Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Entergy and the trustee for the decommissioning trust fund for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station expect to withdraw $5.5 million from the account by mid-April, according to a March 13 notice to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “This letter provides the NRC written notification of The Bank of New York Mellon’s intent, upon receipt of […]

Bechtel and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on Wednesday announced a partnership to provide decommissioning services for nuclear power plants in Germany and Sweden. In a joint press release, the two companies’ highlighted their decades of experience in decommissioning operations, covering advance planning, licensing, project development and management, dismantlement, demolition, waste management, and site closeout. “Our […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is beyond reach of many of the executive orders President Donald Trump has signed in his early months in office, but the agency will continue to consider the spirit of those directives, NRC Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki said Wednesday. The White House’s orders include a freeze on all new or proposed federal […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet on April 6 to take additional public input on the scope of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. Waste Control Specialists last April submitted a license application for a facility with a capacity to hold 40,000 metric tons […]

Utility Southern California Edison (SCE) said Monday it would receive the lion’s share of a $125 million arbitration decision against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries over two faulty replacement steam generators that in 2013 forced the permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). SCE is the plant’s majority owner with minority owners San Diego Gas […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 10 released a preliminary draft regulatory basis for its 2019 decommissioning rulemaking, which moves the agency a step further in developing new decommissioning regulations for nuclear reactors. The 2019 rulemaking is the regulator’s effort to clarify and improve the decommissioning process, with a focus on reducing the need for safety […]

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry this week found himself on the pointy end of a lawsuit from the state he once led, which is demanding that the federal government halt all work on consent-based siting of U.S. nuclear waste and instead complete licensing of the Yucca Mountain geologic repository. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday by […]

Allowing utility Entergy to apply money designated for decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station to spent reactor fuel operations at the shuttered facility would create no significant environmental effect, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff said in a recent draft finding. This is the latest development in the battle between the state of Vermont and […]

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal calls for $120 million to restart licensing activities for the mothballed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, and in the meantime for a “robust” interim storage program. “These investments would accelerate progress on fulfilling the Federal Government’s obligations to address nuclear waste, enhance national security, and reduce […]

Until he joined the newly spun-off BWX Technologies in late 2015 as chief operating officer, former NASA hand Rex Geveden hadn’t had much to do with nuclear anything since supporting fast-breeder reactor research during his student days at the Argonne National Laboratory. That’s the sort of resume gap that was never likely to fly under […]

The Department of Energy hopes this year to issue a report to Congress on disposal of Greater Than Class C waste and receive clarity on what action from Capitol Hill is needed to advance the long-brewing effort to permanently deal with the radioactive material, a DOE official said last week. The federal government is legally responsible […]

Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts will remain in Column 4 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Action Matrix, the regulator said last week in its annual assessment of the beleaguered plant. “While the plant remains in Column 4, the NRC will continuously assess Pilgrim’s performance to evaluate the need for additional regulatory action up […]

French waste and water management provider Veolia announced Monday that its Nuclear Solutions branch has secured a contract to treat water contaminated with radioactive materials at four U.K. nuclear power plants being decommissioned by Magnox Ltd. Veolia will design, construct, and deploy its Modular Active Effluent Treatment Plants (MAETPs) to remove radioactive material from effluent and pond […]

Vermont Attorney General Thomas J. Donovan Jr. on Tuesday vowed to protect state taxpayers by intervening in the Vermont Public Service Board’s review of Entergy’s pending sale of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant to decommissioning specialist NorthStar Group Services. “At first glance, it looks like a good deal if it will get the site […]

PHOENIX – The four teams bidding to drill the Department of Energy’s planned nuclear waste storage test borehole in May will have to demonstrate community engagement and understanding of their projects if they want to remain in consideration, a senior DOE official said here Wednesday. The companies seeking the contract have used public meetings and […]

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up to date on news affecting Department of Energy […]

An article in the March 3 edition of RadWaste Monitor incorrectly reported that ENERCON has abandoned plans for a nuclear waste storage borehole test in Quay County, N.M. The company is continuing public outreach during the Department of Energy contract selection process, officials said.

The U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on Wednesday named former Fairfield Energy CEO David Peattie as its new chief executive officer. As of Tuesday he leads the agency’s decommissioning and cleanup of 17 legacy nuclear sites across the United Kingdom. With the blessing of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary of State Greg Clark, the NDA […]

An environmental group is leading the charge against Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) controversial plan to develop a deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste along the shores of Lake Huron. The Great Lakes Environmental Alliance (GLEA), which was formed in response to the proposal, is urging residents in Canada and the United […]

The Energy Department’s deep borehole field test is once again facing public opposition, this time in Haakon County, S.D., where residents are asking the county commission to block the project. So far, the estimated five-year, $80 million project — which would deliver data on whether 16,000-foot boreholes drilled into crystalline rock formations are appropriate for […]

BWX Technologies director of regulatory affairs Scott Kirk will receive the Hodes Award for his role in preparing Waste Control Specialists’ application to operate an interim nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas, among other efforts. The Southeast Compact Commission will present the award to Kirk on March 6 at the Phoenix, Ariz., Convention Center […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday approved Entergy’s request to transfer the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant’s operating license and estimated $700 million decommissioning trust fund to Exelon. The decision marks the final federal approval required for Entergy to complete its $110 million sale of FitzPatrick to Exelon, which will allow the struggling 41-year-old upstate […]

The Senate on Thursday confirmed James Richard “Rick” Perry as U.S. secretary of energy, installing the former Texas governor to the government’s top nuclear weapons, waste, and energy post after an uncontroversial 62-37 vote. Perry was sworn in hours later and addressed employees at DOE headquarters for the first time today. Every Senate Republican and 10 […]

U.S. Southern California Edison (SCE) is on pace to complete its independent spent fuel storage installation expansion at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) by 2019, SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano said recently. Palmisano appeared earlier this month before the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, which serves as a liaison between SCE and the […]

Residents in Massachusetts are petitioning Gov. Charlie Baker to support expeditious transfer of spent fuel at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to dry storage. Cape Downwinders — a group of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket – has been circulating a petition to advance advisory questions to local ballots this spring and fall […]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) is preparing legislation aimed at restarting licensing efforts for the mothballed Yucca Mountain repository with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a staffer confirmed Wednesday. Shimkus spokesman Jordan Haverly said the bill would address controversial land and water rights in Nevada that the Energy Department has said make the project “unworkable.” The legislation, […]