Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/27/2015 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz anticipates that Congressional action would be needed before the Department of Energy could begin storing waste at the proposed Waste Control Specialists spent fuel/high-level waste interim storage facility, he told reporters after a hearing this week before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/27/2015 The Defense Threat Reduction Agency denied this week any plans to use the Yucca Mountain site for testing related to catastrophe scenario studies. Although DTRA confirmed that officials recently visited the site, the agency denied recent reports that claimed DTRA and the Department of Energy were in talks that […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/27/2015 Southern California Edison is seeking an amendment from the California Coastal Commission to expand its used nuclear fuel dry cask storage area at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), the company announced this week. SONGS’ current Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation currently holds 51 canisters. The company anticipates […]

RW Monitor 2/27/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY Sterigenics International’s subsidiary Nordion announced late last week that it has entered into a molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) supply agreement with General Atomics and the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center. With Canada set to operate the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor, one of the world’s largest suppliers of Mo-99 and […]

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz anticipates Congressional action is needed before the Department of Energy could begin storing waste at the proposed Waste Control Specialist spent fuel/high-level waste interim storage facility, he told reporters after a hearing yesterday before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. WCS earlier this month announced its intentions to construct […]

Southern California Edison is seeking an amendment from the California Coastal Commission to expand its used nuclear fuel dry cask storage area at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), the company announced yesterday. The company anticipates adding an additional 80 canisters by 2019 to its dry storage area as part of its spent fuel […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/20/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will complete the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement needed for the Yucca Mountain licensing review, NRC Chair Steven Burns said this week at the 11th Annual Platts Nuclear Energy Conference in Washington, D.C. The Department of Energy originally said it would complete the EIS on groundwater […]

RW Monitor 2/20/2015 IN NRC The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released this week its Project Aim 2020 report, which is a forward looking project to determine what the agency must look like to remain effective and efficient while maintaining public health and safety. According to the report, the NRC could be about 10 percent smaller in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will complete the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement needed for the Yucca Mountain licensing review, NRC Chair Steven Burns said yesterday at the 11th Annual Platts Nuclear Energy Conference. The Department of Energy had said it would complete the EIS on groundwater issues early last year, but it decided against completing the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/13/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector should improve it oversight of spent fuel pools at commercial reactor sites, the NRC Inspector General said in a report released this week. Adequate oversight exists now, the IG report said, but it noted regulatory uncertainties and issues with the inspection program. “NRC provides […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/13/2015 Waste Control Specialists anticipates finishing the license process for an interim storage facility by 2019 and finishing construction by the end of 2020, WCS CEO Bill Lindquist said this week in an announcement of the company’s plans for building an interim storage facility. WCS is angling to become the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/13/2015 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz would not commit to defending the Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain license application in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s adjudication process after being grilled by House lawmakers at a hearing this week. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), one of the House’s major Yucca proponents, pushed Moniz […]

The following interview with House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) was conducted last week by Weapons Complex Monitor Editor Kenneth Fletcher.  RW Monitor 2/13/2015 I’d like to talk a bit about the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request and what some of your priorities will be going forward in […]

RW Monitor 2/13/2015 IN NWTRB President Barrack Obama has appointed Allen Croff as the newest member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Croff currently works as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University, but he has also served as a consultant to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board since 2010.  From 2010 to 2012, Croff […]

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz had few answers yesterday as House lawmakes pressed him on whether or not the Department of Energy would commit to defend its Yucca Mountain license application in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s adjudication process during a hearing in front of the House Energy and Power Subcommittee. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), one […]

Waste Control Specialists anticipates finishing the license process for an interim spent fuel storage facility by 2019 and finishing construction by the end of 2020, WCS CEO Bill Lindquist said in comments made yesterday to announce the company’s intention of building an interim storage facility. WCS is angling to become the nation’s first consolidated storage […]

The Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition announced last week the election of Michigan Public Service Commissioner Greg White as its new chairman. White will take over for David Boyd, whose term on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission recently expired, the Coalition said. “This is an exciting time for the NWSC, and I am deeply honored to […]

Waste Control Specialists intends to file an application for an interim storage facility license with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the first half of the NRC’s 2016 fiscal year, according to a letter of intent the company sent last week. WCS is angling to become the nation’s first consolidated storage facility for commercial high-level waste […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/6/2015 After a year of exploring the possibility of hosting an interim storage facility, Waste Control Specialists plans to announce next week at the National Press Club its intentions to develop the first consolidated interim storage facility in the nation, the company said this week.  For the past year, WCS […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/6/2015 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) plans to re-introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would overhaul the nation’s nuclear waste policy and will advocate for both a repository and interim storage sites, Alexander said in remarks at the Nuclear Energy Institute this week. Alexander […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/2/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not seeking additional funding next year for the license review for the Yucca Mountain repository project, NRC Chief Financial Officer Maureen Wylie said today during a briefing on the Commission’s FY 2016 budget request. Following the completion of the Safety Evaluation Report, which found […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/2/2015 The Department of Energy plans to create a new Used Fuel Disposition subprogram that would explore alternative disposal options for DOE-managed high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel, according to the Department’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. DOE is seeking only $3 million for the subprogram and its […]

Citing Water/Land Ownership Issues, Staff Recommends Against Construction Authorization Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/30/2015 While the Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report meets most applicable regulatory requirements for safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should not issue a construction authorization until land and ownership rights by the Department of Energy are resolved, the NRC Staff found […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/30/2015 The Department of Energy issued a solicitation notice last week looking for a contractor to assist in the movement of spent nuclear fuel from research reactors to a unidentified national laboratory. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, through the Idaho Operations Office, is responsible for the disposition of university […]

The United Kingdom is examining the role of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) to see if there is a continued need for the committee’s advisory role, the UK government announced yesterday. The CoRWM operates as an independent advisory committee to the government on issues related to the long-term management of higher activity radioactive […]

The Department of Energy issued a solicitation notice last week looking for a contractor to assist in the movement of spent nuclear fuel from research reactors to an unidentified national laboratory. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, through the Idaho Operations Office, is responsible for the disposition  of university research reactor spent nuclear fuel disposition, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/23/2015 Four more communities in the Northern Ontario-area have advanced in the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s assessment to locate a repository site for the nation’s high-level waste, the NWMO announced this week. The communities include the City of Elliot Lake, the Town of Blind River, and the Townships of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/23/2015 Andrews County’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution this week voicing the local government’s support of building a high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility at Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas. The resolution marks a significant step forward for WCS’ ability to begin the process of […]

Andrews County’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution this week voicing the local government’s support of building a high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility at Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Tex. The resolution marks a significant step forward for WCS’ ability to begin the process of building and licensing a consent-based interim […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/16/2015 Yucca Mountain supporter John Shimkus (R-Ill.) believes that with the new Republican Senate, funding for the shuttered repository will be included in the next appropriations bill, he said this week in a briefing with reporters. Shimkus has long been a vocal advocate of Yucca Mountain as the solution to […]