Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Southern California Edison announced Tuesday that it has selected an AECOM-EnergySolutions partnership as its general contractor for about $1 billion in dismantlement work for the $4.4 billion decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The news follows a 10-month selection process in which a Bechtel-Westinghouse team and Team Holtec also competed for the […]

A request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cancel its review of Waste Control Specialists’ application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas is outside the scope of the current proceedings, according to the NRC. Beyond Nuclear, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Public Citizen, and the Sustainable Energy […]

Southern California Edison announced Tuesday that it has selected an AECOM-EnergySolutions partnership as its general contractor for the projected $1 billion in dismantlement work for the $4.4 billion decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The news follows a 10-month selection process in which a Bechtel-Westinghouse team and Team Holtec also competed for the work. The 10-year […]

A request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cancel its review of Waste Control Specialists’ application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas is outside the scope of the current proceedings, the NRC stated in a recent letter. Beyond Nuclear, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Public Citizen, […]

Two antinuclear groups this week continued to call for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing concerning power company Entergy’s request for additional time to comply with post-Fukushima safety equipment updates 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 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating an incident in which a low-level radioactive waste shipment from the Columbia Generating Station in Washington state to a nearby disposal facility was rejected due to under-reported radiation levels. The NRC said Monday that workers at the nuclear power plant on Nov. 9 shipped a single package of contaminated […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission employee last week inadvertently forwarded a staff email to a watchdog group detailing candid observations from an ongoing inspection at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, fueling calls for the beleaguered plant to be shut down. The NRC is conducting its third and final increased oversight inspection at the plant, which in […]

Lockheed Martin said Thursday it began work in November on a $50 million contract to supply Minuteman III ICBM support technology. The defense contractor secured the four-year, firm-fixed-price deal in June for seven sets of ICBM re-entry system equipment and four additional units of support gear, according to a Lockheed press release. The equipment will […]

Two antinuclear groups this week continued to call for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing concerning Entergy’s request for additional time to comply with post-Fukushima safety equipment updates 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 […]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Tuesday ordered utility Southern California Edison (SCE) to re-confer with interested parties to potentially adjust the $4.7 billion settlement over the premature closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013. CPUC announced in April that it was reopening the settlement case, which ordered that state ratepayers cover […]

The Trump transition team is asking the Department of Energy for specifics on the potential for restarting the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to transition documents obtained by several media outlets. In a questionnaire to the department, the transition team asked if there are any statutory restrictions […]

Public Citizen said Monday it will ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a rehearing on its decision last week to approve the $110 million sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York from Entergy to Exelon. Public Citizen in October asked FERC to reject the application for the sale, claiming […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating an incident in which a recent low-level radioactive waste shipment from the Columbia Generating Station in Washington state to a nearby disposal facility was rejected due to under-reported radiation levels. The NRC said Monday that workers at the nuclear power plant on Nov. 9 shipped a single package of contaminated filters to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recorded zero major security incidents and 29 minor security incidents in fiscal 2016, according to a recent agency report to the Office of Management and Budget. NRC Chairman Stephen Burns detailed the findings in a Dec. 1 letter to OMB Director Shaun Donovan, which was released publicly last week. According to the […]

A senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission official discussed Wednesday the caution the agency takes to avoid colluding with the nuclear industry and to instead collaborate on regulatory issues. This has been a topic of conversation since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. A year after a 9.0 earthquake triggered a 15-meter tsunami and triple meltdown […]

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) on Wednesday signed into law the Future Energy Jobs Bill, an energy subsidy package intended to stave off closures at Exelon’s Quad Cities Generating Station and the Clinton Power Station. “The Future Energy Jobs bill protects taxpayers, ratepayers, and the good-paying jobs at the Clinton and Quad Cities’ plants,” Rauner […]

Entergy has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that 885 spent fuel panels at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Massachusetts are susceptible to degradation that could challenge their effectiveness by September 2017. The panels act as neutron absorbers. A decline in their effective use increases the possibility of fissioning reactions in spent fuel pools, which […]

Michigan lawmakers sounded off Thursday after Entergy announced that it plans to shut down its Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in October 2018, citing “business risks of continued operation.” Located in Covert, Mich., Palisades began operation in 1971, held a purchase power agreement through 2022, and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating license through 2031. The plant generates […]

The Energy Department will unveil a draft plan for a new deep-geologic repository for defense nuclear waste in the coming days, an agency official said Tuesday during a presentation to a citizens group in South Carolina. “I’m talking about a deep geological repository,” DOE’s Nancy Buschman, senior adviser for defense waste disposal, told members of the […]

A government shutdown loomed Friday as some Senate Democrats held hostage a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government and its Cold War nuclear cleanup work funded through late April. The House passed the so-called continuing resolution Thursday, then adjourned for the week. In the Senate, however, Democratic lawmakers led by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) […]

A senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission official discussed Wednesday the caution the agency takes to avoid colluding with the nuclear industry and to instead collaborate on regulatory issues. It’s been a topic of conversation ever since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. A year after a 9.0 earthquake triggered a 15-meter tsunami and triple meltdown […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Monday recommended the agency deny two antinuclear groups’ request for a hearing concerning Entergy’s request to extend compliance deadlines for post-Fukushima safety upgrades at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in upstate New York. Beyond Nuclear and the Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) in a Nov. 10 filing […]

Entergy has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that 885 spent fuel panels at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Massachusetts are susceptible to degradation that could challenge their effectiveness by September 2017. The panels act as neutron absorbers. A decline in their effective use increases the possibility of fissioning reactions in spent fuel pools, which […]

Though President-elect Donald Trump has yet to offer an official stance on the canceled nuclear waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, speculation that the next administration will revive the project persists around Washington, D.C. Sources close with the Trump transition team say his still-developing administration is exploring restarting the project licensing process with the Nuclear […]

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

Editor’s note: This article has been modified from its original version.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Petition Review Board on Friday announced the decision to dismiss portions of a petition tied to containment vent modifications at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. The NRC required that American nuclear plant operators implement a series of design […]

Waste Control Specialists is seeking leniency from federal regulators after apparently violating its federal waste-storage permit to prevent a possible radiation release in 2014, according to an official account the company filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 12-page account, the most detailed Waste Control Specialists (WCS) has offered publicly on the situation, is printed […]

Nuclear Navy vet Don Hoffman, longtime president of Excel Services Corp., in Rockville, Md., is reportedly out of the running to head the Department of Energy’s legacy nuclear cleanup operations, and Eric Knox, a former Energy Department civil servant with ties to the Yucca Mountain, is rumored to be in consideration, sources in Washington said […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday began its third and final increased oversight inspection at the troubled Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. In a conference call Monday with reporters, agency managers leading the inspection said there are no immediate safety concerns at the plant, but that the team of about 20 NRC officials will […]

U.S. Republicans on Thursday elected Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) as the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Walden ran against committee member Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who has been a proponent of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste geologic repository in Nevada, and former committee chairman Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas). Outgoing Chairman Fred […]