Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission risk assessment report has found that the transportation of spent nuclear fuel would cause low radiological impact to the environment or public, even in the case of an accident. The report, commissioned by the NRC to analyze the effects advancements in transportation technology have had on shipment risks, concluded that “if […]

The “Nuclear Waste Administration Act” is unlikely to see any movement during this year due to the change in leadership of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee , according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) during remarks at the at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Winter Meeting, held in Washington D.C. Murkowski said […]

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz reiterated the Obama Administration’s stance that Yucca Mountain is “unworkable” as a disposal site for the nation’s spent fuel in a talk given yesterday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Winter Meeting, held in Washington D.C. “Look, might as well say it up front, obviously there may be […]

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners suggested that the Department of Energy can fix the Nuclear Waste Fund fee on its own without the need for a rehearing en banc, according to NARUC’s response to DOE’s en banc motion filed this week. DOE is arguing that the court has placed it in a “damned […]

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will be host a public meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. next month to discuss Department of Energy research and development results regarding the suitability of salt as a medium for geological disposal of spent fuel and high level nuclear waste. The meeting, scheduled for March 19, will feature presentations […]

Texas state lawmakers are considering the logistics and economic impact of potentially hosting a high-level radioactive waste disposal site or interim storage facility, according to the Interim Committee Charges issued by Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus (R) late last week. The Charge also asked the Committee on Environmental Regulation to consider what actions […]

The time period to file an appeal to the Supreme Court in the Yucca Mountain writ of mandamus decision expired last night at midnight with no appeals being filed by any opponents to the decision that compelled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to finish the Yucca licensing review. The end of the 90-day appeal time frame […]

The markup of the “Nuclear Waste Administration Act” bill that currently resides in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has been delayed once again after the sponsors of the bill sent the proposed legislation to the Congressional Budget Office for additional scoring. Committee Chairman Ron Wyden had expressed a desire to mark the bill […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission late last week denied requests for clarification on the timeline and cost figures associated with the NRC Yucca Order issued last year, citing that nothing in the court’s writ of mandamus required detailed time and budgetary outlines. Nye County, Nev., the States of South Carolina and Washington, Aiken County, S.C., and […]

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered yesterday that the petitioners in the Nuclear Waste Fund Fee case respond to the Department of Energy’s motion for a re-hearing en banc, extending the time period the court has to decide if the motion should be granted. The petitioners, the National Association of Regulatory Utility […]

The time period to file an appeal to the Supreme Court in the Yucca Mountain writ of mandamus decision expired last night at midnight with no appeals being filed by any opponents to the decision that compelled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to finish the Yucca licensing review. The end of the 90-day appeal time frame […]

The markup of the “Nuclear Waste Administration Act” bill that currently resides in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has been delayed once again after the sponsors of the bill sent the proposed legislation to the Congressional Budget Office for additional scoring. Committee Chairman Ron Wyden had expressed a desire to mark the bill […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission late last week denied requests for clarification on the timeline and cost figures associated with the NRC Yucca Order issued last year, citing that nothing in the court’s writ of mandamus required detailed time and budgetary outlines. Nye County, Nev., the States of South Carolina and Washington, Aiken County, S.C., and […]

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered yesterday that the petitioners in the Nuclear Waste Fund Fee case respond to the Department of Energy’s motion for a re-hearing en banc, extending the time period the court has to decide if the motion should be granted. The petitioners, the National Association of Regulatory Utility […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/24/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Waste Confidence final ruling should occur no later than Oct. 3, the NRC said this week. Originally, the schedule had called for the release of the final ruling in September of 2014, but the government shutdown last year caused delays in the public meeting schedule […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists each remain on track to receive new Type-B casks— capable of shipping Class B and C low-level radioactive waste—in the first quarter of this year, spokesmen for both companies said this week.  EnergySolutions, which owns and operates the four Type-B casks that currently service […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C-based think tank, is launching a new project on nuclear waste issues, announcing last week that to lead the effort, it has tapped Tim Frazier, the former designated federal officer for the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. BPC’s new project, “America’s […]

Politics and Funding Dominate INMM’s Seminar Discussions on Yucca Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to complete and release the Safety Evaluation Reports for the Yucca Mountain repository by January 2015, NRC Deputy Director of Operations Michael Weber said this week at the 29th Annual Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/10/2014 The Bi-partisan Policy Center announced this week that it is undertaking a new campaign, headed by Tim Frazier, former executive director of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, aimed at finding a workable implementation strategy to dealing with the nation’s nuclear waste. The campaign will conduct events, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/10/2014 The Department of Energy has begun efforts to satisfy requirements set forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning the license review of the Yucca Mountain geological repository, according to a letter Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Peter Lyons sent to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/10/2013 A majority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voiced support, or indicated through their questioning, that expedited transfer of spent fuel pools to dry cask storage is not needed during a briefing held this week to discuss the NRC’s staff’s findings on the subject. The NRC’s draft study on spent […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/10/2014 The Department of Energy filed for a re-hearing en banc late last week in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concerning the court’s decision to reduce the Nuclear Waste Fund fee to zero. DOE argued that the three-judge panel’s unanimous ruling places it in a “damned if […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 5/2/2014 Disposal of high-level waste in salt, clay/shale rocks, and crystalline rock formations could all provide robust long-term isolation for specific wastes, according to a Department of Energy report released this week. The report examines how different geologic disposal options would perform with different waste streams. Notably, it seemed disposal […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 5/2/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged this week that it will consider a petition to suspend all new reactor licensing decisions and license renewal decisions until it further examines the Environmental Assessment of high density spent fuel pools, according to a posting in the Federal Register. The petitioners, made up […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 5/2/2014 Opponents to the idea of Texas potentially hosting an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste began to voice their displeasure this week during a meeting held by the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, an environmental activist group dedicated to clean energy initiatives […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/25/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged this week that it has received a petition to consolidate all regulations that relate to the environmental impacts of spent fuel storage and disposal. The petitioners include a group of 34 activist organizations that also grouped together to petition the NRC to consider the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/26/2014 The Department of Energy has begun conducting market research in preparation for two planned procurements for the lease and loading of casks with spent nuclear fuel, as well as the transportation of the fuel from non-commercial research reactors to the Idaho National Laboratory, according to a pair of Sources […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/11/2014 A group of Mississippi state lawmakers proposed a resolution last week that would voice the state’s opposition to potentially hosting a high-level radioactive waste site. The proposed resolution, introduced by four Republican Representatives from southern Mississippi, followed a separate attempt by the state’s Public Service Commission to pass a […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/11/2014 A group of nine House lawmakers from five states with permanently shut down reactors are calling for funding to be provided in Fiscal Year 2015 so the Department of Energy can move forward with its plans for developing a consent-based siting approach for nuclear waste storage facilities. In a […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/11/2014 Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) accused the Department of Energy this week of attempting to drain the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Nuclear Waste Fund appropriations so it cannot complete the Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Reports. During a House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing, Johnson noted DOE’s  change of heart towards […]