Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

In observance of the Independence Day holiday, the next RadWaste Monitor will be published on Wednesday, July 3.

Leaders of two southeastern New Mexico communities this week reaffirmed regional support for plans for an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel that could be built in their area in a matter of years. Eddy County and the city of Carlsbad are two of the four members of the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), which is partnering […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a young California company that is offering a “drillhole” approach for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a young California company that is offering a “drillhole” approach for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the […]

By John Stang A Thursday hearing of a U.S. Senate committee focused on a perceived symbiosis between the long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and two proposed consolidated used fuel storage sites in Texas and New Mexico. Senators and witnesses argued that a permanent disposal facility in Nevada needs to be actively in motion to […]

Leaders in the Nevada county where the federal government wants to build a nuclear waste repository on Wednesday criticized several key elements of legislation aimed at resolving the longstanding impasse over management of the radioactive material. “The Nye County Commission remains in support of the proposition that the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding should be completed […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a company offering a “drillhole” method for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the Energy Department and other […]

The head of the New Mexico State Land Office on Wednesday accused Holtec International of misrepresenting the safety case for its planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state’s southeast. “I understand that we need to find a storage solution, but not in the middle of an active oil field, not from a company […]

The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday further cemented its newfound rejection of funding licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a 226-203 vote, the House approved a nearly $1 trillion “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for […]

The head of the New Mexico State Land Office on Wednesday became the latest official to express strong opposition to Holtec International’s plans for a spent fuel storage facility in the state. “I understand that we need to find a storage solution, but not in the middle of an active oil field, not from a […]

A House of Representatives committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for the upcoming 2020 federal fiscal year […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has formally objected to commercial plans for an interim storage facility in the state for spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power reactors. Holtec International, of Camden, N.J., has applied for a 40-year license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a facility that ultimately could hold up to […]

The name of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition was misidentified in an article in the June 7 issue of RadWaste Monitor.

By John Stang Discussion on whether a state’s consent is needed for it to host a major nuclear waste repository flared up and then went unresolved at a Thursday hearing in Congress. The session of the House Energy and Commerce environment and climate change subcommittee, called to discuss three bills on radioactive waste storage and […]

After a former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist was indicted for allegedly lying about contacts with the Chinese government, the Energy Department prohibited its employees and contractors from participating in certain foreign “talent recruitment programs.” Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette approved that prohibition Friday by signing DOE Order 486.1. The order bars agency employees and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential development of a federal rule that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state. That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposition and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

The draft version of the House of Representatives’ National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 would allow none of the $26 million the Department of Energy requested for defense nuclear waste disposal. The measure is in keeping with the lower chamber’s opposition, under the Democratic Party majority installed following the November 2018 midterm elections, to […]

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for fiscal 2020 encompassing several smaller measures already approved […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has formally objected to commercial plans for an interim storage facility in the state for spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power reactors. Holtec International, of Camden, N.J., has applied for a 40-year license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a facility that ultimately could hold up to […]

The movement of used nuclear fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is expected to begin again in early 2020. Fuel movement was expected to begin in a few weeks and conclude between February and April, Doug Bauder, Southern California Edison’s (SCE) chief nuclear officer at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), said […]

The nuclear watchdog organization Beyond Nuclear filed an appeal this week with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission to try to overturn an earlier ruling that rejected petitions for an evidentiary hearing to contest Holtec International’s license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. Beyond Nuclear filed its appeal Monday. The […]

Despite another burst of activity in Congress, it could be years or even decades more before the United States settles on a final strategy for disposal of its growing stockpile of nuclear waste, according to issue watchers. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in 2019 again debating whether to restart the frozen licensing for the planned […]

A multi-bill appropriations package that includes fiscal year 2020 funding for interim spent nuclear-fuel storage — but not a permanent repository such as Yucca Mountain — is headed to the House floor on Wednesday. The package, or minibus, includes many spending bills for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1; it was not clear at […]

Supporters of the departing Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White say she refocused the Energy Department’s $7 billion nuclear cleanup office on completing work, rather than just safely maintaining 16 Cold War sites. But when Energy Secretary Rick Perry confirmed in a Friday email to DOE staff White has resigned effective June 14, […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) on Wednesday placed blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing freeze in licensing and then building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. “The project boasts support in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. So why hasn’t it moved forward? Politics,” Barrasso wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. […]

The Department of Energy as of Thursday had neither officially confirmed nor denied widespread chatter regarding the resignation of Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White. A number of sources first said last week that White had been asked to step down after 14 months leading the office charged with cleanup of 16 radioactively […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) on Wednesday placed blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing freeze in licensing and then building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. “The project boasts support in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. So why hasn’t it moved forward? Politics,” Barrasso wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. […]

The U.S. Senate is lining up a confirmation vote on the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Rita Baranwal’s confirmation as assistant energy secretary for nuclear energy was listed on the Senate’s executive calendar for Friday. “That at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader in consultation […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is among a growing list of presidential candidates voicing clear opposition to disposal of nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Trump is proposing to send our nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain,” Sanders tweeted on May 16. “That would be a disaster. We must stop building new nuclear power plants, and […]