Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested $970.2 million in funding for fiscal 2017, which would represent a roughly 2 percent decrease from the current funding level of about $990 million. The proposed budget encompasses $757.4 million for nuclear reactor safety operations and $212.8 million for nuclear materials and waste safety, which, respectively, are currently funded […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 2/9/2016 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested $970.2 million in funding for fiscal 2017, which would represent a roughly 2 percent decrease from the current funding level of about $990 million. The proposed budget encompasses $757.4 million for nuclear reactor safety operations and $212.8 million for nuclear materials and waste safety, […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 01/22/16 Using lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi event, America’s nuclear power plants are now “dramatically safer” in the event of a major disaster, having added flexible, mobile cooling equipment. That was one of the messages Marvin Fertel relayed Thursday at the National Press Club during the United States Energy Association’s […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 01/22/16 The Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7 is urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider all significant environmental impacts before licensing Northwest Medical Isotopes’ plan to build a medical isotope reactor in Columbia, Mo. The Clean Air Act dictated that the agency submit the comments. Northwest plans to build the $50 […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7 is urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider all significant environmental impacts before licensing Northwest Medical Isotopes’ plan to build a medical isotope reactor in Columbia, Mo. The Clean Air Act dictated that the agency submit the comments. Northwest plans to build the $50 million facility at Discovery Ridge […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 1/15/2016 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was scheduled Friday to wrap up the first of three inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, as plant oversight ramps up due to safety relief valve concerns. The first inspection, termed Phase A, was initiated Monday. Three inspectors worked throughout the week to […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 1/15/2016 The Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday approved legislation that would lift a 33-year moratorium on building nuclear power plants in the state. Under current law, power plants cannot be built in Wisconsin because the federal government has not established a storage facility capable of taking the state’s waste. Assembly Bill […]

The Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill that would lift limitations for building nuclear power plants in the state. Under current law, entities are unable to gain state approval to build nuclear power plants because no federal storage facility capable of taking the waste exists. The new bill lifts this requirement, among other […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected Friday to wrap up the first of three inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, as plant oversight ramps up due to safety relief valve concerns. The first inspection, termed Phase A, was scheduled to begin Monday. Three inspectors are working to determine whether continued operation at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow nuclear facilities in New York and California to staff security personnel with certain firearms and large-capacity magazines, despite local, state, and federal restrictions. The NRC granted the pre-emption authority on Wednesday to the following facilities: Indian Point, James A. FitzPatrick, Nine Mile Point, and R.E. Ginna in New York, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted exemptions allowing Entergy to forgo certain record-retention requirements at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station until termination of the facility’s operating license. The exemption issuance, which was announced on Thursday, specifically addresses the need to maintain records for systems, structures, and components (SSCs) associated with nuclear power generation and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period for its decommissioning rulemaking from Jan. 4 to March 18, allowing the agency to collect more feedback as it attempts to improve nuclear reactor decommissioning regulations. The extension follows a number of requests for an extension, including one from lawmakers in Vermont and Massachusetts. In […]

Resulting from three apparent violations of federal regulations in 2013, the operator of the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant has agreed to correct issues related to the improper testing of six spent fuel canisters. Northern States Power Co. has agreed to implement a series of corrections folloiwng the 2013 event, in which a Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has notified Entergy that it will conduct the first of three inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Jan. 11. According to a letter submitted to the facility operator on Friday, the first inspection, termed Phase A, will be conducted by three inspectors from the NRC’s Region I office. They […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that a proposed license amendment at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, which would allow security personnel to use higher-capacity firearms and magazines, poses no environmental threat. Plant operator Entergy has requested the amendment for the Oswego County, N.Y., power plant, which will cease operations in late 2016 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that the request from the operator of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant to use higher-capacity firearms and magazines for security purposes would not have any significant environmental impact on the San Luis Obispo County, Calif., facility. Plant operator Pacific Gas and Electric has requested the license amendment to allow […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended denial of Vermont officials’ request for a comprehensive review of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant decommissioning trust fund. In November, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office joined former plant owner Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. and the Vermont Public Service Department in filing the petition for review, which questioned […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/11/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday granted Entergy’s request to alter the emergency preparedness plan at its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, meaning the shuttered facility will adhere to reduced safety requirements starting on April 15, 2016. The exemption reduces the requirement to only on-site emergency preparedness. State and local […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/11/2015 A Vermont official on Wednesday voiced concerns over the direction he perceives the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking in considering changes to how licensees of nuclear power plants undergoing decommissioning access dedicated trust funds set aside to pay for the work. NRC economist Mike Dusaniwskyj said Wednesday the agency is […]

The Vermont congressional delegation — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and Rep. Peter Welch (D) — is requesting that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission extend the public comment period for its proposed decommissioning rulemaking, and host public meetings in states where plants are either in the process of or scheduled for dismantling. The […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received a petition to alter its domestic licensing regulations to allow for installation of ex-vessel instrumentation for uninterruptible monitoring of coolant and fuel in spent-fuel pools and reactors. Dr. Alexander DeVolpi, who submitted the petition on Sept. 21, claims the amendment could mitigate potential accidents at spent fuel pools and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a Dec. 9 public hearing to discuss potential changes to the regulatory process for decommissioning nuclear power plants.   The NRC’s proposed rulemaking, scheduled for completion in 2019, is intended to streamline and improve the decommissioning process while reducing the need for exemptions from existing regulations. NRC staff is […]

Representatives from SHINE Medical Technologies are scheduled to appear at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing on Dec. 15. to discuss the company’s permit application for a radioisotope production facility in Janesville, Wis.   The new plant, scheduled for completion in 2018, would reportedly satisfy more than half the U.S. demand for molybdenum-99 while employing about […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 11/20/2015 An independent nuclear energy expert on Tuesday questioned the progress of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, saying he doesn’t feel the American public is adequately prepared for a severe nuclear event, despite the NRC’s re-evaluation of safeguards and mitigation resources in place for U.S. […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/20/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday announced plans to update its regulations for nuclear reactors undergoing decommissioning. In a Federal Register notice, the commission said it was seeking input from stakeholders on a draft regulatory basis for possible changes to NRC regulations on nuclear reactor decommissioning. “The new rule would […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at the MFFF included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/20/2015 Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at MOX included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding Society. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday said it is accepting public comments as part of the information-gathering process for an environmental impact statement for Northwest Medical Isotopes planned radioisotope production plant in Missouri. Comments are being accepted through Jan. 4 at the federal rulemaking website under Docket ID NRC-2013-0235. They can also be sent by […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting a regulatory conference Wednesday and Thursday in Maryland, where government representatives and industry experts will discuss issues related to spent fuel storage and the transportation of radioactive material, among other items.   The conference is set to begin at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in White Oak B of the Bethesda […]

Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at the MFFF included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding Society. The MFFF is the […]