Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: October 06 (Cancelled): Hearing: An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments on Long Mott’s construction permit application starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.  20: Conference: Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association 2025 conference starts at 8 a.m. at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Andrea Kock to lead its Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), effective Monday, Sept. 29. Kock served as Region I administrator in King of Prussia, Penn. and most recently has been leading the NMSS as its acting head. She initially joined the NRC in 1996 as a […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating licenses of units 1 and 2 of NextEra Energy’s Point Beach nuclear plant in Two Rivers, Wis. for 20 additional years. The renewed licenses for Point Beach’s Unit 1 will expire in October 2050 and the second unit in March 2053. This is the second time the Wisconsin […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized Urenco USA to produce low-enriched uranium plus, becoming the first commercial uranium enricher to do so, according to its Thursday press release. Initial production of low-enriched uranium plus is scheduled to start later this year and the first deliveries to fuel fabricator planned for 2026, Urenco USA said. NRC […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has laid out its plans for traversing the government shutdown which began on Wednesday. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out an approved lapse plan for the independent agency on Tuesday.  Under the plan, when carryover funds at the NRC are all exhausted, activities, including licensing, inspections […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has postponed its three-judge panel’s oral arguments scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 6 on challenges to Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application due to the ongoing government shutdown. The company has applied to develop a small modular reactor in Seadrift, Texas.  NRC announced the postponement of the Atomic […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has laid out its plans for traversing the government shutdown which began on Wednesday. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out an approved lapse plan for the independent agency on Tuesday.  Under the plan, when carryover funds at the NRC are all exhausted, activities, including licensing, inspections […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Andrea Kock to lead its Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), effective Monday, Sept. 29. Kock served as Region I administrator in King of Prussia, Penn. and most recently has been leading the NMSS as its acting head. She initially joined the NRC in 1996 as a […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating licenses of units 1 and 2 of NextEra Energy’s Point Beach nuclear plant in Two Rivers, Wis. for 20 additional years. The renewed licenses for Point Beach’s Unit 1 will expire in October 2050 and the second unit in March 2053. This is the second time the Wisconsin […]

Connecticut has been granted certain authority to oversee radioactive materials, becoming the 40th Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreement state. NRC Chairman David Wright and Connecticut Gov. Edward “Ned” Lamont (D) signed the agreement Sept. 25. The final agreement was published in the Federal Register on Monday. According to the governor’s Sept. 25 press release, the agreement […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hold oral arguments at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 6 on challenges to Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application for a small modular reactor in Seadrift, Texas. The petitioner, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper), was certified for oral argument on Sept. 16 in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has selected John Tappert as director of its Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Tappert, who has been serving as the acting office director and previously as the office’s deputy director, was promoted to this role effective Sept. 7, according to a NRC’s Sept. 10 press release.  Tappert has been the acting […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has selected John Tappert as director of its Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Tappert, who has been serving as the acting office director and previously as the office’s deputy director, was promoted to this role effective Sept. 7, according to a NRC’s Sept. 10 press release.  Tappert has been the acting […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a hybrid meeting on Sept. 17 to discuss Holtec Decommissioning International’s licensing termination plan for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station in New Jersey. The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time at Lacey Township Municipal Building at 818 Lacey Road in Forked River, […]

David Wright has been ceremonially sworn in as Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair earlier this week. Wright has been officially back with the nuclear regulatory agency since early August after being confirmed by the Senate on July 28. He returns on a new five-year term that concludes on June 30, 2030.  His return in August marked […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to review the first two parts of Fermi America’s combined license application. The application contained sufficient design information for a license to construct four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the proposed site in Amarillo, Texas, according to NRC’s Monday press release. NRC said it does not anticipate any safety concerns […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to review the first two parts of Fermi America’s combined license application. The application contained sufficient design information for a license to construct four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the proposed site in Amarillo, Texas, according to NRC’s Monday press release. NRC said it does not anticipate any safety concerns […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission assistant general counsel for legislation, ethics, and administrative law Tison Campbell announced his Sept. 5 departure from the agency via LinkedIn. Starting as an attorney in the NRC’s Office of General Counsel, Campbell spent nearly 20 years working in various high-level legal roles at the nuclear regulatory agency. Campbell served as the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a hybrid meeting on Sept. 17 to discuss Holtec Decommissioning International’s licensing termination plan for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station in New Jersey. The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time at Lacey Township Municipal Building at 818 Lacey Road in Forked River, […]

Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voiced concerns Wednesday on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s independence and its ability to ensure nuclear safety. In particular, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked if any commissioners feared being fired by President Donald Trump’s administration if they deemed a reactor design unsafe, or failed to make a […]

Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voiced concerns Wednesday on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s independence and its ability to ensure nuclear safety. In particular, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked if any commissioners feared being fired by President Donald Trump’s administration if they deemed a reactor design unsafe, or failed to make a […]

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will testify before a Senate oversight hearing Wednesday morning, amid an ongoing shakeup at the agency. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing, will be held at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in Room 562 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building, will feature Commissioners Bradley Crowell, Matthew Marzano […]

Three House Democrats have penned a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright requesting information on recent interactions between the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over agency roles in the nuclear sector. Reps. Diane DeGette (D-Colo.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the design certification for Westinghouse’s AP1000 large reactor until 2046, Westinghouse announced on Aug. 26. NRC issued a final rule changing the durations of its design certifications, a regulatory approval of a complete nuclear power plant design, from 15 to 40 years.  Westinghouse’s AP1000, currently the only operating generation […]

Three House Democrats have penned a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright requesting information on recent interactions between the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over agency roles in the nuclear sector. Reps. Diane DeGette (D-Colo.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote […]

A local Texas gulf coast group is calling for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to oppose Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application for small modular reactors in Seadrift, Texas over safety concerns. Dow and X-Energy submitted their construction permit application, under Dow’s subsidiary Long Mott Energy, to the NRC on March 31.  In an Aug. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license amendment for Urenco USA’s enrichment facility in New Mexico, the agency said on LinkedIn Thursday. The approval allows Urenco to produce higher-enriched uranium-235 to fuel advanced reactors. “We first gave Urenco permission to start making higher-enriched U-235 last December,” the post said. “Our most recent approval lifts the […]

Reform at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is necessary but it must be done without compromising its independence, a Washington D.C.-based think tank wrote in a  July 31 commentary. Former NRC chair Stephen Burns contributed to the piece by Third Way, a national think tank focused on policy and politics. Burns recently spoke at a House […]

A California-based environmental group wants Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) to fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recent decisions to forgo additional seismic risk evaluation at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California. Diablo Canyon is a two-unit nuclear plant in San Obispo, Calif. and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric. The company submitted a license renewal […]

A California Democrat and a New York Republican in areas with retired reactors are having another go at passing a House of Representatives bill aimed at increasing safety oversight at nuclear power plants undergoing decommissioning. Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) recently said they would reintroduce the Increasing Nuclear Safety Protocols for Extended […]