Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Exelon hopes to close its $110 million purchase of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant by late March or early April, a company executive said Thursday. Site owner Entergy had planned to permanently close the 41-year-old facility this year, but the two utilities struck a deal in August following the New York Public Service Commission’s (NYPSC) […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has identified a problem with loose bolts used for HVAC ductwork during construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, sending as a result a notice of violation to project contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services. The MOX facility is being built to convert 34 metric tons of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has identified a problem with loose bolts used for HVAC ductwork during construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, sending as a result a notice of violation to project contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services. The MOX facility is being built to convert 34 metric tons of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a “Click With Care” campaign, after an inadvertent email leak revealed candid details of a special inspection at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and caused a public uproar in Massachusetts. “Many of us are aware of the impact of erroneously sending an email to the wrong person,” NRC Chief […]

Legislation supporting consolidated interim storage for nuclear waste is unlikely to get consideration in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, a committee aide said Wednesday. The Interim Consolidated Storage Act, the latest version of which was introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in January, would allow the Department of Energy to enter into public-private contracts […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is tentatively scheduled to conclude its special inspection of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on March 21 with a public meeting in Massachusetts, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Tuesday. An NRC report will be due 45 days after that date to detail inspection findings at the 44-year-old facility, which is due to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled briefings for next week on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the ongoing progress of Project Aim. The briefings represent the first commission meetings under new Republican Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki, who President Donald Trump chose last month to replace Chairman Stephen Burns, an Obama administration appointee […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected EnergySolutions’ subpoena for information in a civil antitrust lawsuit, arguing that the request is burdensome, vague, and fails to follow agency guidelines. EnergySolutions’ filed the subpoena on Jan. 24, as it prepares to contest the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit challenging the company’s $367 million acquisition of Waste Control Specialists. DOJ argues that […]

The U.S. branch of French multinational nuclear company AREVA and decommissioning specialist NorthStar on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture for cleanup of closed U.S. nuclear power facilities — beginning with plants now owned by major utility Entergy. Accelerated Decommissioning Partners (ADP) is intended to offer the decommissioning and dismantlement expertise of both […]

Officials from Vermont on Wednesday requested a public meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to discuss the potential sale and license transfer of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, as Entergy prepares for decommissioning. The Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel, which consists of local and state officials and lawmakers, penned the letter to NRC Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki. […]

Holtec International said this week it plans by March 31 to submit its license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility in southeast New Mexico. The company plans to build a 120,000-metric-ton capacity facility about 12 miles from the Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday fielded an onslaught of complaints from the public about the safety culture at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, following a controversial email leak in December that revealed troubling inspection findings at the beleaguered Massachusetts plant. At the request of a host of officials from the state, NRC staff held a public […]

Nevada’s Commission on Nuclear Projects on Tuesday finalized its biannual report to state lawmakers, which outlines an aggressive strategy in contesting potential resumption of licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The commission was established in 1985 to advise the governor and the Nevada Legislature on radioactive waste disposal activities in the state. […]

Two weeks into President Donald Trump’s first term, Energy Secretary-designate Rick Perry has crept closer to confirmation in the Senate, and the president’s beachhead and transition teams are laying groundwork to bolster the budget for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved Perry’s nomination by a vote […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday fielded an onslaught of complaints from the public about the safety culture at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, following a controversial email leak that revealed troubling inspection findings at the beleaguered Massachusetts plant. In a rare move, and at the request of a host of officials from the state, […]

Nuclear Energy Institute Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick voiced support Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s new executive order curtailing federal regulations in order to increase flexibility for businesses. The so-called “one-in, two-out” plan requires that federal agencies designate two regulations to abolish for every new regulation approved. Korsnick, who spoke on a panel at the United States […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its proposed fees charged to license applicants and licensees for fiscal 2017. Most annual fees would drop from the fiscal 2016 fee schedule, but the NRC proposes to slightly increase the hourly rate for NRC staff work, from $265 to $267, or 0.8 percent. The proposed rule was published Monday […]

EnergySolutions last week subpoenaed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, requesting documents and communications concerning federal low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) regulations, as it gears up to fight a civil antitrust lawsuit the Department of Justice filed against the company’s $367 million acquisition of Waste Control Specialists. The subpoena is considered routine for such a case, as both sides […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s legal counsel and new Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki are determining the impact of President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze on the agency. The White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, issued an executive memorandum halting all proposed new or proposed federal regulations under consideration in executive departments and agencies, with exceptions to rules impacting […]

Waste Control Specialists is encouraged that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving forward with a formal review of the company’s application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas, President and CEO Rod Baltzer said Friday. WCS is seeking a 40-year NRC license for a facility designed to hold 40,000 […]

President Donald Trump has chosen Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Kristine Svinicki to replace Stephen Burns as NRC chairman, an official with the agency said Thursday, confirming the first significant decision from Trump concerning the agency. Svinicki, a Republican who disagreed with discontinuing Yucca Mountain licensing proceedings in 2010, started her second five-year term in 2012. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting in Massachusetts on Jan. 31 to discuss preliminary findings from an ongoing inspection at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, the agency announced Monday. The agency scheduled the meeting after Gov. Charlie Baker and other state officials raised concerns about an NRC email leak in December that […]

Waste Control Specialists’ (WCS) application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas is ready for Nuclear Regulatory Commission review, the agency said in a letter to the company Thursday. The NRC in June said the application filed two months earlier lacked the technical detail needed for the […]

U.S. Entergy has withdrawn its plan submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to permanently shut down its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant – a potential signal the utility is confident of closing the sale of the facility to fellow power company Exelon. The $110 million deal, which would allow the struggling plant to remain […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not be affected by President Donald Trump’s new federal hiring freeze, as the agency has been under a self-imposed suspension on hiring for more than a year as part of Project Aim. Trump signed a presidential memorandum Monday, effectively suspending hiring in most of the executive branch, save for positions in military, […]

Holtec International this week revealed a “cutting-edge” decommissioning approach it said will allow utilities to convert nuclear plant sites to greenfield status about five-and-a-half years after reactor shutdown. The “proto-prompt” system features a friction-stir welded Metamic HT fuel basket, which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensed in 2008. The nuclear waste company developed the concept to […]

There was no evidence this week of a blanket gag order on external communication from the Energy Department under newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, whose administration has tweeted steadily since Inauguration Day from the official @ENERGY Twitter account. The Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies were directed to stand down temporarily from communication with […]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has reaffirmed its intention to pay $72,289 to the nongovermental Friends of the Earth for its “substantial contribution” to the commission’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station shutdown settlement, despite the environmental group’s request for $483,503. The commission offered $72,289, 85 percent under the requested amount, to the group in […]

Holtec International this week revealed a “cutting-edge” decommissioning approach it said will allow utilities to convert nuclear plant sites to greenfield status about five-and-a-half years after reactor shutdown. The “proto-prompt” system features a friction-stir welded Metamic HT fuel basket, which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensed in 2008. The nuclear waste company developed the concept to address the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not be affected by President Donald Trump’s new federal hiring freeze, as the agency has been under a self-imposed suspension on new hires for more than a year as part of Project Aim. Initiated in 2014, Project Aim is the regulator’s attempt to re-evaluate and reduce its staffing and workload to […]