Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

By John Stang Infrastructure and environmental services specialist North Wind Inc. expects to have a strategic plan ready by December 2020 on how to move used nuclear fuel off-site from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Idaho Falls, Idaho-based North Wind was contracted in June by SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison […]

The U.S. Department of Energy should be required to “show cause” why the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should not dismiss its license application for shipment of weapon-grade uranium to Europe, according to a company that opposes the request. Failing that, Curium and other parties should be authorized to intervene in the NRC proceeding, according to a […]

The United States must finally settle on a strategy for disposition of spent nuclear fuel if it hopes to revitalize its atomic energy sector, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Wednesday, without offering a timeline for introduction of a bill intended to help achieve that goal. Barrasso discussed the matter in starting off a hearing of […]

AECOM, the international infrastructure company that is preparing its exit from contracting for the U.S. Energy Department, on Tuesday reported record annual revenue but a net loss for its fiscal 2019. Company-wide revenue of almost $20.2 billion was up 2% from $20.15 billion in fiscal 2018, according to AECOM’s latest earnings report. But the net […]

Nuclear services firm EnergySolutions said Tuesday it has completed physical decommissioning of the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) in Wisconsin. That covers full remediation and extraction of radioactive materials in line with the license termination plan approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to a press release from the Salt Lake City-based company. […]

The U.S. Department of Energy has “no authority” under federal law to issue contracts for any commercially operated facility for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a recent letter to a member of Congress. That runs counter to the business plans laid out by both corporate teams seeking federal […]

Radioactive waste disposal startup Deep Isolation said Monday it has inked a cooperative agreement with spent nuclear fuel storage and transportation provider NAC International. The agreement covers collaboration in designing, developing, and producing Deep Isolation’s canister technology for disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, according to a press release from the Berkeley, […]

By John Stang The chair of a key U.S. Senate committee said Thursday she hopes to have a new secretary of energy confirmed in time to take office when Rick Perry steps down from the position on Dec. 1. “My intention is to move you through the committee process as fast as possible,” Senate Energy […]

The U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies would remain funded at prior-year levels almost through the end of December, under a second stopgap spending plan announced this week to keep the federal government operating while Congress tries to finalize its fiscal 2020 budget. Meanwhile, the top Democrat and Republican members of the House and […]

International Isotopes said Thursday it incurred over $2.1 million in expenses through the end of September in connection with a radiological contamination incident last spring that occurred as its workers were removing a blood irradiator from a hospital research facility in Seattle. However, the Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine company said it also received $964,958 […]

It could be well into 2020 before the U.S. Department of Energy can begin shipping spent fuel from the Byron nuclear power plant in Illinois to DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory. Likewise, it will probably take years before all the lab transuranic waste covered by a 1995 settlement agreement between DOE, the state, and the Navy […]

The state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Energy have negotiated a deal that opens to the door to resumption of some spent nuclear fuel shipments to the Idaho National Laboratory. The agreement, announced in a Thursday press release from Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, specifically covers a one-time waiver […]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) on Monday said he would not reverse his decision to retire, even with the opportunity to take the top Republican spot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Shimkus said last week he would reconsider his Aug. 30 announcement that he would not seek re-election in 2020 after Energy and Water […]

FirstEnergy Corp. on Monday reported $391 million in net income for the third quarter of 2019, after sustaining a $512 million loss in the same three months of 2018. That was good for $0.73 in earning per share on a generally accepted accounting basis, versus a $1.02 per-share loss a year ago, according to the […]

By John Stang A California Superior Court judge ruled last week against a request by a local watchdog organization to suspend the transfer of used reactor fuel into dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). In a motion filed with the court in October, El Cajon-based Citizens’ Oversight sought the temporary halt […]

By John Stang The state lawmaker who has headed Wyoming’s latest exploration of hosting a spent nuclear fuel storage facility has shifted that leadership role over to Gov. Mark Gordon (R). On Tuesday, state Sen. Jim Anderson (R) told the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee he would not file a proposed […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday formally approved a reduction in the emergency preparedness requirements for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The changes include elimination of a dedicated 10-mile emergency planning zone in the license for the Cape Cod property. The requirement for a specific off-site radiological emergency response plan will […]

With members of the House out of town this week, Congress made little progress on authorizing and appropriating government funding, including measures covering the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, Armed Services Committee staffers worked behind the scenes this week to hash out differences in the House and Senate versions of the 2020 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is evaluating potential updates to its process for revising federal rules on licensed nuclear operations, including tightening the timeline to publish the documents that serve as the basis for a rulemaking. “We are taking a hard look at why we do our activities the way we’ve been doing them,” according […]

By John Stang Perma-Fix Environmental Services said Thursday it nearly doubled its earnings for the third quarter of 2019, aided by contract wins and increased efficiencies. The Atlanta-based nuclear services and waste management provider posted $22.5 million in revenue for the latest quarter, up 88% from $12 million for the same period last year. The […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday officially nominated Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to replace Rick Perry, who will resign as secretary of energy on Dec. 1. Brouillette, a former auto-insurance lobbyist with some turn-of-the-millennium Washington experience on his rapidly expanding resume, must be confirmed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee before he […]

A new report from the federal Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) is providing grist for environmental groups to refresh their cases against U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of temporary spent fuel storage sites in Texas and New Mexico. The Sierra Club used the report as the backbone of its Oct. 23 petition to file […]

Edison International on Tuesday reported lower third-quarter 2019 income for itself and subsidiary Southern California Edison, taking hits from increased costs for fighting wildfires linked to its power lines. Company-wide net income came in at $471 million, $1.36 per share, dropping from $513 million, $1.57 per share, in the same quarter of 2018. However, adjusted […]

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office on Monday asked a federal appeals court to order a stay on the already-completed transfer of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. That action, plus two related measures by the federal regulator, should be frozen while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), a longtime supporter of cleaning up the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, said Monday he would not run for re-election in 2020. “I will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, nor election to any other office, but instead I will close the public service […]

A panel of the Wyoming Legislature is recommending that lawmakers consider new legislation that would advance tentative plans for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state. The recommendations are included in a report submitted for next week’s meeting of the Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee. Specifically, according to the committee’s […]

By John Stang US Ecology collected over $13 million in insurance recoveries in the first nine months of the year due to the fatal November 2018 explosion at its Grand View, Idaho, waste treatment and disposal facility. That included $9.7 million in property insurance recoveries and $4.1 million in business interruption insurance, the Boise-based environmental […]