Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

By John Stang The head of a suburban Seattle venture told a House of Representatives subcommittee Tuesday that a new type of nuclear power reactor now in development would dramatically cut the amount of spent fuel generated in operations. TerraPower, of Bellevue, Wash., is working on a breed-and-burn reactor, which would use depleted uranium — […]

Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said Wednesday he is ready to work with two key Senate appropriators to establish a pilot program for temporary storage of spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) noted he and panel Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have proposed the […]

The Department of Energy plans to take bids on the design of a facility for interim storage of used reactor fuel from nuclear power plants, a senior official said Tuesday. Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal discussed the upcoming procurement in a hearing on the new DOE budget proposal before the House Appropriations energy […]

WASHINGTON —Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette on Tuesday would not commit to supporting a congressional rewrite of the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act to exclude construction of a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “If we were to consider a repeal of the 1987 amendment that designated Yucca Montain as the nation’s sole nuclear […]

The Department of Energy wants just a little bit less money in fiscal 2021 than it has now for research and development related to used nuclear fuel. The agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy asked for $60 million for the line item within its total budget request of nearly $1.2 billion. If approved by Congress, that […]

A longtime nuclear industry executive has joined used fuel management specialist NAC International as chief strategy officer. William Gallo “will lead the development of business strategies, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions to drive NAC’s growth and profitability,” according to a press release Monday form the Peachtree Corners, Ga.-based company. President and CEO Kent Cole said Monday […]

President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 reaffirmed his administration’s opposition to licensing a nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “I also recently took action on an issue Nevada has been dealing with for over 30 years, Yucca Mountain, you know Yucca Mountain?” Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas. “My budget […]

BWX Technologies said this week it had reached a significant milestone in preparing for production and commercialization of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), while acknowledging that its overall program has fallen behind schedule. Based in Lynchburg, Va., the company is best known as a manufacturer of naval reactors and contractor for the Department of Energy. […]

The Department of Energy will seek neither to license a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, nor a federal facility for temporary centralized storage of the radioactive material, Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said Thursday. His comments come after Brouillette’s predecessor, Rick Perry, said last fall the agency also has no legal authorization […]

The Department of Energy wants $20 million in fiscal 2021 for operations to lay the groundwork for the eventual consolidation and temporary storage of nuclear waste now dispersed around the nation. That is the largest slice of the $27.5 million requested for Interim Storage and Nuclear Waste Fund Oversight in the budget year beginning Oct. […]

Funds for the Department of Energy’s planned program for interim storage of nuclear waste in the upcoming budget would be focused on headquarters operations in Washington, D.C., with smaller amounts distributed to Idaho and Nevada, according to figures released Monday. The Energy Department on Feb. 10 requested $27.5 million for an Interim Storage and Nuclear […]

President Donald Trump on Friday reaffirmed his administration’s new opposition to licensing a nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “I also recently took action on an issue Nevada has been dealing with for over 30 years, Yucca Mountain, you know Yucca Mountain?” Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas. “My budget […]

The Trump administration this week publicly played down any appearance that recent comments from a senior Department of Energy official indicate continuing commitment to building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes “and The Department of Energy fully support finding an alternative to Yucca Mountain for the storage of […]

A senior Department of Energy official on Wednesday walked back week-old comments suggesting the Trump administration still supports advancing development of a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “I have spoken to the White House and the Administration will not be pursuing Yucca Mountain as a solution for nuclear waste, and there are […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he plans to nominate Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes to take over as deputy secretary for the Department of Energy. Menezes would succeed Dan Brouillette, who in December was confirmed and sworn in as secretary of energy. The nomination for the No. 2 spot at DOE had not been […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting $863.4 million in funding for the upcoming 2021 fiscal year, a small step up from the $855.6 million authorized by Congress for the current spending cycle. But the agency noted Monday that amount would be 17% below its spending for fiscal 2014, just over $1 billion. In that time, the […]

Nevada’s political leaders voiced skepticism and cautious praise over the White House announcement that it would forgo requesting congressional appropriations to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository in their state. But lawmakers representing states with stranded waste urged the Trump administration to rethink its decision even before it was official. This is […]

Even as it abandoned efforts to revive the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, the Trump administration on Monday signaled plans for the federal government to resume collecting fees for the fund intended to pay for the facility. The White House budget for fiscal 2021 provides nothing to resume the long-moribund licensing for radioactive […]

The New Mexico House of Representatives is considering a measure that would express its opposition to plans for a facility in the state intended to temporarily store spent reactor fuel from nuclear power plants around the nation. The House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 3 approved House Memorial 21, sponsored by panel […]

Having failed to revive plans for a geologic repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada, the Trump administration wants nearly $30 million to promote the means for consolidation and temporary storage of the nation’s nuclear waste. The White House did not include Yucca Mountain in its budget plan for fiscal 2021, released on Monday, after three […]

Members of Congress representing states that are home to Department of Energy facilities with radioactive waste on Ffriday urged the Trump administration to rethink its plan not to request funding for the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. “It is disappointing to see Yucca Mountain continued to be used as a political pawn,” Rep. Dan Newhouse […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to issue a final report on revising its inspection regime for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) at U.S. nuclear power plants. “The final report and recommendations, incorporating internal and external feedback, is undergoing internal review,” agency spokesman David McIntyre said by email on Jan. 29. “Once this […]

There has been no apparent movement by the Trump administration over the last year to fill vacant and expired terms on the federal Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB). The only change to the board in that time was the departure last May of another member, Linda Nozick, a civil and environmental engineering professor at […]

The Department of Energy and the state of Idaho on Tuesday sealed a deal that would allow some spent nuclear fuel to remain at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) past the deadline set under a 1995 agreement. The 25-year-old Settlement Agreement between the state, the Energy Department, and the Navy requires that all federally managed […]

The White House said late Thursday it would not seek any funding in its upcoming budget proposal for licensing a nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The brief emailed statement from an administration official – “The President’s 2021 budget will not have funding for the licensing of Yucca Mountain in it” – came […]

As has been its practice for the better part of a year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December spent less than $1,000 of its remaining balance from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund. The $780 outlay for unspecified program planning and support left the agency with an unspent, unobligated balance of $405,246, according to the latest […]

The Department of Energy and the state of Idaho on Tuesday sealed an agreement on management of spent nuclear fuel generated by the Advanced Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. The nearly 53-year-old reactor is used for government and commercial research and testing on nuclear fuels and materials, including on fuel that powers naval […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to issue a final report on revising its inspection program for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) at U.S. nuclear power plants. “The final report and recommendations, incorporating internal and external feedback, is undergoing internal review,” agency spokesman David McIntyre said by email on Jan. 29. “Once this […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in Canada said on Jan. 24 that just two communities, both in the province of Ontario, remain in contention to host an underground disposal facility for spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants. The locations are the township of Ignace in northwest Ontario and the municipality of South […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Trump administration does not plan to request any funding in fiscal 2021 for licensing the planned nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., issue experts said at an industry conference here Tuesday. That would reverse the White House’s efforts in its last three budget proposals to persuade Congress to appropriate money […]