Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

By John Stang With little discussion, the California State Lands Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the final environmental impact report on decommissioning the two standing reactors at the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The three-member panel also signed off on a lease application authorizing decommissioning of offshore components of the plant. The commission’s […]

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to update its generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for decommissioning of nuclear power reactors, which was last revised 17 years ago. The document, as the name indicates, assesses possible environmental impacts from decommissioning of NRC-licensed nuclear power facilities. The agency determined the 2002 version of the GEIS needed to […]

A Senate Appropriations Committee staffer and former Department of Energy nuclear fuel cycle specialist confirmed this week he is being considered for nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An informed source said Christopher Hanson is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) preferred candidate to fill the vacancy that will open when Commissioner Stephen Burns retires […]

An article in the March 8 edition of RadWaste Monitor cited an incorrect figure for the estimated cost of a proposed deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level waste in Ontario, Canada. Ontario Power Generation’s projected life-cycle cost for the facility is $2.4 billion (CAN).

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said this week she will block the Senate from quickly confirming nominees for senior Department of Energy jobs until the agency sets a date to remove a half-ton of plutonium from Nevada. “Until I get commitment from [Secretary of Energy Rick Perry] that [DOE] will set a date for the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

The Department of Energy does not know yet what action it will take on its proposed reinterpretation of the definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White said last week. “We don’t have a real distinct schedule on that. Again, we are trying to take our time and be deliberative,” […]

A case could be made for arranging the transport and temporary storage of U.S. commercial spent nuclear reactor fuel without involving the Department of Energy, according to a senior representative for the nuclear industry trade group. However, key stakeholders aren’t tipping their hands yet regarding their positions on such an approach to resolving the decades-old […]

Local community leaders are urging the Washington state Department of Ecology to expedite completing an environmental impact statement (EIS) and a revised permit for Perma-Fix Northwest in Richland, Wash., near the Hanford Site. The Department of Ecology said at a public meeting Wednesday in Richland on the scope of the EIS that the permit application […]

By John Stang Pacific Gas & Electric has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to chime in on whether it believes the California utility’s bankruptcy proceeding will affect the future decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. In doing so, PG&E is following the order of a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge. In […]

The Trump administration this week again proposed to fund resumption of licensing for the long-planned, long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The state’s congressional delegation immediately pushed back against the latest White House budget plan, reminding President Donald Trump that he suggested last fall he would oppose the disposal facility. The Department of […]

BWX Technologies anticipates regulatory approval and initial revenue in the first quarter of 2021 on its generators for the medical isotope technetium-99m, according to its latest financial presentation. The Lynchburg, Va., company, better known as a contractor for the Departments of Defense and Energy, in 2018 began seeking a slice of the global business for […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Canadian utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) hopes the government will in 2021 approve construction of a deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from three nuclear power plants in the province. Approval for the controversial project would first be predicated on support from the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), on whose […]

The trade organization for the U.S. nuclear industry has expressed deep reservations about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s fee collection plan for the current federal budget year. The NRC said in February it anticipated collecting $781.9 million in service and annual fees from licensees in fiscal 2019, the large majority of its $911 million budget through […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects this spring to issue their findings regarding potential updates to the regulatory approach for disposal of so-called very low-level radioactive waste. The study initiated in 2016 considered a wide range of options, from maintaining the status quo to a full rulemaking to update federal […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next couple months should issue a draft regulatory basis for a potential rulemaking on disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste, a senior official said Monday. “That’s probably our No. 1 priority right now,” given stakeholder interest on the matter, according to John Tappert, director […]

Lawmakers from Nevada this week reintroduced two pieces of legislation intended to make it much more difficult, if not outright impossible, for the federal government to build a nuclear waste repository in their state. The bills dropped just days before the White House is due to roll out its budget request for fiscal 2020. Issue […]

For the second time, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved four nominees for senior Department of Energy positions, including Rita Baranwal as assistant secretary for nuclear energy. By voice vote Thursday, the panel advanced all four to the full Senate. A committee press release did not say when the Senate […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week moved Entergy’s soon-to-be-retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station out of the lowest safety ranking allowed for an operational power plant. “We noted several areas of sustained performance improvement including: (1) significant reduction in human performance- related events that adversely affected plant safety; (2) more effective and timely corrective […]

By John Stang A bill that would ease the acceptance and storage of depleted uranium in Utah now awaits signature from Gov. Gary Herbert (R). But so far, Herbert has not indicated whether he will sign it or reject the legislation — or when that decision would be made. The governor has until March 11 to […]

By John Stang A federal judge ordered the U.S. government to pay more than $103 million to the owners of three retired nuclear power plants for failing to meet its legal mandate to remove spent nuclear fuel from the properties. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Senior Judge Nancy Firestone ruled on Feb. 21 that the […]

Legislation filed on Feb. 22 in the Texas Legislature aims to give Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists a competitive edge in the national market for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). Members of the state House and Senate introduced identical bills that would lower certain charges and reserve LLRW disposal capacity for Texas and Vermont at the […]

WASHINGTON — A former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman and other issue experts made the rounds on Capitol Hill this week to argue for a top-to-bottom rethinking of management of the nation’s nuclear waste. “The situation in the U.S. is terribly broken, has been for decades, and without some major change to the program I don’t […]

While the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) hopes the Department of Energy will readjust its classification of high-level radioactive waste, it has not forgotten the federal agency still owes Congress a report on the issue. The ECA asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees on Tuesday to “attempt to require” compliance with a provision of the […]

Donald Schneider will step down as president of bankrupt nuclear power provider FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) effective Saturday, but he will stay on as executive chairman until his retirement on May 1. Schneider’s voluntary retirement package will include a lump-sum payment of slightly over $1 million, along with company health insurance for 18 months and a […]

By John Stang Earnings reports from two California utilities this week focused far more on the impact of massive wildfires in the state than on their nuclear power plants. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. reported an $11.8 billion increase from 2017 to 2018 in wildfire expense such as repairing damages to the utility’s property or […]