Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has officially started the job hunt for someone to run its spent fuel and waste disposal program, according to federal want ad posted this week. Anyone interested in becoming the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (ONE) deputy assistant secretary for its spent fuel and waste disposition program can […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission distorted the state of New Mexico’s arguments against a proposed interim storage facility when it said that a district court didn’t have the authority to rule on a state lawsuit, according to a new court filing. Since the state isn’t looking to challenge a final agency decision under the Hobbs Act […]

The Department of Energy has yet to write New Mexico back after the state sent a letter opposing a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, the state’s senior senator said this week. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told RadWaste Monitor after a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting Thursday […]

A state utilities regulator will look into water usage at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning after an environmental watchdog group sounded the alarm, according to a recent email from the regulator. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s bureau of investigation and enforcement will review “certain uses of water” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s […]

Retired Navy Vice Admiral Fritz Roegge is the new president of Holtec’s government services subsidiary, the company announced this week in a press release dominated by new hires for the Camden, N.J., company’s financial team. Now leading the finance silo is Kevin O’Rourke, the new vice president and chief financial officer. He replaces David LaRosa, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hopes the two vacant seats on its executive committee won’t be gathering dust for too long, the agency’s head told Congress this week. “I think we work best when we have a full complement,” said NRC chair Christopher Hanson while testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday afternoon. Currently […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could grant licenses to a pair of proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in the next six months, the commission’s chairman told Congress this week. The NRC should make its final call on Interim Storage Partners’ proposed site in west Texas should in September, Christopher Hanson, the NRC […]

Another attempt by a nuclear watchdog to halt the sale of Three Mile Island “falls woefully short” of review guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company in charge of the plant’s decommissioning said in a new filing. NRC should toss Three Mile Island Alert’s July 1 motion to reopen proceedings on the sale […]

The Joe Biden administration “may be moving” to start its inquiry into a possible host state for a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the chair of the House’s energy spending panel said this week. “I believe we provided enough authority in the bill for [a consent-based siting inquiry] to move forward …  […]

Most of the cash greenlit for the Department of Energy’s nuclear waste activities should go towards a program to designate a federal interim storage facility, the House Appropriations Committee recommended this week in its budget for the 2022 fiscal year. That proposal survived Friday’s three-hour markup of an energy and water bill Friday, after which […]

The executives of a Texas county picked to host an interim storage facility voted to officially oppose the site’s licensing after a widely-attended and sometimes emotional public hearing this week. The Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court voted unanimously Thursday to pen a letter of resolution opposing Interim Storage Partners’ proposed interim storage site, currently undergoing […]

The executive of a Texas county slated to host a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel said Wednesday that the county commission may vote to take a public stance on the project following a community meeting earlier this week. While the Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court can vote to pen a letter of […]

A nuclear watchdog aiming to halt the sale and decommissioning of the power plant at the epicenter of one of the nation’s worst nuclear disasters is again asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its challenge, according to a new motion filed with the agency last week. NRC erred when it tossed Three Mile Island […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has delayed the final environmental review for Holtec’s proposed interim spent fuel storage site in Lea County, N.M., to November from July, the agency said last week. In a letter dated July 2, the commission also said that a separate safety review for the proposed site will also be delayed, to […]

New Mexico is very unhappy about the possibility of a commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, a cadre of officials told the Secretary of Energy last week. The Land of Enchantment “has not and will not consent” to the proposed Holtec International interim storage site in Lea County, N.M., said […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting together a team to look into how the agency currently addresses environmental justice, according to a press release this week. The commission’s new Environmental Justice Review Team has already started “reviewing recent Executive Orders and assessing practices of other federal, state and tribal governments,” NRC said in a Thursday […]

Planned layoffs at a shuttered New Jersey nuclear plant run afoul of a collective bargaining agreement, a union representative said this week amid ongoing arbitration talks about the future of some 40 unionized radiation protection technicians at the site. Holtec International, Camden, N.J., is responsible for decommissioning the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and its […]

A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated June 25, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the […]

A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]

In another bid to combat mounting nuclear power plant closures, a group of Senate Democrats last week unveiled a bill to keep the existing fleet afloat. If the Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit Act became law, nuclear plant operators could expect a tax credit on every kilowatt-hour (KWh) of electricity they produce, according to the […]

A Texas minerals company has joined a federal lawsuit, headlined by an antinuclear group, aimed at holding up the licensing process for a proposed interim nuclear waste storage facility at the Western edge of the Lone Star state. Fasken Land and Minerals’s June 25 petition against NRC was combined Tuesday with an existing coalition of […]

The company seeking a license to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week in requesting that a judge toss the state attorney general’s lawsuit over the proposed site, a court filing shows. New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas went to the wrong court […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is abandoning its inquiry into whether it should double the license renewal period for nuclear power plants to 40 years from 20 years, agency staff recommended this week. Because 90% of existing reactors already have a 20-year license extension allowing them to run for 60 years, a 40-year extension period would have […]

Anticipated decreases in activity surrounding two proposed interim storage sites partly explain the relatively flat budget request the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made for its spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning programs, a detailed spending justification published this week shows.  For the 2022 fiscal year, NRC apportioned $28 million of its proposed budget to its spent […]

One of the nuclear industry’s most prominent trade groups pressured the Joe Biden administration this week to do something about the dwindling Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as one of four current commissioners finished her term this week and left the agency. It’s important for the five-person NRC to be at full strength so it can “act […]

State and federal agencies informed an interstate commission that no violations of environmental law appeared to occur in the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant that would require them to step in on the matter, a spokesperson for the commission said this week. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental […]