Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The president of a New Mexico-based conservative nonprofit organization in a recent op-ed railed on what he called “ignorance and hysteria” among the opposition to two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in the southwest U.S. “[S]tate and federal politicians, working with anti-nuclear agitators, have been fiercely resistant” to proposed consolidated interim storage […]

The company in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant is seeking new members for a stakeholders’ group focused on plant decommissioning activities. According to an application released by Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), March 7 is the deadline for interested individuals living in the vicinity of the Avila […]

A recent inspection at a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant revealed that multiple contract workers at the site were inadvertently exposed to radiation during decommissioning work, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a letter to the company in charge of the facility. Holtec International, which is currently decommissioning Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, failed to “perform […]

The Department of Energy is looking for someone to directly oversee the agency’s efforts to find a willing host for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, according to a press release this week. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is seeking “highly qualified candidates” to become director of the agency’s Office of Integrated […]

A New Mexico state senator’s latest attempt to keep a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel out of the Land of Enchantment should soon see a floor vote, after clearing a second state senate committee this week. The measure, which proposes amending state law to ban the storage of spent nuclear fuel in […]

ROCKVILLE, MD. — A company seeking federal funds to restart a shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant is in for a heavy lift, one of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s newest members said during an exclusive interview this week. “When you have a reactor that has ceased operations, and you’ve offloaded the fuel, that’s a major milestone,” […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Although your RadWaste Monitor reporter is a Ravens fan on a good day, he’ll be cheering on the other birds at the big game this weekend. Before Super Bowl festivities get underway, though, here are some other stories we were tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. The only […]

For Bradley Crowell, the phrase ‘corner office’ has taken on a double meaning in recent months. The newest commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission occupies an office near the top floor of the agency’s Rockville, Md., headquarters in a jarringly angular concrete building that tapers off into a near 45-degree angle along the front wall. […]

Texas is fighting to keep its lawsuit against commercial interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the state from getting tossed on a technicality, as a similar suit was last week, a court filing shows. The state on Friday argued that a site proposed in Andrews County by the Interim Storage Partners (ISP) joint venture […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Your RadWaste Monitor reporter headed up to his Bethlehem, Pa., field office and only just now found out about the upcoming arctic wind chill. Before we head off into the freezing weekend, though, here are some other stories we were tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Deputy Secretary […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is waiting for more information before it assesses the potential impacts of the White House’s announcement this week that the three-year-old COVID-19 national emergency declaration would end this summer, a spokesperson said this week. In an Office of Management and Budget policy statement Monday, the Joe Biden administration announced that it […]

The company in charge of decommissioning a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant affirmed this week that it would not discharge radioactive water from the facility until it gets a required federal permits modification later this year. Holtec International “will fully comply” with the terms of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s National current Pollutant Discharge Elimination System […]

Nuclear power plant operators looking to take advantage of a federal bailout scheme may have to wait a bit longer to apply for the program’s second funding round, according to a Department of Energy spokesperson. DOE expects to release “application guidance” for the second round of its civil nuclear credits program in the first quarter […]

The Department of Energy expects to begin awarding funds from its multi-million dollar interim storage funding program by midyear, an agency spokesperson said this week. Roughly $26 million is up for grabs in DOE’s interim storage funding opportunity announcement, aimed at bringing together communities and other stakeholders to hash out how the department should go […]

The congressman representing a west Texas community that could one day play host to an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel nabbed an assignment on the House’s primary nuclear-waste policy committee. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who represents the Lone Star State’s 11th district, was assigned Jan. 11 to the House Energy and Commerce Committee […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the last weekend in January, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. The ranking member of the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee this week pressured the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a letter to explain […]

A federal court this week dismissed a 2021 lawsuit by a coalition of environmental and mining groups who tried to block the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s license of a proposed private storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the plaintiffs, led by anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear, were not, […]

By Lake Barrett Lake Barrett is a former Department of Energy official who served as both principal deputy director and acting director of the Office of Civilian Nuclear Waste Management, where he helped implement the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Before that, Barrett worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he was onsite director of […]

The Department of Energy is once again seeking candidates to run the agency’s spent nuclear fuel disposal programs, according to a job posting listed last week. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is looking for a “seasoned executive” to join the agency as its Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, according to the […]

The Department of Energy cannot sign off on a decommissioning company’s gambit to restart a shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant, a coalition of anti-nuclear groups told the Secretary of Energy in a letter this week. Holtec International’s proposed bid on DOE’s civil nuclear credits program, aimed at securing federal funding for Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, […]

A bill aimed at preventing a private company from building a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico without prior state approval cleared this week its first legislative hurdle in Santa Fe. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), was favorably reported out of the state Senate Conservation Committee […]

The Department of Energy’s ongoing funding opportunity for communities interested in hosting a federal interim storage facility got a little larger this week after the agency announced it would tack on roughly $10 million in additional funding for the program. The agency increased the total award for its interim storage funding opportunity to around $26 […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs another month to review Holtec International’s application for a proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, an agency official said here this week. NRC is “in the process” of reviewing new information submitted this week by Holtec, so the agency will not be ready to […]

California’s last nuclear power plant must start its federal relicensing process anew, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week, derailing its operator’s plan to put huge chunks of bailout money to quick work via a regulatory shortcut. In 2022, Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) secured more than $2 billion in […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The two companies aiming to build privately-owned interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel should apply for financial aid under a multi-million-dollar Department of Energy program, a senior agency official said here this week at a conference. Holtec and Interim Storage Partners (ISP) are “welcome to apply to the funding opportunity announcement,” […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — Just because Republicans took control of the House does not mean that Congress has any more desire to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain than it had before the midterms, a senior Department of Energy official said here this week. Asked Tuesday after a speech at the Institute of Nuclear […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week granted regulatory approval to NuScale Power’s small modular reactor design, the agency said Thursday in a Federal Register notice. The […]