Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reopened the comment period for a draft final guidance on requests for alternative disposal of very low-level radioactive waste. The comment period, which initially closed on Dec. 18, will now stretch to Jan. 17, according to a Dec. 21 notice in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov, […]

A public hearing scheduled for today on the planned sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant was canceled Wednesday in the face of the oncoming “bomb cyclone” storm. The storm was expected to deliver snow, ice, strong winds, and frigid temperatures across the East Coast starting Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reopened the comment period for a draft final guidance for agency staff reviews of requests for alternative disposal of very low-level radioactive waste. The comment period, which initially closed on Dec. 18, will now stretch to Jan. 17, according to a Dec. 21 notice in the Federal Register. Comments […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November spent $16,743 of its remaining Nuclear Waste Fund balance, leaving it with just under $525,000 to spend, according to the agency’s latest update to Congress. The fund in total as of January 2017 had a balance of roughly $34 billion collected from nuclear power generators to fund development […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given final authorization for power company Entergy to use the decommissioning trust for the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant for management of the site’s irradiated fuel. The regulator announced publication of its environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) on the exemption in a Dec. 26 Federal […]

The state of Nevada has requested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission postpone an upcoming meeting of the advisory panel on management of the Licensing Support Network, the repository of documents on the agency’s review of the license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Last month, the NRC announced a Jan. 30-31 meeting […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has authorized Waste Control Specialists (WCS) to store radioactive waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory for an additional two years, to nearly the end of 2018. The decision is one of a long list of updates to the company’s state radioactive material license approved […]

A second round of state depositions has been scheduled for January on the proposed sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Depositions were previously held in October as the Vermont Public Utility Commission considers whether to authorize transfer of ownership of Vermont Yankee from power company Entergy to nuclear decommissioning specialist NorthStar Group […]

The state of Nevada has joined the U.S. Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff in formally declaring its intention to participate in any resumed NRC review of the license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. On Friday, Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects Director Robert Halstead submitted the state’s response to […]

A second round of state depositions has been scheduled for January on the proposed sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Depositions were previously held in October as the Vermont Public Utility Commission considers whether to authorize transfer of ownership of Vermont Yankee from power company Entergy to nuclear decommissioning specialist NorthStar Group […]

The House Appropriations Committee this week unveiled a peculiar budget bill that would provide full-year fiscal 2018 appropriations for the Pentagon, but keep other federal agencies including the Department of Energy funded at prior-year levels through Jan. 19. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) introduced the bill Wednesday. The Department of Energy (DOE), like […]

The House Appropriations Committee this week unveiled a peculiar budget bill that would provide full-year fiscal 2018 appropriations for the Pentagon, but keep other federal agencies including the Department of Energy funded at prior-year levels through Jan. 19. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) introduced the bill Wednesday. The Department of Energy (DOE), like […]

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it has been years since any U.S. company has expressed interest in developing commercial spent fuel reprocessing or recycling capabilities. “I think in 2009, the agency received some expressions of interest from potential developers of reprocessing capability in the United States,” NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki told members […]

Holtec International has submitted at least the majority of its responses to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s request for supplemental information regarding the company’s application to build a consolidated interim storage facility for used nuclear reactor fuel. The information, spread across 11 attachments and hundreds of pages, was delivered in October and posted this week to […]

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it has been years since any U.S. company has expressed interest in developing spent fuel reprocessing or recycling capabilities. “I think in 2009, the agency received some expressions of interest from potential developers of reprocessing capability in the United States,” NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki told members of […]

The Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff have both formally affirmed their intention to participate in any renewed adjudication of DOE’s license application for the planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The parties’ easily anticipated confirmations were included in responses submitted in recent weeks to an Oct. 27 request for information […]

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. All three sitting commissioners — Chairman Kristine Svinicki, along with Stephen Burns and Jeff Baran — are scheduled to appear before the panel to answer questions on NRC policy, and financial and management matters. […]

The current and prospective owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant believe they can count on additional legal wins against the Department of Energy to help finance decommissioning of the shuttered facility. Power company Entergy and nuclear decommissioning specialist NorthStar Group Services also say they should not need a new Nuclear Regulatory Commission exemption […]

There was no word this week on when the three nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission might get confirmation votes from the U.S. Senate. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Oct. 25 sent the Trump administration’s Sept. 5 nomination of sitting Commissioner Jeff Baran for a floor vote by the full […]

Power company Entergy last month notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of plans for a new $4 million disbursement from its decommissioning trust for the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. “The disbursement request is expected to include, among other things, site-specific decommissioning costs related to licensing/emergency planning contractor costs, insurance and property tax,” according to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October spent $14,707 from its remaining available balance of the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the agency’s latest update to Congress. That left the regulator with $527,408 in unspent, unobligated funds from the account intended to pay for development of a permanent repository for U.S. high-level radioactive waste and […]

There was no word Tuesday on when the three nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission might get confirmation votes from the U.S. Senate. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Oct. 25 sent the Trump administration’s Sept. 5 nomination of sitting Commissioner Jeff Baran for a floor vote by the full chamber. […]

A lawmaker from New York state has introduced legislation aimed at easing the way for placing spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste into interim storage until a permanent repository is built. The “Removing Nuclear Waste from our Communities Act of 2017,” from Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), would authorize the energy secretary to enter into contracts […]

Thomas Gardiner While the U.S. government seeks a permanent home for tens of thousands of tons of spent nuclear reactor fuel, the waste can safely be stored at the power plants that generated it, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said recently. “The NRC has concluded that storage of spent fuel at reactor sites […]

Northwest Medical Isotopes (NWMI) could be just a few months away from securing approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a plant for production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99. “Ninety-nine percent of the work is done, so now you’re just going through the procedural process in getting it approved,” NWMI Chief Operating Officer […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said its rulemaking for nuclear power reactor decommissioning will address both physical and cyber security, along with six other operational areas. The list is included in the final regulatory basis for the rulemaking, posted Nov. 20 on the NRC website. The commission in December 2014 mandated the rulemaking, which is aimed […]

The U.S. Department of Energy has thrown its support behind limiting compliance to 1,000 years in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s update to its Part 61 rule on storage of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). “DOE is fully supportive of moving to a single 1,000-year time of compliance and sees no unintended consequences,” according to comments submitted […]

BWXT has named Regina W. Carter as its senior vice president, government affairs and communications. Carters has been a vice president for the company since 2015. In addition to heading up government affairs and communications, Carter also serves as a member of BWXT’s executive staff and strategic planning team, BWXT President and CEO Rex D. […]

The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) it is safe to store spent nuclear fuel generated by the San Onofore Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) on site. “The NRC has concluded that storage of spent fuel at reactor sites (and at away-from-reactor sites) can safely continue until a repository becomes available,” […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is weighing a request from the Omaha Public Power District that would exempt the utility from certain emergency planning requirements for the recently-retired Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska. The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) says now that Fort Calhoun is permanently shut down and defueled it poses less risk and […]