Vol. 14, No. 26 
Waste Management Flat in ‘22 NRC Budget Request; More Funding Sought for New Reactors
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
Industry Urges Biden Admin to Fill NRC Seats With Another Commissioner Out the Door
One of the nuclear industry’s most prominent trade groups pressured the Joe Biden administration this week to do something about the dwindling Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as one of four current commissioners finished her term this week and left the agency. It’s important for the five-person NRC to be at full strength so it can “act […]
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Budget & Policy
Senate Dems Introduce Bill to Give Tax Credits to Nuke Plants
In another bid to combat mounting nuclear power plant closures, a group of Senate Democrats last week unveiled a bill to keep the existing fleet afloat. If the Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit Act became law, nuclear plant operators could expect a tax credit on every kilowatt-hour (KWh) of electricity they produce, according to the […]
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Decommissioning
Proposed NRC Decommissioning Rule “Falls Short,” Markey Tells Hanson
A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated June 25, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the […]
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Decommissioning
NRC Cans 40-Year Extensions for Nuke Plants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is abandoning its inquiry into whether it should double the license renewal period for nuclear power plants to 40 years from 20 years, agency staff recommended this week. Because 90% of existing reactors already have a 20-year license extension allowing them to run for 60 years, a 40-year extension period would have […]
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Decommissioning
“No Violations” of Environmental Law in Three Mile Island Sale, Interstate Finds
State and federal agencies informed an interstate commission that no violations of environmental law appeared to occur in the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant that would require them to step in on the matter, a spokesperson for the commission said this week. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Holtec Backs Up NRC Call to Toss NM Interim Storage Suit
The company seeking a license to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week in requesting that a judge toss the state attorney general’s lawsuit over the proposed site, a court filing shows. New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas went to the wrong court […]
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Decommissioning
Indian Point Post-Shutdown Report Open for Comment; Company Says Pre-COVID Timeline Holds
A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Minerals Company Next Up in Court Opposition to ISP Interim Storage; Case Still on Hold
A Texas minerals company has joined a federal lawsuit, headlined by an antinuclear group, aimed at holding up the licensing process for a proposed interim nuclear waste storage facility at the Western edge of the Lone Star state. Fasken Land and Minerals’s June 25 petition against NRC was combined Tuesday with an existing coalition of […]