Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The White House this week invited employees of the federal government, including those connected with nuclear energy, weapons and cleanup, to take something akin to a buyout, by submitting a “deferred resignation.” . In a memo dubbed “fork in the road” the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said federal employees can submit deferred resignations by […]

The Senate overwhelmingly voted Thursday evening to confirm former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) to be secretary of interior, and also took a step closer to a confirmation vote on Secretary of Energy nominee Chris Wright.  Burgum, who would also lead President Donald Trump’s National Energy Council, easily won confirmation to head the Interior […]

President Donald Trump (R) on Monday ordered federal agencies to pause distribution of funds appropriated by his predecessor’s signature stimulus bills, including funds intended to jumpstart a domestic uranium refining industry. “All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment […]

Sens. Catherin Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) last week reintroduced a bill to prohibit the Department of Energy from siting a nuclear-waste disposal facility without the consent of state governments. The latest version of the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act was introduced a little under a week before Donald Trump (R) was sworn […]

The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday endorsed the nomination of Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to be secretary of energy by 15-to-5, with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Wash.) being one of the five Democrats to vote against the executive. The nominations of both Wright and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) […]

The Department of Energy is putting the brakes on most contract solicitations, reports and personnel moves, Acting Secretary of Energy Ingrid Kolb said this week. In a Monday memo, viewed by Exchange Monitor, Kolb said most contract procurements of $100,000 or more were to be put on hold as were most loan guarantees, hiring, promotions and […]

President Donald Trump (R) on Monday made David Wright the chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Wright was one of a large number of designations the White House announced in a statement mere hours after Trump took the oath of office for the second time. Wright succeeds Christopher Hanson, who had been chairman for much of President […]

Among the flurry of executive orders President Donald Trump signed Monday after being sworn in are measures to implement a federal hiring freeze and telling government staff to return to in-person work. “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate […]

Opponents of commercial interim storage of spent nuclear fuel flooded the Supreme Court this week with briefs ahead of oral arguments scheduled for the spring. Those filing friends of the court briefings include: 10 U.S. states; members of Texas’ congressional delegation, led by both of its U.S. senators; four interest groups; and the city of […]

James Danly, who served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during Donald Trump’s first administration, is the Republican president-elect’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy the second time around, various news outlets reported over the weekend. A military veteran, Danly currently heads the energy regulatory branch of the Skadden Arps law firm and briefly chaired the […]

Leaders of the House Appropriations Committee announced subcommittee rosters for the 119th Congress this week, revealing more continuity than change on subcommittees affecting the Department of Energy. There are some additions and departures, but leadership remains the same for the subcommittee that writes the first draft of DOE’s annual spending bill, according to Wednesday press […]

Friends of the Earth this week withdrew a federal lawsuit seeking to stop payment of $1.1 billion federal bailout of California’s last nuclear power plant, court papers show. The judge in the case on Thursday dismissed the suit without prejudice, meaning the environmentalists could sue again. The group dropped the suit, filed in April, after […]

Jennifer Granholm, the 16th U.S. secretary of energy, formally said goodbye to DOE staff Thursday and the Joe Biden White House announced Ingrid Kolb, the head of the agency’s management office, will become acting secretary effective at noon Monday. Acting DOE officials will mind the stores until President-elect Donald Trump gets his picks confirmed by […]

Christopher Wright, the energy executive President-elect Donald Trump chose to lead the Department of Energy, wants to find a permanent storage site for radioactive waste, he said Tuesday in a Senate hearing. “I will work with you and with Senators across the country to find solutions for long-term disposal of nuclear waste and I agree […]

Approving the restart of a Michigan nuclear plant by August will be “demanding,” federal regulators said Tuesday, and there is more work ahead than the plant’s owner may realize. That was the takeaway from senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff during their hybrid public meeting at commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., with Holtec International, owner of the Palisades […]

Matthew Marzano, President Joe Biden’s (D) third and final Democratic appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was sworn in Tuesday, the agency said. The civilian regulator for nuclear power and nuclear waste announced the ceremony in a press release. Marzano was narrowly confirmed by the 118th Congress’ Democratic Senate majority. He survived an intense pressure campaign […]

Wyoming lawmakers will return to Cheyenne, Wyo., on Jan. 14 to consider, among other proposals, legislation to allow for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the state. The bill, written by Wyoming Rep. Donald Burkhart (R), would not mandate an interim storage site. In October, after the previous session of the Wyoming legislature […]

A Texas senator this week introduced a bill that could lower costs for certain out-of-state users of the Lone Star’s sole disposal site for low-level radioactive waste. The bill by Texas Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Texas 31), an oil and gas businessman representing the Midland, Texas, area, would lower to 15% from 20% a disposal surcharge levied on […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine seeks submissions for experts to serve on its Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, the body said Monday. The deadline to submit a nomination is Feb. 2, according to a press release. The Board is seeking four new members with expertise in nuclear engineering and fuel cycle, nuclear waste management, […]

Officials in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Tuesday unanimously opposed construction of an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel anywhere near the city. The seven members of the board all voted in favor of a resolution that the city “opposes the establishment of a facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel materials within or in […]

The United Kingdom-owned Nuclear Waste Services this week released its sustainability report, which outlines the ways the Kingdom’s nuclear cleanup company aims to minimize waste and harmful emissions from its own operations. The state-owned corporation said, among other things, that building a U.K. deep geologic repository for radioactive waste “will create transformational opportunities while challenging […]

The Senate this week passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, sending the annual defense policy bill, this year with a provision about radioactive waste disposal near the Great Lakes, to the White House. The Senate approved the bill 85-14. Voting no were three Republicans, 10 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats. President […]

Earnings fell at Amentum Holdings, Chantilly, Va., in fiscal 2024, although the company, which merged this summer with the government contracting and cyber wings of Jacobs, sees better days ahead with new contracts entering the pipeline The most notable of these is a long-term defense-nuclear cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington. […]

Federal and state agencies on Tuesday said they did not look for a radiation source, since recovered, that went missing in New Jersey earlier this month. Spokespersons for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection all said in emails Tuesday that they did […]

Centrus Energy Corp. said its domestic supply chain is in place to produce uranium usable in defense as well as commercial programs.  A spokesperson for Centrus told the Exchange Monitor in an email last week that Centrus’ manufacturing supply chain spans 13 states and 14 major suppliers, all of which are American companies.  “That gives […]

A partial government shutdown loomed after President-elect Donald Trump this week told congressional Republicans to oppose a three-month continuing resolution.  With about 12 hours to go until a shutdown at deadline for RadWaste Monitor, lawmakers were still scrambling to find a bill that could pass the House.  A backstop continuing resolution favored by Trump did […]