone Star state. The Senate-side version of H.B. 2692, introduced in March by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R), is still listed on the state Senate’s […]

After a companion bill died in the state legislature’s other chamber, the Texas state Senate should hear debate this week on a controversial bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Lone Star State, according to the floor calendar. S.B. 1046 is on the full chamber’s schedule for Monday. There aren’t […]

Although spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste can be safely stored in the interim, progress on a long-term geologic repository is “still a matter of urgency,” an independent review board said Friday. If the federal government followed the recommendations provided by the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) in its Friday report, the result […]

The New York county executive with jurisdiction over the recently-shuttered Indian Point Energy Center urged federal legislators to find disposal solutions for the site’s spent fuel inventory, according to a series of requests published by the county office this week. New York’s legislators and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should also continue their oversight over the […]

The company seeking federal approval to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico is asking to get involved with the state’s ongoing lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to recent court filings. Holtec International filed a formal petition April 29 to intervene in New Mexico’s proceedings against NRC in […]