Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its work policy to comply with recent White House directives, including getting most employees off telework and back to the office, a spokesperson said last week. “The NRC is working to ensure compliance with the White House’s executive orders and companion guidance, where applicable,” an NRC spokesperson said […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) panel will hear oral arguments Feb. 12 on the potential restart of the  Holtec Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel proceedings in Rockville, Md., will be open to the public. Information on how to listen to the oral arguments can be found here. […]

The federal government, Texas and landowners are among those filing briefs in a Supreme Court battle on if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission exceeded its authority when it licensed a private company to store 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel in the Permian Basin. On March 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments […]

Approving the restart of a Michigan nuclear plant by August will be “demanding,” federal regulators said Tuesday, and there is more work ahead than the plant’s owner may realize. That was the takeaway from senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff during their hybrid public meeting at commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., with Holtec International, owner of the Palisades […]

Approving the restart of a Michigan nuclear plant by August will be “demanding,” federal regulators said Tuesday, and there is more work ahead than the plant’s owner may realize. That was the takeaway from senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff during their hybrid public meeting at commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., with Holtec International, owner of […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff were scheduled to meet virtually on Tuesday with representatives of Holtec International to discuss the company’s planned restart of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan. The meeting, portions of which are closed to the public, was scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, according to a notice on the […]

Matthew Marzano, President Joe Biden’s (D) third and final Democratic appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was sworn in Tuesday, the agency said. The civilian regulator for nuclear power and nuclear waste announced the ceremony in a press release. Marzano was narrowly confirmed by the 118th Congress’ Democratic Senate majority. He survived an intense pressure campaign […]

Matthew Marzano, President Joe Biden’s (D) third and final Democratic appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was sworn in Tuesday, the agency said. The civilian regulator for nuclear power and nuclear waste announced the ceremony in a press release. Marzano was narrowly confirmed by the 118th Congress’ Democratic Senate majority. He survived an intense pressure […]

Hiring new employees and upping the compensation of existing ones will cost between $2.3 million and $5.5 million, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a recent report to Congress. The commission made the 10-page report available on its website on Dec. 26. The NRC sent the report to Congress on Dec. 17, as it was […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff planned to meet Jan. 9 with representatives of Holtec International to discuss regulatory relief related to aging steam generators at the Michigan nuclear plant the company wants to restart next year. The two steam generators have drawn the attention of activists opposed to restarting the Palisades Nuclear Generating station, which closed […]

The United Kingdom-owned Nuclear Waste Services this week released its sustainability report, which outlines the ways the Kingdom’s nuclear cleanup company aims to minimize waste and harmful emissions from its own operations. The state-owned corporation said, among other things, that building a U.K. deep geologic repository for radioactive waste “will create transformational opportunities while challenging […]

The Senate on Thursday narrowly approved President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to fill the last open spot on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The nominee, Matthew Marzano, made it through 50-45, with five Senators not voting. He needed the support of a majority of voting Senators and got it, ensuring that for most of the second […]

In the face of what so far has been united Republican opposition, Senate Democrats have teed up a vote on Matthew Marzano’s nomination to join the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  In a procedural move Tuesday, Majority Leader Sen. Charles Schuember (D-N.Y.) filed cloture on the nomination, meaning that if a majority of voting Senators agree, the […]

In a sort of paperwork anti-milestone, the Department of Energy last week asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to terminate a materials license for an unbuilt nuclear fuel handling facility once planned for Butte County, Idaho. “The decision has been made that the facility will not be constructed and therefore the License should be terminated,” reads a […]

In a sort of paperwork anti-milestone, the Department of Energy last week asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to terminate a materials license for an unbuilt nuclear fuel handling facility once planned for Butte County, Idaho. “The decision has been made that the facility will not be constructed and therefore the License should be terminated,” reads […]

Republicans on Wednesday turned against President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to fill the last vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the lame-duck Democratic majority got the President’s man to the floor. On a vote of 10-9, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans against, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved Matthew […]

“Regulatory impedance” is among the challenges facing the new nuclear renaissance, the chief executive officer of BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., said Monday at a professional conference. “For whatever reason, western nations, developed economies, develop maybe a little bit of a fetish around regulation, control oversight, audit,” Rex Geveden, the BWX Technologies (BWXT) chief, said in […]

Republicans on Wednesday turned against President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to fill the last vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the lame-duck Democratic majority got the President’s man to the floor. On a vote of 10-9, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans against, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved Matthew […]

“Regulatory impedance” is among the challenges facing the new nuclear renaissance, the chief executive officer of BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., said Monday at a professional conference. “For whatever reason, western nations, developed economies, develop maybe a little bit of a fetish around regulation, control oversight, audit,” Rex Geveden, the BWX Technologies (BWXT) chief, said in […]

A little more than two weeks after Republicans swept into power in Washington, Matthew Marzano, a Democratic Senate staffer and licensed reactor operator, will get the first of two lame-duck votes he must pass in order to become a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Marzano was scheduled for a vote during a business session […]

A former employee at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan should not be allowed to block federal regulatory relief needed to restart the plant, Holtec International said this week. In a Monday regulatory filing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Holtec said Alan Blind, the ex-employee of former plant operator Entergy, did not actually contest […]

The chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agencies to cease “partisan work” until a new Congress and President arrive in January. “As a traditional part of the peaceful transfer of power, the NRC should immediately stop work on any partisan or controversial item under consideration, consistent […]

The chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agencies to cease “partisan work” until a new Congress and President arrive in January. “As a traditional part of the peaceful transfer of power, the NRC should immediately stop work on any partisan or controversial item under consideration, consistent […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking public comment on its draft supplemental environmental impact statement for renewing the operating licenses of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, the agency said in a press release. The environmental review is one of the steps the NRC has to complete before approving plant owner Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s in-house legal advisors this month recommended tweaking the agency’s mission statement to clarify that regulation does not unnecessarily limit beneficial civilian use of nuclear energy. Separately, NRC’s Office of the Executive Director, helmed by the agency’s top civil servant, recommended a slightly different change to the mission statement. NRC’s Office of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s in-house legal advisors this month recommended tweaking the agency’s mission statement to clarify that regulation does not unnecessarily limit beneficial civilian use of nuclear energy. Separately, NRC’s Office of the Executive Director, helmed by the agency’s top civil servant, recommended a slightly different change to the mission statement. NRC’s Office of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s in-house legal advisors this month recommended tweaking the agency’s mission statement to clarify that regulation does not unnecessarily limit beneficial civilian use of nuclear energy. Separately, NRC’s Office of the Executive Director, helmed by the agency’s top civil servant, recommended a slightly different change to the mission statement. NRC’s Office of […]

Environmental groups want an appeals court to rehear a case that affirmed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license commercial consolidation and storage of spent nuclear fuel. The groups led by Beyond Nuclear last week filed for a rehearing en banc, or by all the members of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could take until February to issue its final updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants, according to a document from the agency’s Inspector General. That would be about five months later than an estimate of August that an NRC spokesperson provided to the Monitor in February, after the final proposed rule went to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could take until February to issue its final updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants, according to a document from the agency’s Inspector General. That would be about five months later than an estimate of August that an NRC spokesperson provided to the Monitor in February, after the final proposed rule […]