Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The White House on Wednesday nominated a new inspector general for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robert Feitel is currently a trial attorney for the section of the Department of Justice that assists with potential federal death penalty cases. He would succeed Hubert Bell, who retired on Dec. 31, 2018, after more than 22 years […]

Prospects for timely passage of a permanent 2020 budget for the Department of Energy and other agencies dimmed a little this week, when most Senate Democrats refused to curtail debate on spending legislation that includes funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed southern border wall. The Senate failed Thursday to invoke cloture on a basket of […]

By John Stang As it faces a federal investigation over its lobbying practices, power company Exelon said Thursday it might close four nuclear power plants in Illinois if that state’s legislature does not pass legislation in 2020 to help keep them afloat. President and CEO Chris Crane said Exelon needs zero-emission credits for four plants […]

A number of companies with broad experience in nuclear and environmental remediation operations sent representatives to a Sept. 16 site visit for the decommissioning procurement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ retired SM-1 reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. Among the participants were Westinghouse, AECOM, Bechtel, APTIM, Atkins, EnergySolutions, Jacobs, and BWX Technologies, according to […]

Members of Nevada’s congressional delegation offered a quick message to the Trump administration’s newly selected successor to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry: Stop trying to bring nuclear waste into the state, and quickly remove the plutonium shipped last year. Perry announced on Oct. 17 that he would resign after more than two-and-a-half years as head […]

The House of Representatives’ Science, Space, and Technology Committee last week advanced legislation that would assign the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to assist in disposal of radioactive waste. Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-Texas) ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2019 now awaits action by the full House. There was no word this […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a revised emergency response plan for the radiologically contaminated area of the West Lake Landfill in Missouri. The Oct. 15 approval came after the agency in August rejected both the emergency response plan and the site management plan prepared by contractor Parsons on behalf of the “potentially responsible […]

By John Stang Southern California Edison plans in 2021 to apply for a second California state permit in order to remove parts of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) that are in Pacific Ocean. If approved by the California Coastal Commission, the offshore permit would authorize the utility to tackle the portions of the […]

Both AECOM and the investment group planning to buy its government contracting and nuclear decommissioning business could call off the deal if it takes too long to complete, according to a recent financial filing. AECOM plans to sell its Management Services business to Maverick Purchaser Sub LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firms American […]

Three workers at a Westinghouse plant in South Carolina were briefly hospitalized last week after reporting an “unusual taste in their mouths” while handling equipment contaminated with hydrofluoric acid. The incident occurred Oct. 14 at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility, according to an Oct. 16 event notification report submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

An organization representing 20 Pueblo nations in New Mexico and Texas has formally voiced its opposition to plans for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel in the states. During a meeting last week, the All Pueblo Council of Governors adopted a resolution against federal licensing for construction and operations of the facilities planned by Holtec […]

A California advocacy group this week petitioned a federal appeals court to require the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to order a halt to decommissioning and spent fuel offload operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). If approved, the writ of mandamus from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals would remain in […]

The leader of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) plans to introduce a stripped-down version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) next week as a last-ditch effort to push colleagues to reach consensus on a number of partisan issues while the conference bill flounders. “This is sincere, but this is only in […]

AECOM announced Monday it plans to sell its government contracting business for $2.4 billion to two investment firms rather than advancing a previous plan to spin the branch off into a stand-alone public company. Affiliates of New York City-based American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg are joining to buy AECOM’s Management Services business. In its press […]

It could be two years before a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission board holds a hearing in the single contention it allowed against licensing of a consolidated interim storage facility in West Texas for spent nuclear power reactor fuel. The anticipated “trigger date” for parties to begin filing various paperwork and then conduct the evidentiary hearing […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting hearing petitions on proposed license transfers for the retired Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida. Owner Duke Energy wants to transfer the facility’s operations and spent-fuel storage licenses to a subsidiary of Accelerated Decommissioning Partners (ADP). That company, a joint venture of NorthStar Group Services and Orano, […]

Just two days after officially completing the reorganization of its nuclear materials office, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday announced it had combined two offices that provide oversight for nuclear power reactors. As of Sunday, the federal agency has merged its Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation with its Office of New Reactors. The new […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has closed out a regulatory update to expand the scope of industry stakeholders who would be required to provide “complete and accurate information” in applying for a regulatory approval. A Sept. 19 notice in the Federal Register formally terminated a petition filed in April 2013 by former NRC official James […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has formally accepted SHINE Medical Technologies’ application to obtain a 30-year operating license for its planned medical isotope production facility in Wisconsin. The agency said in a Federal Register notice, issued Saturday and dated Tuesday, that it had docketed the application following its acceptance review. The license application will […]

Holtec International believes it can complete decommissioning of the three-reactor Indian Point Energy Center by 2036, assuming it receives federal authorization to buy the Buchanan, N.Y., nuclear power plant. The Camden, N.J., energy technology company laid out its schedule in a presentation Thursday to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in advance of applying to assume […]

By John Stang Eden Radioisotopes plans simultaneous submission of construction and operations license applications to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its planned molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production facility in New Mexico. The Albuquerque, N.M.-based startup discussed its plans during an Oct. 8 pre-application meeting with the NRC at the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. The facility […]

By John Stang The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a permit Thursday that allows for major decommissioning to begin for two retired reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). While the coastal development permit for plant majority owner and federal licensee Southern California Edison (SCE) solely covers on-shore decommissioning operations for SONGS Units […]

Rick Perry on Thursday announced his resignation as the Donald Trump administration’s first secretary of energy after more than two-and-a-half years on the job. In a published letter to President Donald Trump, Perry said he would resign “later this year” from the Cabinet. Dan Brouillette, the deputy secretary of energy, will then take over as […]

EnergySolutions on Tuesday said it had sealed the deal for acquisition of reactor Unit 2 (TMI-2) at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which famously partially melted down 40 years ago. Under the newly signed contract, the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services firm will buy TMI-2’s assets and obtain its licenses from […]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday filed cloture on the motion to proceed with two appropriations bills for fiscal 2020, opening up the possibility of the Senate voting next week on first a minibus bill full of domestic spending and then following with a second minibus that includes the Department of Energy. The […]

House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said she would retire from Congress rather than seeking re-election in 2020. “I am honored that my colleagues in Congress elected me as the first Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and will fight vigorously for House Democratic priorities as I negotiate spending bills for fiscal […]

By John Stang A watchdog organization on Monday asked a state court in California to halt the transfer of used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) and to make majority owner Southern California Edison prove it is on track to move the radioactive waste to an off-site location. The San Diego […]