Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The Sierra Club will be allowed to argue one environmental contention against U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of spent reactor fuel from nuclear power reactors. An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that the environmental organization had proved standing for intervention and an adjudicatory hearing […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts is objecting to an upcoming U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff order allowing the license transfer for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The order, expected as early as this week, would enable owner Entergy to sell the plant to Holtec International for decommissioning. The ruling could come even before the federal […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified Holtec International’s latest spent nuclear fuel transportation package. The Camden, N.J., energy technology company last week announced the approval following a review that began in February 2018, which will allow it to deploy the HI-STAR 100MB. Management expects it will be used to ship spent fuel from nuclear […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should disregard the commonwealth of Massachusetts’ request for a 90-day stay on its review of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, the plant’s owner and prospective buyer said Monday. Entergy and Holtec International argued that the delay is not needed even as they […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts on Thursday asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to place a 90-day stay on its consideration of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The hold is needed to allow officials from Massachusetts and the plant’s owner and prospective buyer to reach a potential settlement addressing concerns the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week began inspecting two recent incidents at Westinghouse Electric’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The event involved the May 12 discovery of leakage from a waste-transport carrier at the plant and a July 12 incident in which a drum of radioactively contaminated material pressurized and ignited. […]

The White House is expected to submit two nominations in tandem for positions on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an informed source said this week. Senate Appropriations Committee staffer Christopher Hanson would be nominated to succeed Stephen Burns, who retired from the commission in April ahead of the end of his term on June 30. […]

The White House is expected to submit two nominations in tandem for positions on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an informed source said this week. Senate Appropriations Committee staffer Christopher Hanson would be nominated to succeed Stephen Burns, who retired from the commission in April ahead of the end of his term on June 30. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday opened a public comment period on a new finding that most Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via near-surface facilities. Stakeholders have until Sept. 20 to submit comments on the draft regulatory basis issued last week by NRC staff, according to a filing in […]

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will participate in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s development of an environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s application to build and operate a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The state agency’s role is formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations, which was […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday opened the public comment period on a new finding that most Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via near-surface facilities. Stakeholders have until Sept. 20 to submit comments on the draft regulatory basis issued last week by NRC staff, according to a filing in […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday opened the public comment period on a new finding that most Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via near-surface facilities. Stakeholders have until Sept. 20 to submit comments on the draft regulatory basis issued last week by NRC staff, according to a filing in […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. This is another step, if a small one, toward the federal government potentially sending thousands of cubic meters of the waste to a disposal facility in West […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. This is another step, if a small one, toward the federal government potentially sending thousands of cubic meters of the waste to a disposal facility in West […]

Sonal Patel POWER Magazine In a bid to enhance the reactor oversight process (ROP), staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recommended the commission change qualitative descriptions for some color labels that signify risk, scale back on the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation’s nuclear power fleet, as well as […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. The waste, under existing federal regulations, must be interred in a geologic repository unless the federal commission approves a request for another means of disposal. The United States […]

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said he used a meeting last week with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki to renew his call for increased federal oversight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “As I told the chair, it is imperative that the NRC, Southern California Edison, and Holtec International take concrete […]

By John Stang For the second time this year, opponents of temporary, centralized storage of the nation’s spent nuclear power reactor fuel took a crack at such a project before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The opponents presented their cases to the three-person board Wednesday and Thursday that […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it is considering canceling a nearly 12-year-old rulemaking proceeding on security requirements for the dry storage pads used to hold used fuel from nuclear power reactors. The rulemaking, formally initiated in 2007 and on hold since 2015, is intended to further strengthen protections against the intentional release of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not move ahead with a potential rulemaking on security requirements for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI). The agency’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday to consider the status and “potential discontinuation” of the rulemaking, according to a meeting announcement. The 12-year-old […]

By John Stang The U.S. Regulatory Commission this week pushed back its schedule for completing reviews of license applications for two planned used nuclear fuel storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico. The agency by letter notified the corporate teams behind the projects: Holtec International, which wants to build a site with maximum capacity exceeding […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have determined that the Vermont state government is largely ready to assume regulatory authority over some radioactive materials. The only significant issue was with certain state regulations that require revision, the agency said Tuesday in a Federal Register notice. Vermont has said it will address those issues. In […]

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) has reaffirmed his call for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to post a full-time inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until completion of the used reactor fuel offload at the retired power plant. The lawmaker, whose congressional district covers SONGS, cited a list of safety issues dating back […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential updates to federal regulations that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state. That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposal and the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential development of a federal rule that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state. That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposition and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has formally objected to commercial plans for an interim storage facility in the state for spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power reactors. Holtec International, of Camden, N.J., has applied for a 40-year license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a facility that ultimately could hold up to […]

The movement of used nuclear fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is expected to begin again in early 2020. Fuel movement was expected to begin in a few weeks and conclude between February and April, Doug Bauder, Southern California Edison’s (SCE) chief nuclear officer at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), said […]

The nuclear watchdog organization Beyond Nuclear filed an appeal this week with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission to try to overturn an earlier ruling that rejected petitions for an evidentiary hearing to contest Holtec International’s license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. Beyond Nuclear filed its appeal Monday. The […]

About 40% of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s staff members are expected to be eligible to retire by 2022. That translates to 1,147 out of 2,868 permanent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) employees on the rolls as of March 31. Eligibility for retirement is based on age and years of federal service. This number does not include […]