While there is a “remote” chance the full House of Representatives could vote on the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Appropriations bill next week, it is more likely that the measure won’t be taken up until September, a key House Appropriator said Wednesday.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & Water Subcommittee, made the remarks in Washington, D.C. before the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus forum on isotopes.
In May, the House Appropriations Committee passed the bill 34-25. The bill, which must still be voted upon by the full House, would fund $1.8 billion to the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and $892.3 million to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The House is scheduled to go on recess at the end of July and stay out for most of August. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
Berkeley, Calif.-based nuclear waste disposal technology company Deep Isolation has begun trading on the OTCQB Venture Market this week.
According to Deep Isolation’s Monday press release, the company’s common stock will be traded under the ticker symbol “DBHL” The OTCQB Venture Market is the middle tier of the OTC Markets Group and designated for developing or early-stage companies in the United States and internationally. Deep Isolation announced a go-public transaction in July 2025.
“We are excited to begin trading on the OTCQB, offering public market investors the ability to invest in our innovative nuclear waste disposal technology,” Rod Baltzer, president and CEO of Deep Isolation, said in the release. “Becoming a publicly traded company allows investors to join us in advancing proven, science-based innovation to address one of the world’s most pressing energy challenges.”
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted an exemption regarding scheduling requirements for Westinghouse’s application to renew its AP1000 standard design certification.
According to a July 2 Federal Register notice, under paragraph (a) 10 CFR 52.57, applicants for design certification renewals may apply for renewal anytime between 12 and 36 months “before the expiration of the initial 40-year period.” Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor’s duration of certification runs until Feb. 27, 2046.
This regulation would not allow for Westinghouse to apply for a design certification renewal until February 2043, in which the company submitted its application in April this year. On April 27, NRC staff determined that the exemption request contained enough information to be docketed for review and ultimately the exemption was granted on June 24.