Vol. 11, No. 11 
No Future for Yucca Mountain in Senate, Heller Says
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Budget & Policy
Omnibus Budget Coming, but Yucca Funding Unlikely, Simpson Says
WASHINGTON — The head House appropriator for the Department of Energy still does not see much hope for any funding for the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in the 2018 spending bill that could be published Monday. The energy portion of the 2018 omnibus the House and Senate are negotiating behind the scenes “has […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Orano, WCS Aim to Revive Spent Fuel Storage Project
Nearly a year after putting it on ice, Waste Control Specialists aims to revive its application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for consolidated interim storage of used nuclear reactor fuel. It is doing so in a joint venture planned with Orano USA, the nuclear services and technology […]
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Defense Low-Level Waste
Perma-Fix Revenue Drops in 4Q, as Management Touts Outlook
By John Stang Complications in waste treatment operations and closure costs of a facility in Tennessee trimmed Perma-Fix Environmental Services’ revenue and produced an operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, executives said the company’s outlook is strong in 2018 as it vies for new government and commercial contracts and looks toward a potential […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC Chair Emphasizes Benefits of Full Commission
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki on Tuesday touted the benefits of full membership in the five-person panel, without directly mentioning the U.S. Senate’s extended inaction on nominees waiting to fill two vacancies. Svinicki noted that the commission has been at three members “for some period of time” – specifically since William Ostendorff stepped […]
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Decommissioning
Parties Urge Approval of Vermont Yankee MOU
Several parties to the state regulatory review of the sale of the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant on March 9 called for approval of the new memorandum of understanding that lays out financial-assurance and site-restoration commitments for the deal. All but one of the parties to the Vermont Public Utility Commission proceeding agreed to […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Honeywell Sues Feds to Recoup $1.9M in Payments to NRC
By John Stang Honeywell International recently sued the federal government in an effort to reclaim almost $2 million in payments made to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2013 and 2014. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 16 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Honeywell’s Metropolis Works plant in Illinois converts natural uranium into uranium hexafluoride […]
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Commercial Decommissioning
Wrap Up: SONGS Waits on State Approval for Decommissioning
The majority owner of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California is still waiting for state approval to begin full decontamination and decommissioning of the plant following its permanent closure in 2013. In a March 8 inspection report for SONGS, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said decommissioning general contractor SONGS Decommissioning Solutions (SDS) […]