Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should implement stronger controls for all categories of radioactive material for which it grants licenses, including the least dangerous category that currently falls outside of the same level of scrutiny, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Friday. The GAO conducted undercover tests through which it established three […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week formally notified power provider Exelon that it was increasing oversight of its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey after the federal agency identified a safety violation during a Jan. 4 test. The “white” — low to moderate safety significance — determination was reported to Exelon Generation Senior Vice President […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week formally notified Exelon that it was increasing oversight of its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey after the federal agency identified a safety violation during a Jan. 4 test. The “white” — low to moderate safety significance — determination was reported to Exelon Generation Senior Vice President Bryan Hanson […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on July 1 said potential top civil penalties for violations of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act had been doubled from $140,000 to $280,469 per violation, as mandated under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. A preliminary “catch-up” fine update is demanded by Aug. 1 of this year, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday said potential top civil penalties for violations of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act had been doubled from $140,000 to $280,469 per violation, as mandated under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. A preliminary “catch-up” fine update is demanded by Aug. 1 of this year, according to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday that its security inspections at commercial nuclear power reactors and “Category I” fuel cycle facilities in 2015 resulted in 138 findings, most of which were of “low security significance.” The annual report to Congress on the NRC’s security inspection program said the agency conducted 242 inspections at those sites, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s finalized fee plan for the current budget year features a nearly 12 percent reduction in the annual fee for spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning licensees. The final rule was published June 24 in the Federal Register, and announced Monday in an NRC press release. The agency collects 90 percent of its […]

The California State Lands Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a lease update request from Pacific Gas & Electric as part of the utility’s plans to shut down the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The staff-recommended update terminates two leases covering facility infrastructure on state lands that are due to expire in 2018 and 2019. They are […]

Waste Control Specialists has not provided sufficient information to enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to carry out a technical review of its license application to build an interim consolidated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and reactor-related greater-than-Class C low-level waste, according to a senior NRC official. That was the finding of an acceptance assessment […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday that its security inspections at commercial nuclear power reactors and “Category I” fuel cycle facilities in 2015 resulted in 138 findings, most of which were of “low security significance.” The annual report to Congress on the NRC’s security inspection program said the agency conducted 242 inspections at those sites, […]

Waste Control Specialists has not provided sufficient information to enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to carry out a technical review of its license application to build an interim consolidated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and reactor-related greater-than-Class C low-level waste, according to a senior NRC official. That was the finding of an acceptance assessment of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s finalized fee plan for the current budget year features a nearly 12 percent reduction in the annual fee for spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning licensees. The final rule was published Friday in the Federal Register, and announced Monday in an NRC press release. The agency collects 90 percent of its […]

The California State Lands Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a lease update request from Pacific Gas & Electric as part of the utility’s plans to shut down the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The staff-recommended update terminates two leases covering facility infrastructure on state lands that are due to expire in 2018 and 2019. They are […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday denied two appeals from the state of Vermont, where officials have argued the federal agency wrongly approved emergency planning zone exemptions at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station without allowing state input. The NRC in December granted plant owner Entergy a license amendment and subsequent emergency planning exemptions, allowing Vermont […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to implement five Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations for improving high-impact system controls, according to documents released Tuesday. High-impact systems are characterized as federal security systems that hold sensitive information, which if lost could cause “catastrophic harm” to individuals, the government, or the country, according to the documents. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to implement five Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations for improving high-impact system controls, according to documents released Tuesday. High-impact systems are characterized as federal security systems that hold sensitive information, which if lost could cause “catastrophic harm” to individuals, the government, or the country, according to the documents. A GAO […]

U.S. Advanced nuclear reactor work, light-water reactors, and the accident-tolerant fuel program are expected to be among the topics officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discuss with Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy officials on June 20. Representatives from the two offices are set to meet at NRC headquarters. Bill Wicker, senior adviser for […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Inspector General’s Office has recommended the agency  take four actions to improve internal controls related to decommissioning funds reviews at nuclear power plants. “The agency has adequate processes in place for coordinating with licensees to address possible decommissioning fund shortfalls,” according to the report made public on Monday. “However, the Office of the Inspector […]

Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are set to meet with Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy officials on June 20 at NRC headquarters. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, under the direction of acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy John Kotek, is leading the Obama administration’s replacement for the canceled nuclear waste repository at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. […]

The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire is “degraded but operable,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week in response to Massachusetts lawmakers’ continued calls to close the 26-year-old facility. State Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D), who first brought the issue up in 2013, and state Sen. Daniel Wolf (D) joined state Reps. […]

Attorneys general in four northeastern states are weighing options after a defeat in federal court last week, in which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request to vacate a Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule allowing indefinite storage of nuclear waste at American power plants. The court on June 3 rejected a petition from Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, […]

The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire is “degraded but operable,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week in response to Massachusetts lawmakers’ calls to close the 26-year-old facility. State Sens. Daniel Wolf (D) and Kathleen O’Connor (D), along with state Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D) and James Kelcourse (R), penned a May 10 letter asking […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is justified in allowing indefinite storage of nuclear waste at American power plants, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision denies a request from four states – New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut – asking that NRC vacate its continued storage rule. Formerly known as […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not gone far enough in improving safety at American nuclear plants in response to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, an independent, NRC-funded study claims. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in its second and final report on Fukushima lessons learned found that while NRC has implemented most of its […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to downgrade the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station’s safety rating for the second year in a row, following another inspection violation at the New Jersey plant, which is owned by Exelon Corp. NRC’s “white” finding, which signifies a low to moderate safety issue, stems from a Jan. 4 failure […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station continues to operate safely, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s second of three increased-oversight inspections at the troubled Massachusetts plant. Following a series of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve concerns, NRC in September lowered Pilgrim’s safety rating to Column 4, which is the lowest rating a facility can have […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Ostendorff offered a frank assessment Friday on the events that led to former Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko’s resignation in 2012. Ostendorff, who is leaving his post in June, said Jaczko’s colleagues tried for many months to form a collegial, working relationship before reaching last resort and sending a letter to the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to downgrade the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station’s safety rating for the second year in a row, following another inspection violation at the New Jersey plant, which is owned by Exelon Corp.  NRC’s “white” finding, which signifies a low to moderate safety issue, stems from a Jan. 4 failure of a 3-inch […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station continues to operate safely, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s second of three increased-oversight inspections at the troubled Massachusetts plant. Following a series of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve concerns, NRC in September lowered Pilgrim’s safety rating to Column 4, which is the lowest rating a facility can have while […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not gone far enough in improving safety at American nuclear plants in response to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, an independent, NRC-funded study claims. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in its second and final report on Fukushima lessons learned found that while NRC has implemented most of its […]