Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Texas is fighting to keep its lawsuit against commercial interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the state from getting tossed on a technicality, as a similar suit was last week, a court filing shows. The state on Friday argued that a site proposed in Andrews County by the Interim Storage Partners (ISP) joint venture […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is waiting for more information before it assesses the potential impacts of the White House’s announcement this week that the three-year-old COVID-19 national emergency declaration would end this summer, a spokesperson said this week. In an Office of Management and Budget policy statement Monday, the Joe Biden administration announced that it […]

The company in charge of decommissioning a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant affirmed this week that it would not discharge radioactive water from the facility until it gets a required federal permits modification later this year. Holtec International “will fully comply” with the terms of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s National current Pollutant Discharge Elimination System […]

The congressman representing a west Texas community that could one day play host to an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel nabbed an assignment on the House’s primary nuclear-waste policy committee. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who represents the Lone Star State’s 11th district, was assigned Jan. 11 to the House Energy and Commerce Committee […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is waiting for more information before it assesses the potential impacts of the White House’s announcement this week that the three-year-old COVID-19 national emergency declaration would end this summer, a spokesperson said Wednesday. In an Office of Management and Budget policy statement Monday, the Joe Biden administration announced that it would […]

Texas is fighting to keep its lawsuit against commercial interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the state from getting tossed on a technicality, as a similar suit was last week, a court filing shows. The state on Friday argued that a site proposed in Andrews County by the Interim Storage Partners (ISP) joint venture […]

A federal court this week dismissed a 2021 lawsuit by a coalition of environmental and mining groups who tried to block the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s license of a proposed private storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the plaintiffs, led by anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear, were not, […]

A bill aimed at preventing a private company from building a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico without prior state approval cleared this week its first legislative hurdle in Santa Fe. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), was favorably reported out of the state Senate Conservation Committee […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs another month to review Holtec International’s application for a proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, an agency official said here this week. NRC is “in the process” of reviewing new information submitted this week by Holtec, so the agency will not be ready to […]

California’s last nuclear power plant must start its federal relicensing process anew, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week, derailing its operator’s plan to put huge chunks of bailout money to quick work via a regulatory shortcut. In 2022, Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) secured more than $2 billion in […]

  California’s last nuclear power plant must start its federal relicensing process anew, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday, derailing its operator’s plan to put huge chunks of bailout money to quick work via a regulatory shortcut. In 2022, Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) secured more than $2 billion in […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs another month to review Holtec International’s application for a proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, an agency official said here Tuesday. NRC is “in the process” of reviewing new information submitted this week by Holtec, so the agency will not be ready to make […]

California’s public utilities commission last week agreed to kick off a new rulemaking that, if finalized, would allow the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant to operate into the next decade, documents show. During a Thursday meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted unanimously to greenlight the proposed rulemaking, which would, among other […]

The U.S. should develop a series of scientific criteria that can be used to extend the operating lifetimes of nuclear power plants through the middle of the century, the Department of Energy’s lead nuclear power official said this week. “If we would like our existing fleet to make it to 2050, we should establish a […]

A recent poll conducted by New Mexico-based environmental organizations found that more than half of respondents opposed a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Land of Enchantment, local media reported over the weekend. The December survey from the Southwest Research and Information Center and the Center for Civic Policy, viewed by […]

Citing water use violations, a Pennsylvania-based environmental group this week asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider another challenge to decommissioning a shuttered nuclear power plant in the Keystone State, agency documents show. In its Wednesday filing, Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA) told NRC that a 2021 license amendment request for Three Mile Island Nuclear […]

The New Mexico legislature will again try to legally prohibit Holtec International from building an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state, according to a bill filed this week. The legislation, introduced Wednesday by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), would if signed amend state law to ban disposal of spent nuclear fuel […]

The U.S. should develop a series of scientific criteria that can be used to extend the operating lifetimes of nuclear power plants through the middle of the century, the Department of Energy’s lead nuclear power official said Wednesday. “If we would like our existing fleet to make it to 2050, we should establish a scientific […]

California’s public utilities commission last week agreed to kick off a new rulemaking that, if finalized, would allow the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant to operate into the next decade, documents show. During a Thursday meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted unanimously to greenlight the proposed rulemaking, which would, among other […]

A recent poll conducted by New Mexico-based environmental organizations found that more than half of respondents opposed a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Land of Enchantment, local media reported over the weekend. The survey, taken in December as a joint effort between the Southwest Research and Information Center and the […]

Effective Jan. 29, longtime federal manager Randy Hendrickson will succeed Jay Mullis as the acting head of regulatory affairs and policy at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Mullis, who has filled the position for many months, will return to his job as manager of the cleanup field office at the Oak Ridge […]

The operator of California’s last nuclear power plant, which just got a new lease on life, said that the facility’s system for managing reactor coolant pressure was leaking, according to a recent letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During an October refueling outage at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) discovered a […]

As the company in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant seeks federal approval to operate the facility for an extra five years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is weighing whether to extend the plant’s license to store spent nuclear fuel on site. NRC is considering an application from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) that, […]

A coalition of anti-nuclear groups this week asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to refuse a proposed 20-year license extension for California’s last operating nuclear power plant, saying it would violate federal law, an agency filing shows. Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) November request with NRC for a license extension for Diablo Canyon Power Plant is […]

A coalition of anti-nuclear groups on Tuesday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to refuse a proposed 20-year license extension for California’s last operating nuclear power plant, saying it would violate federal law, an agency filing shows. Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) November request with NRC for a license extension for Diablo Canyon Power Plant is […]

The operator of California’s last nuclear power plant, which just got a new lease on life, said that the facility’s system for managing reactor coolant pressure was leaking, according to a recent letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During an October refueling outage at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) discovered a […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving to the next step in its congressionally-mandated effort to amend a rule about financial assurances for decommissioning nuclear power plants by stripping out references to credit ratings, the agency said this week. NRC’s proposed rules change, published in the Federal Register Tuesday, is aimed at bringing the agency’s financial […]

The potential environmental effects of a proposed cleanup plan for a shuttered uranium mine in New Mexico likely will not stand in the way of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approving the cleanup, according to an agency report published this week. The “adverse environmental impacts” of the proposed license amendment for the United Nuclear Corporation’s Church […]

Happy New Year, nuke-watchers, and welcome to 2023’s first issue of RadWaste Monitor, where we’ll take a look ahead at some of the issues looming for industry and government in the unfolding year. After months of back-and-forth, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could license a second private interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel early this […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved changes to Holtec International’s framework for managing a dedicated decommissioning fund at a shuttered New York nuclear power plant after pointing out a discrepancy in the plan, the agency said this week. NRC Nov. 9 greenlit a revision to Holtec’s master decommissioning trust fund agreement for Indian Point Energy […]