Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee delayed a nomination hearing for three proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission commissioners to Tuesday, the panel announced Tuesday afternoon. The hearing had been scheduled for today. The committee did not say why it postponed the meeting. When the Committee does get around to the hearing, it will consider the […]

The federal government does not have to return more than $4 million in Nuclear Regulatory Commission fees to Southern Co. subsidiaries Alabama Power and Georgia Power, a court of federal claims judge ruled Monday.. In granting summary judgement to the U.S. federal government in this third round of litigation by the companies, Judge Patricia E. […]

In separate hearings on Wednesday, Senators will consider the Donald Trump administration’s 2018 budget request for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House’s nominees to round out the two vacant spots on the commission. The NRC double-header is set to kick off at 10 a.m., when the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee will […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and Entergy are no fans of a bill again being proposed by a trio of Northeast lawmakers to speed up the transfer of nuclear spent fuel into dry cask storage. Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (ID-Vermont), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Dry Cask Storage Act legislation May 26. […]

There is no cause for concern regarding the shipment into the United States of 10,000 metric tons of radioactively contaminated material from Canada, according to a senior manager with the company that will process the waste. UniTech Services Group, of Longmeadow, Mass., in October filed for separate Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses to import and export […]

Exelon said May 30 that “absent needed policy reforms” it will retire its Three Mile Island Generating Station (TMI) near Harrisburg, Penn., by September 30, 2019. Chris Crane, president and chief executive of Exelon, held out the caveat that the reactor could operate beyond that point if Pennsylvania follows the lead of New York and Illinois […]

A federal judge on May 19 authorized the state of Nevada and nuclear power industry representatives to intervene in Texas’ lawsuit demanding the federal government move ahead expeditiously with a permanent repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. Judge Patrick Higginbotham, of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, did not provide the reasoning for his separate […]

By Wayne Barber The Nuclear Regulatory Commission budget request for fiscal 2018 puts funding back into licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada even as it reflects overall belt tightening and a continuing reduction in employee headcount at the agency. The regulator is requesting $952 million for the budget year that starts Oct. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission budget request for fiscal 2018 puts funding back into licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada even as it reflects overall belt tightening and a continuing reduction in employee headcount. The regulator is requesting $952 million for the budget year that starts Oct. 1, including 3,284 full-time equivalent employees. […]

The U.S. nuclear industry on Tuesday lauded the White House’s nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which currently has only three of the maximum five members. “We are deeply appreciative that the president has recognized the outstanding service of Kristine Svinicki, in renominating her as NRC chair,” Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is providing energy again following a final refueling ahead of its scheduled closure two years from now, operator Entergy said Monday. The 45-year-old Massachusetts nuclear plant was removed from the grid in early April and reconnected at 1:52 a.m. Monday, according to an Energy press release. This was its 21st refueling. “Entergy […]

A federal judge on Friday authorized the state of Nevada and nuclear power industry representatives to intervene in Texas’ lawsuit demanding the federal government move ahead with a permanent repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. Judge Patrick Higginbotham, of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, did not provide the reasoning for his separate rulings in […]

U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reject a license application for export of 10,000 tons of nuclear material back to Canada after it has been decontaminated at a facility in Tennessee. Massachusetts-based UniTech Group Services last October filed for import and export licenses for the material, which would […]

The Trump administration is proposing a modest increase in funding from current levels for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to leaked data that appears to outline its spending plan for the next budget year. The regulator would receive just over $939.1 million for salaries and expenses in fiscal 2018, which begins Oct. 1. That would […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission offered another positive assessment of contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services’ work in building the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The regulator said in a May 10 letter to contractor President and COO David Del Vecchio that “no violations or deviations were […]

U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reject a license application for export of 10,000 tons of nuclear material back to Canada after it has been decontaminated at a facility in Tennessee. Massachusetts-based UniTech Group Services last October filed for import and export licenses for the material, which would […]

The employee headcount at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently listed at more than 3,250 full-time equivalent positions, down considerably from the more than 4,000 recorded during the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, according to the agency’s May update to Congress. The over 60-page report, released May 5 to Senate Environment and Public Works […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission offered another positive assessment of contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services’ work in building the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The regulator said in a May 10 letter to contractor President and COO David Del Vecchio that “no violations or deviations were […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is recommending allowing nuclear plant operators to spend money from their decommissioning trust funds on certain separate expenses without having to obtain authorization from the federal agency. The recommendation, if enacted by the NRC as part of a larger rulemaking, would still require that nuclear utilities ensure their accounts maintain a […]

The parent company of Waste Control Specialists (WCS) on Tuesday suggested deep doubts about the likelihood of securing a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate an interim spent fuel storage facility for spent reactor fuel. The statement from holding company Valhi Inc. comes as its subsidiary is said to be wrestling with ongoing […]

The Trump administration has taken issue with 3-year-old, bipartisan bill language the codifies the right of U.S. lawmakers to request sensitive information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The language, a standard rider on most budget bills since 2014, was introduced that year after then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) objected to the NRC’s revision of its Internal […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that further action is not immediately necessary to ensure safe operations of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The finding follows a supplemental inspection that ended this year following three NRC site visits to the nuclear plant. “The NRC determined that programs and processes at PNPS adequately support […]

The nuclear energy industry and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to press for a new U.S. domestic uranium enrichment capability, though not necessarily for the same reasons. At a May 3 public witness hearing before the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) asked Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the […]

The parent company of Waste Control Specialists (WCS) on Tuesday suggested deep doubts about the likelihood of securing a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate an interim storage facility for spent reactor fuel. Dallas-based WCS in April asked the federal agency to temporarily suspend review of the application for a facility designed to […]

The Trump administration has taken issue with 3-year-old, bipartisan bill language the codifies the right of U.S. lawmakers to request sensitive information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The language, a standard rider on most budget bills since 2014, was introduced that year after then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) objected to the NRC’s revision of its Internal Commission Procedures to […]

The fiscal 2017 congressional omnibus budget awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature would reduce fees and appropriations for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by about $65 million from the amount it requested more than a year ago. The funding cutback, though, would be partly alleviated by more than $20 million in unspent funds the agency is authorized […]

The new congressional omnibus budget proposal for fiscal 2017 would reduce fees and appropriations for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by about $65 million from its requested amount. That doesn’t mean the agency necessarily faces a drastic belt tightening for the remainder of this budget year, partly thanks to unspent funds it is authorized to carry […]

The state of Vermont is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw a series of decisions allowing utility Entergy to use money from the decommissioning trust fund for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station for management of the plant’s spent fuel. The state government has fought this battle for years, worried about draining funds […]

Environmental services provider US Ecology on Thursday reported year-over-year dips in both revenue and net income for the first quarter of 2017. Company-wide revenue for the three-month period ending March 31 slipped from $113.3 million in 2016 to $110.2 million this year, according to a company press release. US Ecology recorded $5.2 million in net […]

The Trump administration appeared to harden its resolve to open the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository over host state Nevada’s objections this week, even as word leaked that a site contractor was marshalling its workforce to restart the project and a House panel held a hearing on new pro-Yucca legislation. On Wednesday, after the hearing […]