Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Two congressmen recently reintroduced a bipartisan bill to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to keep a federal inspector at shuttered nuclear power plants until all fuel at the plants is in dry storage. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.) reintroduced their bill, the Increasing Nuclear Safety Protocols for Extended Canister Transfers (INSPECT) Act […]

The Department of Energy said Friday it cleared a paperwork hurdle for a planned five-year extension of California’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant by adopting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental reviews of the plant. DOE had a duty under federal law to do environmental diligence on Diablo Canyon after the department in 2022 agreed to provide […]

The Department of Energy said Friday it cleared a paperwork hurdle for a planned five-year extension of California’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant by adopting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental reviews of the plant. DOE had a duty under federal law to do environmental diligence on Diablo Canyon after the department in 2022 agreed to provide […]

Two congressmen recently reintroduced a bipartisan bill to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to keep a federal inspector at shuttered nuclear power plants until all fuel at the plants is in dry storage. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.) reintroduced their bill, the Increasing Nuclear Safety Protocols for Extended Canister Transfers (INSPECT) Act […]

Shine Technologies, Janesville, Wis., plans to start talking to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission soon about building a used nuclear-fuel recycling facility, the company said in a recent regulatory filing. “SHINE intends to begin regulatory engagement with the NRC in the 4th Quarter 2023,” reads a letter to the commission from Jim Costedio, the company’s vice […]

Thomas Ashley will take over as the permanent director of the office of investigations at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on July 30, the agency announced this week.  Ashley had been the acting director of the office since February, when Tracy Higgs, the previous director, retired. The offices of investigations investigates allegations of wrongdoing by NRC […]

Sixty four lawmakers called out what they said were six problems with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft rule for licensing advanced reactors and, in a July 14 letter, asked for a fix. Safety requirements in the NRC’s proposed rule are so strict that they will prevent commission staff from licensing new reactor designs quickly, said […]

The Senate’s 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes the text of a bill that would extend nuclear-industry indemnity for catastrophic accidents and begin reforms at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The bill text was folded into the version of the 2024 defense policy bill introduced Wednesday by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the majority leader. The Senate […]

The Senate’s 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes the text of a bill that would extend nuclear-industry indemnity for catastrophic accidents and begin reforms at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A spokesperson for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where the nuclear-reform bill originated, said in a statement Wednesday morning that the measure would be […]

Sixty four lawmakers called out what they said were six problems with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft rule for licensing advanced reactors and, in a July 14 letter, asked for a fix. Safety requirements in the NRC’s proposed rule are so strict that they will prevent commission staff from licensing new reactor designs quickly, said […]

Until last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a full slate of five commissioners for the first time since 2019. Now, the civilian nuclear power regulator is down to four after the Senate left town without voting on whether to give Jeffrey Baran, the longest-serving NRC commission, another five years at the agency. The realm […]

The security of commercial nuclear power plants and fuel facilities overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is strong based upon force-on-force exercises and related reviews by the agency during 2022, according to a report to Congress. Thanks to the decline in COVID-19 infections among the workforce, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staged more force-on-force exercises […]

Westinghouse Electric has submitted its first batch of vendor design review paperwork to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a microreactor capable of generating up to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the company said Wednesday. Westinghouse filed four phase 1 submissions with the Canadian regulator June 30, the company said. The Pennsylvania-based company also intends to […]

The security of commercial nuclear power plants and fuel facilities overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is strong based upon force-on-force exercises and related reviews by the agency during 2022, according to a report to Congress. Thanks to the decline in COVID-19 infections among the workforce, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staged more force-on-force exercises […]

Westinghouse Electric has submitted its first batch of vendor design review paperwork to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a microreactor capable of generating up to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the company said Wednesday. Westinghouse filed four phase 1 submissions with the Canadian regulator June 30, the company said. The Pennsylvania-based company also intends to […]

Until last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a full slate of five commissioners for the first time since 2019. Now, the civilian nuclear power regulator is down to four after the Senate left town without voting on whether to give Jeffrey Baran, the longest-serving NRC commission, another five years at the agency. The realm […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel should decide this summer whether to force Pacific Gas and Electric to formally defend its request to relicense the Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s spent fuel storage facility. The environmental group San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has mounted a multipronged legal attack on Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) effort to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could be down to four commissioners come Friday, with the Senate out of town and Commissioner Jeffrey Baran’s term was scheduled to expire. Baran’s nomination remained on the Senate’s executive calendar this week, but lawmakers returned home Thursday for their annual July 4 recess and were not scheduled to conduct any business […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel should decide this summer whether to force Pacific Gas and Electric to formally defend its request to relicense the Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s spent fuel storage facility. The environmental group San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has mounted a multipronged legal attack on Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) effort to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could be down to four commissioners come Friday, when Commissioner Jeffrey Baran’s term will expire and the Senate out of town until July 10. Baran’s nomination remained on the Senate’s executive calendar as of Monday, but lawmakers returned home Thursday for their annual July 4 recess and were not scheduled to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would receive its requested budget for fiscal year 2024, under a Republican-authored spending bill unveiled this week in the House. The civilian nuclear power and waste regulator would get about $979.2 million for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 if the bill, written by the House Appropriations energy and water development […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given the go-ahead for Centrus to demonstrate production of high assay low-enriched uranium at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regional Administrator Laura Dudes on June 12 wrote Mathew Snider, general manager of American Centrifuge Operating, to officially authorize the introduction of uranium […]

Some House Democrats told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a hearing this week that development of new nuclear power plants should be yoked to development of a permanent nuclear waste storage facility. In the same Wednesday hearing of the House Energy and Commerce energy, climate and grid security subcommittee, another Democrat, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), […]

Jeffrey Baran’s nomination for another term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was before the full Senate Thursday after a committee this week approved his nomination in a razor-thin party-line vote. In a Wednesday business meeting, the Democrat-controlled committee approved Baran’s nomination 10-9. Though the nomination was placed on the Senate executive calendar on Thursday, the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given the go-ahead for Centrus to demonstrate production of high assay low-enriched uranium at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regional Administrator Laura Dudes on June 12 wrote Mathew Snider, general manager of American Centrifuge Operating, to officially authorize the introduction of uranium […]

Some House Democrats told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a hearing Wednesday that development of new nuclear power plants should be yoked to development of a permanent nuclear waste storage facility. In the same hearing of the House Energy and Commerce energy, climate and grid security subcommittee, another Democrat, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), urged the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would receive its requested budget for fiscal year 2024, under a Republican-authored spending bill unveiled Wednesday in the House. The civilian nuclear power and waste regulator would get about $979.2 million for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 if the bill, written by the House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee, […]

By the thinnest partisan margin, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday confirmed Jeffrey Baran for another term as a commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In a business meeting, the Democrat-controlled committee voted 10-9 on party lines to send Baran’s nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote. The full Senate […]

All five commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were set to appear Wednesday for an oversight hearing before a House subcommittee. The hearing, “Oversight of NRC: Ensuring Efficient and Predictable Nuclear Safety Regulation for a Prosperous America,” was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern time before the House Energy and Commerce energy, climate and grid security […]

After delaying the decision late last month, a Senate committee was scheduled Wednesday to decide whether to recommend Jeffrey Baran for another five years as a commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had planned to vote on Baran’s renomination during a May 31 business meeting but did not, […]