Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The deadline to repeal a contentious bill pushed through the Ohio state legislature by former House Speaker Larry Householder passed on Thursday, making a $0.85 utility rate increase for ratepayers across the state all but imminent. That’s despite Householder’s criminal indictment on racketeering and corruption charges this summer, subsequent resignation as House Speaker and a […]

In the 2019 fiscal year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) almost met its security strategic goal — but not quite.  According to a powerpoint published on the commission’s website ahead of a Wednesday oversight meeting, a “single event” caused the NRC to miss the goal that year.  Commissioners are set to discuss the missed goal […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating FirstEnergy, the Ohio electric utility tied to a bribery scheme that allegedly helped state Rep. Larry Householder become the state’s Speaker of the House in exchange for a bailout of two nuclear plants.   Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations are typically done behind closed doors, but the […]

Holtec plans to submit its license transfer application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to acquire the Palisades Power Plant by the end of this year or early 2021, Andrea Sterdis, Holtec’s Vice President of Regulatory & Environmental Affairs, said Tuesday. The company announced plans to acquire the Covert, Michigan-based plant from Entergy Corp. for decommissioning […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to complete the Three Mile Island Unit 2 license transfer by fall of this year, according to Bruce Watson, Chief of the NRC Reactor Decommissioning Branch. If approved, GPU Nuclear, the FirstEnergy subsidiary that currently owns the reactor, will be allowed to transfer its license to a TMI-2 Solutions, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a slap on the wrist to International Isotopes for exporting radioactive isotopes with medical and industrial applications to Iraq without a proper license in 2019, according to documents.  The company exported a combined total of 264.60 MBq of Cesium-137, Barium-133, Cobalt-57, Cobalt-60, Europium-152, and Sodium-22 without a proper license […]

Ohio’s attorney general sued FirstEnergy and its affiliates this week, opening yet another probe of the company’s alleged connections with state Rep. Larry Householder (R), the former Ohio House Speaker facing federal racketeering charges related to a 2019 nuclear-power bailout. The state suit seeks to block Energy Harbor, a former FirstEnergy subsidiary once called FirstEnergy […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to complete the Three Mile Island Unit 2 license transfer by fall of this year, according to Bruce Watson, Chief of the NRC Reactor Decommissioning Branch. If approved, GPU Nuclear, the FirstEnergy subsidiary that currently owns the reactor, will be allowed to transfer its license to a TMI-2 Solutions, […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating FirstEnergy, the Ohio electric utility tied to a bribery scheme that allegedly helped state Rep. Larry Householder become the state’s Speaker of the House in exchange for a bailout of two nuclear plants.   Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations are typically done behind closed doors, but the […]

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio commission has launched a probe into whether the state’s largest electric utility used ratepayer money to help finance a scheme to elect Ohio Rep. Larry Householder as the state’s house speaker in order to pass a bill that helped bail out two of its subsidiaries. In an order filed […]

NAC International is considering its options for responding to a recent finding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it had seemingly breached federal regulations in a design update for a used-nuclear fuel storage cask, an executive said last week. “NAC does not at this point, having just received the details set forth in the inspection […]

By John Stang Full security training for the nation’s commercial reactors probably won’t resume “until sometime next year,” Shana Helton, acting deputy director for the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said this week. Helton spoke Tuesday at a staff briefing for NRC commissioners about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Full security training for the nation’s commercial reactors probably won’t resume “until sometime next year,” said Shana Helton, acting deputy director for the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  Helton spoke Tuesday at a staff briefing for NRC commissioners about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  The NRC has granted numerous […]

NAC International is considering its options for responding to a recent finding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it had seemingly breached federal regulations in a design update for a used-nuclear fuel storage cask, an executive said Friday. “NAC does not at this point, having just received the details set forth in the inspection report, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing its next strategic plan, covering federal fiscal years 2022 to 2026. The agency has scheduled a meeting for Sept. 22 to receive stakeholder input on the document. It is also taking comments online and by mail. The “NRC would like input on the agency’s strategic goals, actions to realize […]

By John Stang A panel of specialists at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a petition from a pair of Texas-based oil and gas interests to reopen its case for a hearing in the licensing of Holtec International’s planned spent-fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) essentially decided […]

Used nuclear fuel management specialist NAC International could face civil penalties for failing to adhere to federal regulations in updating the design for one of its storage casks, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal agency cited two apparent violations on Sept. 3 in submitting the findings of a February 2020 routine inspection of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July continued to keep a tight rein on spending down its balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a nuclear waste disposal facility. The agency used just $335 for unspecified program planning and support, according to its latest monthly spending report to Congress. That left it with an […]

By John Stang The Ohio government’s utility residential customers’ watchdog has requested that the state Public Utilities Commission investigate whether any ratepayers’ money was channeled to an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to preserve two nuclear power plants. “The scope of that audit and investigation should include FirstEnergy’s corporate governance, its corporate relationships including its […]

A panel of specialists at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a petition from a pair of Texas-based oil and gas interests to reopen its case for a hearing in the licensing of Holtec International’s planned spent-fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) essentially decided that Fasken Land […]

Used nuclear fuel management specialist NAC International could face civil penalties for failing to adhere to federal regulations in updating the design for one of its storage casks, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal agency cited two apparent violations on Sept. 3 in submitting the findings of a February 2020 routine inspection of […]

Stakeholders must finally accept that the long-planned, still-unrealized nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., is dead and needs to be replaced with a new approach, according to a former senior official with the Department of Energy. “The sooner everyone agrees to pull the plug on Yucca Mountain, the sooner the United States can move […]

By John Stang The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled to be briefed later this month on the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern time on Sept. 15. It will be webcast. The agenda has not been set yet, but the meeting will include […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico’s members of the U.S. Senate are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in their state. From Aug. 20 through Wednesday, the federal regulator conducted four webinars on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico’s members of the U.S. Senate are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in their state. From Aug. 20 through Wednesday, the federal regulator conducted four webinars on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should consider additional safety measures for its proposed update on rules for disposal of “very-low-level” radioactive waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The federal regulator currently on a case-by-case basis allows land burial of this waste type in municipal and hazardous waste landfills that are not licensed for disposal […]

Aaron Larson POWER magazine The Duane Arnold Energy Center – a 615-megawatt nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa – will reportedly not restart after high winds caused extensive damage to the station’s cooling towers. The plant owner, NextEra Energy Resources, had planned to retire the unit on Oct. 30, but after assessing damage caused […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Corp. faces at least eight class action lawsuits from stockholders and ratepayers, as well as possible legal action from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, regarding an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to keep two of the power company’s nuclear plants operating, according to an Aug. 17 filing with the U.S. Securities […]

The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to potential storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

FirstEnergy Corp. faces at least eight class action lawsuits from stockholders and ratepayers, as well as possible legal action from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, regarding an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to keep two of the power company’s nuclear plants operating, according to a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All […]