Reactor Licensing & Regulation

Thomas Gardiner The timeline for advancing the three nominees for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission remained murky Thursday, more than a week after the confirmation hearing for sitting Commissioner Jeff Baran. The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has not scheduled a vote on giving Baran a full five-year term to June 30, 2023. Similarly, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request to effectively suspend the requirement that the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state complete fresh assessments of earthquake and flooding risks. The regulator in 2012 required that all holders of nuclear power reactor licenses and construction permits conduct the evaluations in the wake of the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request to effectively suspend the requirement that the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state complete fresh assessments of earthquake and flooding risks. The regulator in 2012 required that all holders of nuclear power reactor licenses and construction permits conduct the evaluations in the wake of the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a supplemental inspection of the Columbia Generating Station in Washington state from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 to ensure the nuclear power plant has adequately addressed errors that led to mislabeling of a radioactive waste shipment last year. The regulator in July issued a “white” finding, indicating low to moderate safety significance, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing a new strategic plan to guide its operations from fiscal years 2018 to 2022. The is the seventh volume of the regulator’s strategic plan, which must be updated every four years, and is not a major departure from the document covering fiscal 2014 to 2018, according to an […]

Thomas Gardiner Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wy.) had some tough questions for Jeff Baran during his confirmation hearing Wednesday for reappointment to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, drawing particular attention to the nominee’s position on the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Barrasso’s panel is the gatekeeper for Baran’s nomination for […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Jeff Baran on Wednesday took some heat at his reappointment hearing on Capitol Hill for dissenting against plans to take further steps, and spend more money, in the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. In June, Baran was the lone opponent among the three sitting commissioners […]

The head of the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to move quickly to confirm the three nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “This is a moment when Congress and the administration are rightly raising concerns relative to efficient and effective federal regulatory environments,” Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing a new strategic plan to guide its operations from fiscal years 2018 to 2022. The is the seventh volume of the regulator’s strategic plan, which must be updated every four years, and is not a major departure from the document covering fiscal 2014 to 2018, according to an […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has rescheduled for next week its confirmation hearing on Jeff Baran’s reappointment to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Baran will now appear before the committee at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, alongside four nominees for assistant administrator positions at the Environmental Protection […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade organization for the U.S. nuclear power industry, has selected a Duke Energy executive to become its new chief nuclear officer. Nuclear navy veteran John W. (Bill) Pitesa, who has spent 37 years with Duke, will join NEI effective Dec. 1 as a “loaned executive,” according to a press release. […]

A subcommittee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards met Thursday to discuss the licensing progress for Northwest Medical Isotopes’ (NWMI) planned production facility. Northwest is one of several U.S. companies aiming to provide a domestic supply of molybdenum-99, which decays into technetium-99m, an isotope used in a variety of forms in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested additional information from the Department of Energy regarding its request for a two decade-year extension to the license for storage of waste from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. The Energy Department currently has NRC authorization to hold waste from the Pennsylvania plant’s […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has postponed its hearing on the nomination of Jeff Baran to remain on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A new date for the hearing, in which lawmakers will also consider nominees for four assistant administrator positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, has not yet been rescheduled, according to a Tuesday […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to consider Jeff Baran’s appointment for another term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The White House on Sept. 5 formally nominated Baran for a second term, through June 30, 2023. Baran’s current term does not expire until June 30 of next year. However, Environment […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested additional information from the Department of Energy regarding its request for a two decade-year extension to the license for storage of waste from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. The Energy Department currently has NRC authorization to hold waste from the Pennsylvania plant’s […]

By Thomas Gardiner Two Florida nuclear power plants shut down at least parts of their operations this week as Hurricane Irma approached and then tore through the state, but are once again operational. Florida Power and Light (FPL), which operates both plants, said public safety is a top priority. Both reactor units at the Turkey […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued five “substantive revisions” to the draft final rule revising the federal regulation on disposal of low-level radioactive waste. The updated rule will be published as a supplemental proposed rule for 90 days of public comment, according to a Sept. 8 memo from Annette Vietti-Cook, secretary of the commission, to […]

Two Florida nuclear power plants shut down at least parts of their operations this week as Hurricane Irma approached and then tore through the state, but are once again operational. Florida Power and Light (FPL), which operates both plants, said public safety is a top priority. Both reactor units at the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week issued five “substantive revisions” to the draft final rule updating the federal regulations on disposal of low-level radioactive waste. The updated rule will be published as a supplemental proposed rule for 90 days of public comment, according to a Sept. 8 staff-requirements memo from Annette Vietti-Cook, secretary of the commission, to NRC […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has formally closed an August 2016 confirmatory action letter to Cameco Resources — indicating the U.S. uranium producer has met the agency’s expectations in addressing problems with its radioactive waste transport procedures. The NRC opened an investigation of Cameco Resources last year following the discovery that an intermodal container of barium sulfate sludge […]

By Thomas Gardiner The Nuclear Regulatory Commission member called “relatively unknown outside Capitol Hill” when he was confirmed for the post in 2014 was nominated Tuesday by the White House for another term. Jeff Baran joined the commission on Oct. 14, 2014, for a term that ends June 30, 2018. If approved by the Senate, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission member called “relatively unknown outside Capitol Hill” when he was confirmed for the post in 2014 was nominated Tuesday by the White House for another term. Jeff Baran joined the commission on Oct. 14, 2014, for a term that ends June 30, 2018. If approved by the Senate, he would serve […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month formally closed an August 2016 confirmatory action letter to Cameco Resources — indicating the U.S. uranium producer has met the agency’s expectations in addressing problems with its radioactive waste transport procedures. The NRC opened an investigation of Cameco Resources following the discovery that an intermodal container of barium sulfate sludge had […]

The state of Nevada objected to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recently announced plan to this fall prepare to resume its review of the Energy Department’s application to license the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nye County, Nev. The NRC on Aug. 8 said it would spend about $110,000 on “information-gathering activities” to gather input about […]

The state of Nevada objected to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recently announced plan to this fall prepare to resume its review of the Energy Department’s application to license the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nye County, Nev. The NRC on Aug. 8 said it would spend about $110,000 on “information-gathering activities” to gather input about […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes that licensed operators of U.S. nuclear plants are providing sufficient resources to counter cyber threats, according to the agency’s response to a letter from Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.). Markey raised concerns in a July 10 letter to the heads of the NRC and several other federal agencies following news reports […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has upheld a key violation finding against the operator of a Washington state nuclear power plant in connection with shipment of radioactive waste to a disposal site last fall. Energy Northwest, owner of the Columbia Generating Station, said Wednesday it is still considering whether to appeal the NRC decision. In November […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday issued a confirmatory action letter laying out the operational corrections power provider Entergy has pledged to make at its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The nuclear industry regulator in 2015 placed Pilgrim in Column 4 of its Action Matrix, the lowest safety rating for an operating nuclear reactor, following […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified AREVA’s new dry storage system for used nuclear fuel, allowing the product to go onto the market, the company announced this week. The NUHOMS Extended Optimized Storage (EOS) system from AREVA subsidiary TN Americas can be used for transport and storage of high burn-up fuel from closed nuclear […]