Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Despite assertions made by an anti-nuclear group suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a recent Supreme Court decision doesn’t affect NRC’s authority to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, the company in charge of the project argued Monday. The high court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA “has nothing […]

The New Mexico chapter of a prominent environmental group voiced its opposition over the weekend to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s recent recommendation that the commission license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter joins New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in her fight […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is trying to kickstart a solution to U.S. nuclear waste storage problems, usurping Congress’ constitutional authority in the process, an anti-nuclear group argued this week in its lawsuit over commercial interim storage. Beyond Nuclear’s Wednesday comments to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals were the latest in the anti-nuclear group’s ongoing […]

A Senate committee had to delay its plan to vote this week on the White House’s picks to fill two open seats on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to an announcement from the panel. Although the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was scheduled Wednesday to consider Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell for roles as […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is trying to kickstart a solution to U.S. nuclear waste storage problems, usurping Congress’ constitutional authority in the process, an anti-nuclear group argued Wednesday in its lawsuit over commercial interim storage. Beyond Nuclear’s Wednesday comments to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals were the latest in the anti-nuclear group’s ongoing struggle […]

A Senate committee had to delay its plan to vote this week on the White House’s picks to fill two open seats on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the panel announced Tuesday. Although the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was scheduled Wednesday to consider Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell for roles as two of NRC’s […]

The New Mexico chapter of a prominent environmental group voiced its opposition over the weekend to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s recent recommendation that the commission license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter joins New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in her fight […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked a federal appeals court this week to let its lawyers file a full response to the state of Texas’s claim that the agency’s decision to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state was nullified by a recent Supreme Court decision, court documents show. If […]

An anti-nuclear group spearheading a legal challenge to a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas took a page out of the state attorney general’s playbook this week, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling as evidence that the government cannot license the site. Beyond Nuclear, which is suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

An anti-nuclear group spearheading a legal challenge to a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas took a page out of the state attorney general’s playbook Wednesday, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling as evidence that the government cannot license the site. Beyond Nuclear, which is suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Wednesday recommended that the agency grant an operating license to an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for eastern New Mexico, according to a new report. In the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s proposed interim storage project, NRC staff recommended “issuance of a license to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission planned to release this week its findings on the environmental safety of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico, the agency said Tuesday. NRC staff are “aiming for this week” to publish its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s proposed interim storage project, an […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked a federal appeals court Monday to let its lawyers file a full response to the state of Texas’s claim that the agency’s decision to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state was nullified by a recent Supreme Court decision, court documents show. If the […]

A recent Supreme Court ruling nullifies the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to issue a license for a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the state argued in court this week. The high court’s June 30 ruling in West Virginia v. EPA “demonstrates that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacks statutory authority” to […]

The White House’s independent nuclear safety and radioactive waste technology organizations would get every dime of the funding they asked for if the House’s version of the 2023 budget became law, according to a report published this week by House appropriators. In its 2023 budget report published Monday, the House Appropriations energy and water development […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The final version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants should be ready in a little under two years, the agency said this week. NRC staff plan to send the updated decommissioning rule to the commissioners for approval in October 2023, teeing up final publication in the […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — Although its Nuclear Regulatory Commission license has been delayed four times now, Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel could be up in running in New Mexico, at least partially, by 2025, an executive said here. NRC’s May announcement that it would hold off on licensing the proposed Holtec […]

In a hearing this week, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said two would-be commissioners should stake out clearer positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule for nuclear power plants. Markey spoke at the tail end of a nomination hearing Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, […]

In a hearing Wednesday, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said two would-be commissioners should stake out clearer positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule for nuclear power plants. Markey spoke at the tail end of a nomination hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, whom President […]

The White House’s picks to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were scheduled to appear Wednesday before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the committee announced. The confirmation hearing for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, who the Joe Biden administration tapped May 3 to become NRC commissioners, was on the slate for 10:00 a.m. […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The final version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants should be ready in a little under two years, the agency said this week. NRC staff plan to send the updated decommissioning rule to the commissioners for approval in October 2023, teeing up final publication in the […]

In early fall, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will recommend whether the civilian nuclear energy regulator should overhaul federal rules about securing special nuclear material, an agency official said during a public meeting on Wednesday. Staff were due to turn in their notation vote paper to the commission by September, said Marshall Kohen, a technical assistant […]

In early fall, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will recommend whether the civilian nuclear energy regulator should overhaul federal rules about securing special nuclear material, an agency official said during a public meeting on Wednesday. Staff were due to turn in their notation vote paper to the commission by September, said Marshall Kohen, a technical assistant […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not required to interview affected workers or record a March 1 public meeting about an incident last year that exposed 22 workers to radiation at a reactor near Richland, Wash., the regulator told one such worker’s lawyer on May 13. The decision not to talk to any of the workers […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not required to interview affected workers or record a March 1 public meeting about an incident last year that exposed 22 workers to radiation at a reactor near Richland, Wash., the regulator told one such worker’s lawyer on May 13. The decision not to talk to any of the workers […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. NRC approves EnergySolutions nuke plant license transfers following stock buyout The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved EnergySolutions' request to transfer control of several of its shuttered nuclear power plants to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not decide whether to license the second of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel until around Labor Day, the agency said this week. Although Holtec International has said that it expected NRC to license its proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in the second quarter of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed the Tennessee Valley Authority to work some people harder during an ongoing service outage at the Watts Bar 2 nuclear reactor, where the restart of tritium production for nuclear weapons has slipped to June from mid-May, the commission said. The outage now “is now scheduled to be completed by early […]

By John Stang The attorney for a pipefitter exposed to radiation recently questioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about why the worker was not interviewed in the aftermath of a May 2021 incident at the Columbia Generating Station north of Richland, Washington.  Last week, Washington, D.C. labor attorney Billie Pirner Garde sent a letter seeking answers […]

The state of New Mexico hasn’t proven to a federal court that it has sufficient legal standing to challenge the licensing of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued Monday. NRC’s newest filing with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals aims to derail New Mexico Attorney […]