Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not required to interview affected workers or record a March 1 public meeting about an incident last year that exposed 22 workers to radiation at a reactor near Richland, Wash., the regulator told one such worker’s lawyer on May 13. The decision not to talk to any of the workers […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Pilgrim community votes to oppose Holtec wastewater discharge Communities surrounding a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning voiced their displeasure during local elections this week with Holtec […]

Around a month after a workplace injury paused decommissioning work at a California nuclear power plant, things are spooling back up again, the plant’s operator said last week. Decommissioning at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is “slowly ramping up” after operator Southern California Edison (SCE) put a hold on things to evaluate an April […]

Orano’s company-led inspection of its own waste storage canisters at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station revealed no degradation after nearly two decades, the company in charge of waste management at the site said this week. During the months-long inspection that began in November, Orano USA found no signs of chloride-induced stress corrosion in the […]

The state of Texas doubled down this week on its argument that federal law precludes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from licensing a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Lone Star State, new court filings show. NRC’s claim that neither the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) nor the Atomic Energy Act prevented […]

Operators of nuclear power plants facing impending closure now have until mid-summer to apply for a federal bailout, the Department of Energy said this week. Just a day before the scheduled application deadline for DOE’s civil nuclear credits program, the agency announced in a Wednesday press release that it would push the due date back […]

The California congressional district home to one of the Golden State’s former nuclear power plants could have a new representative in Congress after November’s midterm elections. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), the incumbent for California’s 49th district, faces a primary challenge from a slate of rivals including Lisa Bartlett (R), a member of the Orange County, […]

Decommissioning company EnergySolutions is one step closer to finalizing its purchase of a former Wisconsin nuclear power plant after a state regulator approved the transaction this week.  The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) unanimously approved Wednesday the sale of Kewaunee Power Station, to EnergySolutions from current operator Dominion Energy. WPSC is now the second regulator […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. NRC approves EnergySolutions nuke plant license transfers following stock buyout The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved EnergySolutions' request to transfer control of several of its shuttered nuclear power plants to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general pushed back this week on claims by agency staff that the internal watchdog bent the facts in its review of the commission’s response to a 2020 safety issue at a California nuclear power plant, new documents show. NRC staff’s May 3 claim — that the inspector general took statements […]

The company looking for state approval to purchase a Wisconsin nuclear power plant for decommissioning sought Wednesday to counter an advocacy group’s last-minute push for an independent technical review of the transaction, new filings show.  EnergySolutions told the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) in a filing Wednesday that commissioners should ignore evidence submitted last week […]

The state of New Mexico hasn’t proven to a federal court that it has sufficient legal standing to challenge the licensing of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued this week. NRC’s Monday filing with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals aims to derail New Mexico […]

The company in charge of decommissioning a Massachusetts nuclear power plant won’t discharge the site’s irradiated wastewater into a nearby bay without getting a green light from the community and environmental experts, its CEO told a member of Congress during a field hearing last week. During the remote hearing of the Senate Environment and Public […]

Companies that want to help the Department of Energy evaluate bids for financial aid from struggling nuclear power plants have until the end of the week to bid for the work, according to a recent procurement notice. DOE’s request for proposals, published May 6, says the selected contractor would help the agency ensure nuclear plants’ […]

Kathryn Huff officially became the head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office this week following her strongly bipartisan confirmation last week by the Senate. Huff, confirmed in a landslide May 5, was sworn in by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm as DOE’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy, or NE-1, according to a Wednesday […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not decide whether to license the second of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel until around Labor Day, the agency said this week. Although Holtec International has said that it expected NRC to license its proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in the second quarter of […]

By John Stang The attorney for a pipefitter exposed to radiation recently questioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about why the worker was not interviewed in the aftermath of a May 2021 incident at the Columbia Generating Station north of Richland, Washington.  Last week, Washington, D.C. labor attorney Billie Pirner Garde sent a letter seeking answers […]

Kathryn Huff, the White House’s pick for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy, cleared the full Senate this week, clinching her spot as head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office. The Senate voted 80-11 Thursday to confirm Kathryn Huff, who the Joe Biden administration first nominated in January to lead DOE’s Office […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. As we head into what looks like a rainy weekend here in Washington, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Granholm visits Michigan nuclear research facility The Secretary of Energy this week attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new Michigan State University […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission took issue Tuesday with a report from its inspector general suggesting that the agency had been lax in its inspection of a soon-to-close nuclear power plant, according to new documents. Although NRC’s inspector general alleged in a March report that an improper inspection of Diablo Canyon Power Plant back in 2020 […]

A decommissioning company intervening in state-level proceedings necessary for EnergySolutions’ purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant wants to drag out the process with last-minute contentions, EnergySolutions argued this week. NorthStar’s April request to include Kewaunee Power Station’s annual decommissioning funding status report in the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s (WPSC) review of the plant’s sale […]

The interested public now has until the end of the summer to provide their feedback on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed rules change for decommissioning nuclear power plants, the agency said this week.  August 30 is now the deadline for comments on NRC’s proposed decommissioning rulemaking, the agency said in presentation slides for an upcoming […]

In what could be a reversal of fortune for Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the governor of California is weighing whether to bid on a federal bailout for the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power facility, he said last week. State Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told the LA Times editorial board Friday that a bid on […]

A round-up of public comments on how the Department of Energy should go about siting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel should be published before Labor Day, the agency said this week. DOE “is working to analyze the comments” on its interim storage request for information (RFI) unveiled in November, an agency […]

The White House this week announced its nominees to fill the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s two open executive seats, including one former commissioner who left the agency last summer. If Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell’s nominations, which the Joe Biden administration announced in a press release Tuesday, get through Congress, they would fill two seats on […]

Kathryn Huff, the White House’s pick for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy, cleared the full Senate this week, clinching her spot as head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office. The Senate voted 80-11 Thursday to confirm Kathryn Huff, who the Joe Biden administration first nominated in January to lead DOE’s Office […]

After the summer, DOE could launch a competitive funding opportunity aimed at potential host communities for an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel, the Secretary of Energy told Senators Thursday. The award, which the Department of Energy has been planning for some time as part of its quest to site an interim storage facility, […]