Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Establishing a federal commission dedicated to overseeing the disposal of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors should be one of Congress’s most pressing tasks, according to a new report from the government’s independent research organization. Congress “will need to establish a single-mission entity with responsibility for managing and disposing of commercial nuclear waste,” the National […]

After the Department of Energy last week refused to fund a proposal to restart a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan, the company in charge of the facility said it planned to move ahead with decommissioning, according to a spokesperson. A Holtec International spokesperson confirmed to RadWaste Monitor Nov. 18 that DOE had rejected the […]

The governor of Michigan this week applauded the state’s efforts in its ill-fated attempt to bring a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant back online with the help of a federal bailout. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “brought together a coalition to develop a plan that would have reopened a non-operational nuclear plant for the first time in […]

In a federal lawsuit, Texas said recently that the state is legally allowed to take its complaint about a proposed nuclear waste storage depot directly to federal court and skip engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, court papers show. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a Friday brief […]

The governor of New Mexico implored the White House in a recent letter to step in and block the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from licensing a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Land of Enchantment. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), a longtime opponent of Holtec International’s proposed interim storage site in Lea […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Although you may have noticed the sudden appearance of Formula One content in recent RadWaste Monitor wraps, that ends this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — the last of the season. Before we head off into this last weekend before Thanksgiving, though, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a recent vote gave agency staff permission to start work on a proposed rulemaking that would require licensees shipping highly-radioactive materials to notify tribal governments about such shipments. NRC’s five-member executive committee voted unanimously Oct. 17 to approve the proposed rulemaking activity, according to agency documents published Nov. 10.  The […]

The company in charge of decommissioning a nuclear power plant in Vermont has finished packaging the last of the site’s low-level waste, a spokesperson said this week. NorthStar, which is currently dismantling Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, “has reached another milestone” in the decommissioning process, as the site’s Greater-Than-Class-C waste “has been loaded into a […]

A recent D.C. appeals court decision shows that the state of Texas had no right to sue the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the commission said this week. NRC, which is facing a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals […]

A Massachusetts state senator who attempted to use a recently-passed economic development bill to block proposed wastewater discharges from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning said this week that she could try to override the governor’s veto of her provision. State Sen. Susan Moran (D) told RadWaste Monitor in a statement Wednesday that she was […]

As final votes were tabulated across the country following last week’s midterm elections, Nevada’s incumbent senior senator, a staunch opponent of a national nuclear waste repository there, managed to hold onto her seat, state election stewards reported this week. Although she trailed former state attorney general Adam Laxalt (R) heading into the weekend, Catherine Cortez […]

Nuclear waste management should not go overlooked as the U.S. weighs expanding its carbon-free energy market with more nuclear power, one of the newest members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said during an industry conference this week. “Progress on nuclear waste management must keep pace with our renewed efforts to bring more carbon free nuclear […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. For you Formula One fans out there, today is the first session of the Brazilian Grand Prix, one of your rad waste reporter’s favorites of the season. Before we tuck into the weekend, though, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space. A […]

Daniel Ogg will lead the federal government’s independent board of technical experts on nuclear waste, the board announced this week. Ogg had been the acting executive director of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) since the organization’s former head, Nigel Mote, retired in September 2021. Ogg assumed the role full time on Sunday, the […]

The operator of more than a dozen U.S. nuclear power plants aims to extend the life of its fleet by up to two decades using federal tax incentives approved this year, its CEO said this week. Nuclear production tax credits made law under the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August, have had a […]

The legislative process could prove an obstacle to the Department of Energy’s goal to get a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel up and running within a decade or so, an agency official said during a recent webinar. DOE’s prediction that its proposed interim storage site could be open in 10-15 years is, […]

The governor of Massachusetts this week signed into law a proposal that could throw a wrench in a decommissioning company’s plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant it is currently dismantling in the Bay State. A sweeping economic development package greenlit by Boston lawmakers last week and signed Thursday by Gov. Charlie […]

Three days after Americans went to the polls for the midterm election, it remains unclear whether two staunch opponents of a Nevada geologic repository will remain in power in the Silver State, according to election data. As of Friday, incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) trailed her Republican opponent, former state attorney general Adam Laxalt, […]

WASHINGTON — Lawyers representing a coalition of anti-nuclear groups’ seeking to block a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel faced sharp questioning from a three-judge federal appeals court panel here Thursday.  Thursday’s oral argument session in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals provided an opportunity for the interim storage critics, which include […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. With Halloween behind us and the holiday season spooling up, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. The California congressman at the forefront of nuclear waste policy on Capitol Hill introduced legislation this week that would require the Nuclear Regulatory […]

The shrinking U.S. nuclear fleet was factored into the decreased number of violations found during security inspections last year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week in a report to Congress. Of 176 inspections conducted at nuclear plants during the 2021 calendar year, NRC identified 66 security violations of mostly low severity, the agency said […]

Entergy Corp., New Orleans, reported this week losses in its nuclear power segment during the third quarter of 2022, which it attributed in part to the recent closure of a Michigan nuclear power plant, according to a press release. According to an earnings press release published Wednesday, losses at Entergy Wholesale Commodities (EWC), which manages […]

A senior official at Entergy Corp. said this week that the energy company believes a sweeping federal legislation package passed over the summer that includes tax incentives for nuclear power plants could bring value to its stakeholders. Entergy is “optimistic” about the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August by […]

An Illinois nuclear power plant that just last year had been slated for closure could be getting a new lease on life, the facility’s operator said this week. Constellation Energy, which owns Dresden Nuclear Generating Station, has applied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year license extension for the Morris, Ill., plant, the company […]

Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation this week pushed Holtec International to respond to charges that a federal permit bars the company from discharging irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning in the commonwealth. In a Wednesday press release, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), alongside Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), said they […]

The parties in New Mexico’s ongoing lawsuit over two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel will no longer have to present their cases next month, a federal court ruled last week. Although oral arguments in New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas’s lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had been scheduled for Nov. 15, […]

The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pick up where it left off on a decade-old request to extend the facility’s license, according to agency filings. If approved, Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Monday request would see NRC revisit the utility’s 2009 license extension […]