Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Officials from Nevada sent mixed signals this week to the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee regarding legislation intended to kick-start the stalled nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain. On Tuesday, nine of Nevada’s 17 counties indicated support for the legislation in a letter to committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wy.), the bill’s sponsor, and […]

A trio of U.S. senators on Tuesday took a third swing at legislation that would remove management of the federal nuclear waste program from the Department of Energy in hopes of finally driving it forward. The 2019 version of the Nuclear Waste Administration Act appears identical to the iterations of the bill introduced in 2013 […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) is reviving legislation aimed at moving the federal government closer to resolving the decades-long impasse over disposal of the nation’s nuclear waste. Barrasso on Wednesday unveiled the discussion draft of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, which is largely identical to the same-named bill introduced in 2017 by Rep. […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) plans in early May to hire a consultant to help develop a strategic plan for off-site relocation of spent reactor fuel now stored at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The anticipated hiring is one element in the utility’s effort to meet its commitments under a 2017 settlement over construction […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it would not penalize Holtec International for two violations of federal regulations during an update to the design of a spent nuclear fuel storage cask. The Camden, N.J., energy technology company could have incurred a $36,250 fine for one safety violation, NRC Office of Enforcement Director George […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) is reviving legislation aimed at moving the federal government closer to resolving the decades-long impasse over disposal of the nation’s nuclear waste. The discussion draft of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 is nearly identical to the same-named bill introduced in the last Congress by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). […]

Used nuclear fuel storage specialist NAC International said this week it had secured a certificate of compliance from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its MAGNATRAN transport cask. The April 5 licensing approval enables the Georgia company to use the cask for transport of its MAGNASTOR spent fuel dry-storage canisters. “Although there are no existing […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) plans in early May to hire a consultant to help develop a strategic plan for off-site relocation of spent reactor fuel now stored at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The anticipated hiring is one element in the utility’s effort to meet its commitments under a 2017 settlement over construction […]

Top casino and tourism executives in Nevada on Monday told Congress that moving forward with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository could be devastating for the state’s economic future. In an open letter to the members of the House and Senate, Las Vegas Sands President and CEO Sheldon Adelson and 11 other executives said Yucca […]

A quasi-judicial Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled on May 10 to decide which organizations are authorized to intervene in the license application for a temporary storage facility in New Mexico for spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. The same three-person board would then begin adjudicating corresponding […]

Top casino and tourism executives in Nevada on Monday told Congress that moving forward with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository could be devastating for the state’s economic future. In an open letter to the members of the House and Senate, Las Vegas Sands President and CEO Sheldon Adelson and 11 other executives said Yucca […]

By John Stang Holtec International has determined that scratches and abrasions on spent nuclear fuel storage canisters do not represent a safety danger at a closed nuclear power plant in California, executives told U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials on Wednesday. However, Holtec critics at the same meeting argued that today’s scratches could lead to major […]

A contingent of members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged a key appropriations panel to meet the Trump administration’s latest request to fund resumption of licensing for the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. At least 10 lawmakers spoke in favor of the White House’s approach during the member hearing day […]

Nuclear company Orano USA said this week that a recent approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow four of its NUHOMS storage systems to be loaded with spent fuel from nuclear power reactors after just two years of cooling. Previously, used fuel assemblies had to remain in power plant cooling pools for up […]

There is little hope for a consent-based approach to selecting the site for a U.S. radioactive waste repository, a key appropriator in the House of Representatives said Tuesday. “I know of no community that will become a permanent repository for nuclear waste based on consent,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), ranking member of the House […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February spent $1,249 of its remaining available balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, leaving it with $407,230 absent an additional appropriation from Congress. The NRC uses its portion of the federal fund to pay for work connected to its adjudication of the Department of Energy license application for a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday urged a federal appeals court to dismiss an anti-nuclear advocacy group’s motion demanding the agency rule on the legality of two license applications for interim storage of spent nuclear power reactor fuel. Beyond Nuclear filed its petition for review in December with the U.S. Court of Appeals for […]

Fifteen Democratic members of Congress from states with retired or soon-to-close nuclear power plants this week urged leading House appropriators to provide $25 million to help establish interim storage of radioactive waste. Two private corporate teams are seeking Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses for sites that could hold used fuel commercial power plants until the Department […]

By John Stang Holtec International and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled next week to discuss scratches on canisters used in the company’s HI-STORM UMAX spent nuclear fuel storage system. The public meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at NRC headquarters in North Bethesda, Md. During the two-hour session, Holtec will “present technical details […]

The Department of Energy this week offered details on how it would divide and use $116 million proposed for nuclear waste storage and disposal operations in fiscal 2020. In rolling out its latest budget plan in March, the agency said only the money would support regulatory activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday affirmed his belief that the planned site for a nuclear waste repository under Nevada’s Yucca Mountain is safe, even given its proximity to an Air Force munitions test range. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) pressed Perry on the issue during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on […]

The Department of Energy this week offered details on how it would divide and use $116 million proposed for nuclear waste storage and disposal operations in fiscal 2020. In rolling out its latest budget plan in March, the agency said only the money would support regulatory activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday affirmed his belief that the planned site for a nuclear waste repository under Nevada’s Yucca Mountain is safe, even given its proximity to an Air Force munitions test range and the potential for earthquakes in the area. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) pressed Perry on the issue during a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday urged a federal appeals court to dismiss an anti-nuclear advocacy group’s motion demanding the agency rule on the legality of two license applications for interim storage of spent nuclear power reactor fuel. Beyond Nuclear filed its petition for review in December with the U.S. Court of Appeals for […]

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators suggested Wednesday it is gearing up for another legislative campaign to authorize interim storage of the nation’s growing stockpile of nuclear waste. Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he hopes to meet within two weeks with panel Ranking Member Dianne Feinstei (D-Calif.), the […]

Legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate to promote new U.S. nuclear power systems also aims to address the problem of radioactive waste produced by that technology. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined 14 colleagues from both parties to reintroduce the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act. The bill was first submitted in September near the tail end of […]

A bipartisan group of senators suggested Wednesday they are gearing up for another legislative campaign to authorize interim storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors. Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he hopes to meet within two weeks with panel Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top […]

The U.S. government since 2010 has spent $8 billion, now at a rate of $2 million per day, for failing to build a permanent repository to take spent fuel from nuclear power plants, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Tuesday. While he did not discuss specifics of this cost during testimony on Capitol Hill, Perry almost […]

The Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects would get a small raise in the next two budget years to sustain the fight against federal plans to build a nuclear waste repository in the state The agency is funded at slightly over $1.8 million in the state’s current budget year, from July 1, 2018, to June 30, […]

A San Diego attorney is asking a federal judge to force the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to release documents related to investigations of problems related to transfer of spent fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Michael Aguirre, a familiar legal presence in cases involving used fuel management […]