Decommissioning

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers announced this week a new caucus aiming to “drive progress” on spent nuclear fuel transportation and storage, according to a press release. The Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus, led by Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) “seeks to address the challenges associated with stranded commercial spent fuel across […]

A state utilities regulator will look into water usage at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning after an environmental watchdog group sounded the alarm, according to a recent email from the regulator. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s bureau of investigation and enforcement will review “certain uses of water” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s […]

A state utilities regulator will look into water usage at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning after an environmental watchdog group sounded the alarm, according to a recent email from the regulator. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s bureau of investigation and enforcement will review “certain uses of water” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s […]

The Department of Energy this week publicly released its long-delayed draft Record of Decision for a proposed new landfill to handle low-level radioactive waste from building demolition at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The 350-page draft on the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, dated June 22, now will undergo a 60-day review, by the Tennessee […]

Another attempt by a nuclear watchdog to halt the sale of Three Mile Island “falls woefully short” of review guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company in charge of the plant’s decommissioning said in a new filing. NRC should toss Three Mile Island Alert’s July 1 motion to reopen proceedings on the sale […]

The Department of Energy this week publicly released its long-delayed draft Record of Decision for a proposed new landfill to handle low-level radioactive waste from building demolition at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The 350-page draft on the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, dated June 22, now will undergo a 60-day review, by the Tennessee […]

Another attempt by a nuclear watchdog to halt the sale of Three Mile Island “falls woefully short” of review guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company in charge of the plant’s decommissioning said in a new filing. NRC should toss Three Mile Island Alert’s July 1 motion to reopen proceedings on the sale […]

A nuclear watchdog aiming to halt the sale and decommissioning of the power plant at the epicenter of one of the nation’s worst nuclear disasters is again asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its challenge, according to a new motion filed with the agency last week. NRC erred when it tossed Three Mile Island […]

Planned layoffs at a shuttered New Jersey nuclear plant run afoul of a collective bargaining agreement, a union representative said this week amid ongoing arbitration talks about the future of some 40 unionized radiation protection technicians at the site. Holtec International, Camden, N.J., is responsible for decommissioning the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and its […]

A nuclear watchdog aiming to halt the sale and decommissioning of the power plant at the epicenter of one of the nation’s worst nuclear disasters is again asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its challenge, according to a new motion filed with the agency last week. NRC erred when it tossed Three Mile Island […]

A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated June 25, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the […]

A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is abandoning its inquiry into whether it should double the license renewal period for nuclear power plants to 40 years from 20 years, agency staff recommended this week. Because 90% of existing reactors already have a 20-year license extension allowing them to run for 60 years, a 40-year extension period would have […]

Anticipated decreases in activity surrounding two proposed interim storage sites partly explain the relatively flat budget request the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made for its spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning programs, a detailed spending justification published this week shows.  For the 2022 fiscal year, NRC apportioned $28 million of its proposed budget to its spent […]

State and federal agencies informed an interstate commission that no violations of environmental law appeared to occur in the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant that would require them to step in on the matter, a spokesperson for the commission said this week. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental […]

A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]

A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated Friday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the agency’s […]

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission don’t agree on whether the agency has the authority to rule on a motion to delay the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant, according to a commission order published this week. After an affirmation session Tuesday, NRC published its decision denying environmental watchdog Three Mile Island Alert’s request to […]

Residents in the area around a shuttered nuclear plant in southern New Jersey were in the dark for around two hours early this week after a construction accident caused a power outage, said the company in charge of decommissioning the site. A contractor working for Holtec International backed into a utility pole while moving equipment […]

After a recent hearing, a state court tentatively denied an environmental group’s petition to hit the brakes on decommissioning a nuclear power plant in southern California, according to a court filing. The California Coastal Commission didn’t violate state environmental law or its own regulations when it gave a permit to Southern California Edison (SCE) to […]

The Central Plateau Cleanup Co. will begin cocooning the K East Reactor later this year, Brian Stickney, the Department of Energy’s deputy Hanford manager for the agency’s Richland office, said last week.  Stickney spoke June 16 at a public briefing on Hanford in general for the public. The briefing was conducted via Internet with about […]

Residents in the area around a shuttered nuclear plant in southern New Jersey were in the dark for around two hours Monday afternoon after a construction accident caused a power outage, said the company in charge of decommissioning the site. A contractor working for Holtec International backed into a utility pole while moving equipment at […]

The Central Plateau Cleanup Co. will begin cocooning the K East Reactor later this year, Brian Stickney, the Department of Energy’s deputy Hanford manager for the agency’s Richland office, said last week.  Stickney spoke Wednesday at a public briefing on Hanford in general for the public. The briefing was conducted via Internet with about 150 […]

Tamara Miles is now the deputy director of small business programs for the Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Miles took the position in December after spending nearly five years as procurement director at the Cincinnati—based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, headed by […]

The company in charge of decommissioning a New Jersey nuclear power plant will lay off just under a hundred of its employees later this summer, according to the state’s labor department. Holtec International subsidiary company Consolidated Decommissioning International (CDI) will lay off 92 workers at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Forked River, N.J. effective […]

The Department of Energy said this week that rubble removal at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant in Washington state is resuming after an extended COVID-19 hiatus. After taking down the last major processing facility at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP), DOE said last February it anticipated removing all the rubble from the site by […]

Despite this year’s spate of plant closures the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asking for increased funding for regulation of new reactors during the 2022 fiscal year, according to recently published budget documents. Of the roughly $890 appropriation NRC would get if the Joe Biden administration’s budget plan were to become law, about $89 million would […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday that rubble removal at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant in Washington state is resuming after an extended COVID-19 hiatus. After taking down the last major processing facility at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP), DOE said last February it anticipated removing all the rubble from the site by summer […]

The state of New York and other stakeholders involved in an ongoing suit over the sale of Indian Point Energy Center moved to dismiss the case following the approval of a joint settlement, according to recent court filings. New York State, alongside environmental watchdog Riverkeeper and the towns of Cortlandt and Buchanan, N.Y., will withdraw […]

The company in charge of decommissioning Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey finished moving the plant’s spent fuel inventory into dry storage last week, according to a press release. Oyster Creek’s decommissioning is “on track for becoming the most expedited decommissioning program in the nation’s history,” Holtec International said in a press release […]