Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

In observance of the Independence Day holiday, the next RadWaste Monitor will be published on Wednesday, July 3.

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) has reaffirmed his call for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to post a full-time inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until completion of the used reactor fuel offload at the retired power plant. The lawmaker, whose congressional district covers SONGS, cited a list of safety issues dating back […]

Leaders of two southeastern New Mexico communities this week reaffirmed regional support for plans for an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel that could be built in their area in a matter of years. Eddy County and the city of Carlsbad are two of the four members of the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), which is partnering […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a young California company that is offering a “drillhole” approach for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the […]

Environmental services provider US Ecology on Monday announced it would acquire an energy industry-focused remediation and response company. The $966 million, all-stock buyout of NRC Group Holdings (NRCG) is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year, pending stockholder and regulatory approval, according to a US Ecology press release. “This acquisition will […]

By John Stang Legislation intended to help FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) keep two nuclear power plants financially afloat is in the late stages of consideration by the Ohio General Assembly. At the same time, FES has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve transfers of the licenses for its Ohio and Pennsylvania facilities to a newly […]

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) this month formally determined that the site of the now-decommissioned Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) can be released for unrestricted use. Contractor EnergySolutions completed decommissioning the facility in April. While the University of Arkansas owns the reactor site, the work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. […]

By John Stang A Thursday hearing of a U.S. Senate committee focused on a perceived symbiosis between the long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and two proposed consolidated used fuel storage sites in Texas and New Mexico. Senators and witnesses argued that a permanent disposal facility in Nevada needs to be actively in motion to […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the lower chamber’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Armed Services Committee chairman proposed prohibiting any DOE […]

EnergySolutions last week acknowledged it is still running a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the trust fund to pay for decommissioning of the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois, but affirmed it has the money needed to cover any gap. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based nuclear services firm on June 13 provided the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

NASHVILLE – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects on Aug. 30 to publish the proposed update of regulations for nuclear power plants transitioning from operations to decommissioning, according to its latest schedule. The completed rule would go to the agency’s signature authority – the commission itself – a year later, followed by publication in the […]

The head of the New Mexico State Land Office on Wednesday accused Holtec International of misrepresenting the safety case for its planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state’s southeast. “I understand that we need to find a storage solution, but not in the middle of an active oil field, not from a company […]

By John Stang More than eight months after she was first nominated, Rita Baranwal was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to lead the Department of Energy’s nuclear power and waste activities. There was no discussion ahead of the 86-5 vote on the Senate floor. Opposing Baranwal’s confirmation as assistant energy secretary for nuclear […]

AECOM plans next year to spin off the business that contracts with the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense into a separate publicly traded company. The Los Angeles-based infrastructure multinational said Monday its Board of Directors unanimously signed off on the separation, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020. The […]

The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday further cemented its newfound rejection of funding licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a 226-203 vote, the House approved a nearly $1 trillion “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved the transfer of the licenses for Exelon’s retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey to Holtec International. Holtec expects by next month to complete its acquisition of the facility, announced about a month prior to its closure in September 2018. It will own the trust […]

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last week vetoed legislation that would have given Waste Control Specialists a two-year break on certain charges and fees for its radioactive waste disposal operations. “Senate Bill 1804 was a laudable effort to address domestic violence, until someone slipped in an ill-considered giveaway to a radioactive waste disposal facility,” Abbott […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential updates to federal regulations that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state. That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposal and the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

A House of Representatives committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for the upcoming 2020 federal fiscal year […]

The California Coastal Commission postponed its scheduled consideration this week of a permit that would allow primary decommissioning operations to begin at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The permit had been on the agenda for Wednesday, the first day of the commission’s three-day June meeting in San Diego. The discussion has been pushed […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has formally objected to commercial plans for an interim storage facility in the state for spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power reactors. Holtec International, of Camden, N.J., has applied for a 40-year license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a facility that ultimately could hold up to […]

The Department of Energy formally published its reinterpretation of the definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in Monday’s Federal Register. As telegraphed for months, and officially announced on June 5, DOE now interprets that the existing HLW definition in the Atomic Energy Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act means not all wastes from spent […]

The name of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition was misidentified in an article in the June 7 issue of RadWaste Monitor.

By John Stang Discussion on whether a state’s consent is needed for it to host a major nuclear waste repository flared up and then went unresolved at a Thursday hearing in Congress. The session of the House Energy and Commerce environment and climate change subcommittee, called to discuss three bills on radioactive waste storage and […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station shut down permanently last week. Entergy hopes by the end of the year to sell the Cape Cod property to Holtec International, which would assume all responsibility for cleanup and spent fuel management, along with the trust fund that will pay for the work. The final curtain fell after deadline last […]