Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Monday expressed no objection to a 60-day extension for affected parties to request a hearing on Waste Control Specialists’ license application to build and operate a storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel. Staff, though, opposed a 120-day extension sought by a coalition of 20 environmental and anti-nuclear organizations. There was […]

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt on Monday endorsed a legislative resolution reaffirming the state’s opposition to storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The resolution was introduced last week in the Nevada Legislature, after the White House released its fiscal 2018 budget proposal, which included $120 million for the Energy Department to […]

Two top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday requested that Energy Secretary Rick Perry re-establish the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCWRM), so that the Energy Department will again have an office dedicated solely to nuclear waste policy. Prior to being defunded in fiscal 2011, OCWRM was the DOE entity charged […]

Sweden’s Land and Environment Court has scheduled its main hearing in September on permit applications for a proposed spent nuclear fuel repository and nearby encapsulation facility. ”This is a welcome decision. The environmental assessment is an important step in our task to deal with all the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in Sweden in a […]

The deadline for comment on a proposed deep-geological repository for defense-only high-level radioactive waste wraps up today, only days after the Trump administration announced that it wants to restart the licensing process for the combined civil-military Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. The Obama administration wanted to start searching for a Defense Waste Repository site this […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet on April 6 to take additional public input on the scope of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. Waste Control Specialists last April submitted a license application for a facility with a capacity to hold 40,000 metric tons […]

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry this week found himself on the pointy end of a lawsuit from the state he once led, which is demanding that the federal government halt all work on consent-based siting of U.S. nuclear waste and instead complete licensing of the Yucca Mountain geologic repository. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday by […]

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal calls for $120 million to restart licensing activities for the mothballed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, and in the meantime for a “robust” interim storage program. “These investments would accelerate progress on fulfilling the Federal Government’s obligations to address nuclear waste, enhance national security, and reduce […]

The Department of Energy hopes this year to issue a report to Congress on disposal of Greater Than Class C waste and receive clarity on what action from Capitol Hill is needed to advance the long-brewing effort to permanently deal with the radioactive material, a DOE official said last week. The federal government is legally responsible […]

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry this week found himself on the pointy end of a lawsuit from the state he once led, which is demanding that the federal government halt all work on consent-based siting of nuclear waste and instead complete licensing of the Yucca Mountain geologic repository. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday by the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has extended to April 28 the public comment period on the scope of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned nuclear waste storage site in West Texas. However, the commission has not yet ruled on requests from nearly two dozen organizations for more time to request hearings or intervene in the license […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet on April 6 to get additional public input on the scope of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. Waste Control Specialists last April submitted a license application for a facility with a capacity to hold 40,000 metric tons […]

PHOENIX – The four teams bidding to drill the Department of Energy’s planned nuclear waste storage test borehole in May will have to demonstrate community engagement and understanding of their projects if they want to remain in consideration, a senior DOE official said here Wednesday. The companies seeking the contract have used public meetings and […]

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up to date on news affecting Department of Energy […]

President Donald Trump, the Department of Energy, and Congress must take steps to advance the program to find a final resting place for the United States’ massive holdings of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council said Wednesday. “It has been more than 30 years since enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy […]

The Michigan Senate Energy and Technology Committee last week advanced three resolutions calling on the federal government to take action to address the naitonal dilemma posed by high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. “Safe and reliable nuclear energy provides much or our nation’s power and can continue to help us meet our current and […]

The Energy Department’s deep borehole field test is once again facing public opposition, this time in Haakon County, S.D., where residents are asking the county commission to block the project. So far, the estimated five-year, $80 million project — which would deliver data on whether 16,000-foot boreholes drilled into crystalline rock formations are appropriate for […]

BWX Technologies director of regulatory affairs Scott Kirk will receive the Hodes Award for his role in preparing Waste Control Specialists’ application to operate an interim nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas, among other efforts. The Southeast Compact Commission will present the award to Kirk on March 6 at the Phoenix, Ariz., Convention Center […]

The Senate on Thursday confirmed James Richard “Rick” Perry as U.S. secretary of energy, installing the former Texas governor to the government’s top nuclear weapons, waste, and energy post after an uncontroversial 62-37 vote. Perry was sworn in hours later and addressed employees at DOE headquarters for the first time today. Every Senate Republican and 10 […]

U.S. Southern California Edison (SCE) is on pace to complete its independent spent fuel storage installation expansion at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) by 2019, SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano said recently. Palmisano appeared earlier this month before the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, which serves as a liaison between SCE and the […]

An environmental group is leading the charge against Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) controversial plan to develop a deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste along the shores of Lake Huron. The Great Lakes Environmental Alliance (GLEA), which was formed in response to the proposal, is urging residents in Canada and the U.S. […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) is on pace to complete its independent spent fuel storage installation expansion at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) by 2019, SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano said recently. Palmisano appeared earlier this month before the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, which serves as a liaison between SCE and the public. […]

BWX Technologies director of regulatory affairs Scott Kirk will receive the Hodes Award for his role in preparing Waste Control Specialists’ application to operate an interim nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas, among other efforts. The Southeast Compact Commission will present the award to Kirk on March 6 at the Phoenix, Ariz., Convention Center […]

Residents in Massachusetts are petitioning Gov. Charlie Baker to support expeditious transfer of spent fuel at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to dry storage. Cape Downwinders — a group of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket – has been circulating a petition to advance advisory questions to local ballots this spring and fall […]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) is preparing legislation aimed at restarting licensing efforts for the mothballed Yucca Mountain repository with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a staffer confirmed Wednesday. Shimkus spokesman Jordan Haverly said the bill would address controversial land and water rights in Nevada that the Energy Department has said make the project “unworkable.” The legislation, […]

An anti-nuclear activist on Thursday slammed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its handling of a planned interim nuclear waste storage site in West Texas, accusing the agency of collusion with applicant Waste Control Specialists. Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste watchdog at Beyond Nuclear, criticized the regulator for inappropriately supporting the plan, rushing the licensing process, and violating […]

Residents in Massachusetts are petitioning Gov. Charlie Baker to support expeditious transfer of spent fuel at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to dry storage. Cape Downwinders — a group of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket – has been circulating a petition to advance advisory questions to local ballots this spring and fall […]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) is preparing legislation aimed at restarting licensing efforts for the mothballed Yucca Mountain repository with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a staffer confirmed Wednesday. Shimkus spokesman Jordan Haverly said the bill would address controversial land and water rights in Nevada that the Energy Department has said make the project “unworkable.” The legislation, which […]

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up to date on news affecting Department of Energy […]

In the face of public opposition, the Quay County Commission has rescinded its support for using a site in Nara Visa, N.M., for the Energy Department’s deep borehole nuclear waste storage field test. Enercon Federal Services and DOSECC Exploration Services have been exploring a site about 300 miles north of DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Citing […]