Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Bill Mohl, president of Entergy’s nuclear power segment, will retire in February after 35 years in the utility business, the company announced last week. Mohl’s departure comes as Entergy continues its exit from the merchant power business, which is operated by Entergy Wholesale Commodities: the company’s nuclear business. Entergy has shifted its focus to growth […]

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up to date on news affecting Department of Energy […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to meet with Massachusetts officials and residents in response to the public backlash following an NRC email leak that revealed troubling inspection findings at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), the state’s two senators and nine representatives, and a long list of local lawmakers demanded […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has identified six findings of very low safety significance at the Clinton Power Station in Illinois and is treating the issues as non-cited violations. Operator Exelon had planned to close the nuclear facility in 2017, but passage of a state energy subsidy program in late 2016 allowed the utility to forgo […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Entergy for its failure to minimize introduction of residual radioactivity into subsurface groundwater at the Indian Point Energy Center. The NRC notified the utility of the violation, an issue the regulator regarded as “very low safety significance,” in a Jan. 17 letter, which was made public Wednesday. The citation […]

Centrus Energy Corp. plans to ship low-level waste from the decommissioned American Centrifuge uranium enrichment demonstration facility in Piketon, Ohio, to the Nevada National Security Site for disposal beginning in March, company filings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission show. “Planning and budgeting for the waste shipments by Centrus, the waste disposal contractor and the transportation […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has identified six findings of very low safety significance at the Clinton Power Station in Illinois and is treating the issues as non-cited violations. Operator Exelon had planned to close the nuclear facility in 2017, but passage of a state energy subsidy program in late 2016 allowed the utility to forgo […]

Mark Lombard, director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Division of Spent Fuel Management, has been promoted to deputy director of the agency’s Office of Administration. Michael Layton, director of the Division of Security Operations in the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, will replace Lombard, who has spent five years in the position. The […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to meet with Massachusetts officials and residents in response to the public backlash following an NRC email leak that revealed troubling inspection findings at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), the state’s two senators and nine representatives, and a long list of local lawmakers demanded the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday approved Entergy’s request for additional time to comply with a safety equipment update at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York. The NRC ordered a series of design improvements for American nuclear reactors following the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in […]

Entergy said Monday it will shut down its Indian Point Energy Center by 2021, citing declining revenue and increased operating costs at the New York nuclear plant, which has been at the center of a controversy concerning bolt degradation. The utility plans to shut down the Unit 2 reactor in April 2020, followed by Unit […]

Nevada lawmakers and a Republican congressman have introduced dueling bills concerning federal plans for permanent storage of U.S. nuclear waste. The Obama administration in 2009 canceled the planned Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nevada, pursuing instead a plan for separate storage facilities for commercial and defense waste. The administration in December unveiled a draft plan […]

A former Nuclear Regulatory Commission member said Tuesday the agency is “fully prepared” to handle nearly 300 legal contentions against the development of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Jeff Merrifield, who served on the board from 1998 to 2007, spoke at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s Spent Fuel Seminar in Washington, […]

A senior Energy Department official said Tuesday it would be “silly” to attempt to resume licensing proceedings for the canceled Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, given DOE’s insistence that the project is unworkable. Appearing the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s Spent Fuel Seminar in Washington, D.C., DOE used nuclear fuel disposition office Director William Boyle was asked about […]

Entergy said Monday it will shut down its Indian Point Energy Center by 2021, citing declining revenue and increased operating costs at the New York nuclear plant, which has been at the center of a controversy concerning bolt degradation. The utility plans to shut down the Unit 2 reactor in April 2020, followed by Unit […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday approved Entergy’s request for additional time to comply with a safety equipment update at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York. The NRC ordered a series of design improvements for American nuclear reactors following the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in […]

Public Citizen on Friday requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reconsider its approval of the $110 million sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York from Entergy to Exelon. The consumer advocacy organization in October asked that the commission reject the sale, claiming the deal would adversely affect New York’s power market. Entergy […]

The Energy Department may assess civil penalties against contractors that retaliate against whistleblowers within their ranks, under a new agency rule that goes into effect Jan. 26. The agency released a summary of the final rule late last year in the Federal Register. Senate Democrats from Washington state and Oregon, major stakeholders in the cleanup of the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Dec. 29 issued a white inspection finding at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, confirming that operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) failed to “adequately maintain the (plant’s) emergency core cooling system.” Located about 12 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo, Diablo Canyon is the last operating nuclear plant in California […]

U.S. Eighty-four of the 99 Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed nuclear plants are now in compliance with new emergency response safety equipment orders the agency has implemented through its Fukushima Lessons Learned initiative, according to NRC spokesman Scott Burnell. Compliance is up from 70 percent in September, when the agency explained in documents that it anticipated the […]

A lawsuit seeking to reverse the controversial San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station settlement agreement is moot, given that state regulators have addressed issues that led to the unbalanced deal, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) argued in a court filing Tuesday. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) retired the plant’s unit 1 in 1992, and […]

Following the leak of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission email disclosing troubling inspection findings at the downgraded Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Massachusetts leaders are demanding a public meeting with the regulator to discuss safety at the plant. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, the state’s two senators and nine representatives, and a long list of local lawmakers penned a […]

After holding a number of protests outside the Massachusetts State House demanding the immediate shutdown of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, demonstrators on Monday will take their case to the plant itself. Cape Downwinders, a group of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, have repeatedly called on state officials to demand that the Nuclear Regulatory […]

Eighty-four of the 99 Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed nuclear plants are now in compliance with new emergency response safety equipment orders the agency has implemented through its Fukushima Lessons Learned initiative, according to NRC spokesman Scott Burnell. Compliance is up from 70 percent in September, when the agency explained in documents that it anticipated the American nuclear fleet […]

The contractor managing construction of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina intends to issue a solicitation for a fixed-price subcontract to install HVAC ductwork and supports for the MOX project. CB&I AREVA MOX Services said in a Dec. 28 presolicitation notice that the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Dec. 29 issued a white inspection finding at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, confirming that operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) failed to “adequately maintain the (plant’s) emergency core cooling system.” Located about 12 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo, Diablo Canyon is the last operating nuclear plant in California […]

Massachusetts residents are again asking state officials to support calls for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to order that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station cease operations, following the recent leak of an agency email disclosing candid details of an ongoing inspection at the plant. Cape Downwinders, a group of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, […]

Retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has championed the fight against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in his state, said in a recent interview he will be happy to step away from the battle and let another carry the torch. “I will be happy to be involved in causes, but I am not […]

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. on Dec. 27 requested that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorize $84 million in disbursements from the San Onofre Generating Station decommissioning trust funds for expenses projected in 2017. The request follows a separate request from plant majority owner Southern California Edison, which asked that CPUC authorize $302.7 million in […]

U.S. Exelon has withdrawn filings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking to cease operation of the Clinton Power Station and the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, following Illinois’ passage of the Future Energy Jobs Bill. The withdrawals are more a technicality in what has already been confirmed. Exelon had been threatening the close the struggling […]