Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The independent federal agency that licenses and regulates civilian use of nuclear materials, including commercial reactor operation, decommissioning, and radioactive waste storage and disposal.
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Decommissioning
Last of Vermont Yankee’s low-level waste to be packaged in October, NorthStar says
The company in charge of decommissioning a former Vermont nuclear power plant aims to load and store the last of the facility’s low-level waste next month, according to a statement from its CEO this week. NorthStar, which is in the process of dismantling Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, “anticipates being able to load the Greater […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
NRC has no timeline for considering Nevada’s play to permanently kill Yucca licensing
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not have a schedule for when it will address a recent request from the state of Nevada aimed at reopening, and eventually ending, the agency’s licensing proceedings for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a spokesperson said Tuesday. Although Nevada’s Sep. 20 request is in front of NRC’s five-member […]
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Decommissioning
Holtec to give update on Pilgrim wastewater disposal plan
A citizens’ advisory panel was scheduled Monday to discuss a controversial proposal that would see irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts power plant discharged into the Cape Cod Bay, according to a meeting agenda. Holtec International, which is currently decommissioning the Plymouth, Mass., Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, is set to provide the community-led nuclear decommissioning […]
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Decommissioning
Stakeholders discuss Palisades restart gambit at NRC decom meeting
Members of the public this week weighed in on a proposal to bring a recently-shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant back online during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting. During the meeting Thursday evening NRC was set to receive public comments on Palisades Nuclear Generating Station’s post-decommissioning shutdown activities report (PSDAR), an action plan required for dismantling […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
In NRC filing, Nevada Gov. Sisolak aims to slay ‘zombie-like’ Yucca Mountain once and for all
In the state’s latest attempt to kill the project for good, Nevada this week asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to end the long-idled licensing review of the U.S.’s only congressionally-designated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. Gov. Steve Sisolak’s (D) request, if approved by NRC, would re-open licensing proceedings for the Yucca Mountain site so […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
In NRC filing, Nevada Gov. Sisolak aims to slay ‘zombie-like’ Yucca Mountain once and for all
In the state’s latest attempt to kill the project for good, Nevada on Tuesday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to end the long-stalled licensing review of the U.S.’s only congressionally-designated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. Gov. Steve Sisolak’s (D) motion, if approved by NRC, would re-open licensing proceedings for the Yucca Mountain site — […]
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Decommissioning
NRC to host meeting on Palisades decom plan
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was scheduled this week to host a public meeting to discuss decommissioning plans for a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan, according to the agency’s schedule. The NRC meeting, which will be held in-person Thursday at Lake Michigan College in South Haven, Mich., will allow members of the public to comment […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC proposes rad waste transport regs change for ‘harmonization’ with international standards
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week proposed a series of amendments to its regulations for packaging and transporting radioactive material, which the agency said would bring its oversight in line with international standards. The proposed changes, which NRC announced in a Federal Register notice Monday, are aimed at “harmonization with the International Atomic Energy Agency […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Oral argument scheduled in NM interim storage suit
The state of New Mexico was scheduled to present its case against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel to a panel of judges before Thanksgiving, court documents show. Santa Fe’s lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which aims to block two proposed private interim storage sites in New Mexico and Texas, is […]
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Decommissioning
Palisades restart uncertain as DOE weighs bailout bids
The fate of a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan is in the Department of Energy’s hands this week after the company tasked with decommissioning the site announced that it had applied for a federal bailout to explore restarting the facility. Holtec International, which currently owns Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, told RadWaste Monitor Sunday that, […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Oral argument scheduled in NM interim storage suit
The state of New Mexico was scheduled to present its case against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel to a panel of judges before Thanksgiving, court documents show. Santa Fe’s lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which aims to block two proposed private interim storage sites in New Mexico and Texas, is […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC proposes rad waste transport regs change for ‘harmonization’ with international standards
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday proposed a series of amendments to its regulations for packaging and transporting radioactive material, which the agency said would bring its oversight in line with international standards. The proposed changes, which NRC announced in a Federal Register notice Monday, are aimed at “harmonization with the International Atomic Energy Agency […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Interim storage could last decades — or centuries
In a meeting with state lawmakers in New Mexico last week, a Holtec International executive sought to allay fears that the company’s proposed spent fuel storage facility in Eddy County would become a permanent repository for nuclear waste. “Interim storage — and it is interim — will be measured in decades,” Ed Mayer, the project […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
In meeting with NM legislators, Holtec project lead defends ‘interim storage’ designation
Speaking to state lawmakers last week, Holtec International’s interim storage chief sought to allay fears that the company’s proposed spent fuel storage facility in the Land of Enchantment would become a permanent repository for nuclear waste. “Interim storage — and it is interim — will be measured in decades,” Ed Mayer, the project lead for […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Judges question NRC authority to license interim storage; cast shadow over ISP site in Texas, dry storage pads across the U.S.
In oral arguments this week, two federal appeals judges appeared skeptical of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s power to license commercial storage of spent nuclear fuel. Those two judges, by themselves, have the power to undo the commission’s September 2021 license of Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed spent-fuel storage site in Andrews County, Texas, which by […]
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Decommissioning
California Senate passes Diablo Canyon lifeline
California lawmakers on Wednesday passed an eleventh-hour bill that, if signed into law, would help keep the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant running into the next decade. The state Senate passed the proposed measure 31-1 late on Wednesday night, the final scheduled day of the legislative session. The bill would give the California […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Fifth Circuit judge says she cannot see NRC authority to license interim storage
A federal judge Monday cast some doubt on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in west Texas. During an oral argument session in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Edith Jones, part of a three-member panel presiding over the state of Texas’s lawsuit against […]
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Decommissioning
Cali lawmakers introduce bill to save Diablo Canyon
California state lawmakers introduced a bill over the weekend that, if made law, would toss a billion-dollar lifeline to the state’s last operating nuclear power plant. The proposed legislation, unveiled Sunday only days before the scheduled end of the state’s legislative session, would nullify a 2018 order from the California Public Utilities Commission approving shutdown […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Texas, NRC to present oral arguments in interim storage suit
The state of Texas was scheduled Monday to present its ongoing case against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ability to license interim waste storage to a federal court, court documents show. The oral argument session, planned for Monday at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ New Orleans courthouse, could be the first legal test of Texas […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Final briefs filed in enviros’ interim storage lawsuit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week submitted its last set of arguments against a coalition of anti-nuclear and other groups suing the agency over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. In its wrap-up brief, filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, NRC doubled […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
New NRC commissioner Caputo sworn in, Crowell up next
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is one step closer to having its executive committee back at full strength, as one of the agency’s two new top regulators took her oath of office this week, a spokesperson said. Annie Caputo was sworn in as an NRC commissioner Tuesday, the agency said in a press release dated Thursday. […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
New NRC commissioner Caputo sworn in, Crowell up next
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is one step closer to having its executive committee back at full strength, as one of the agency’s two new top regulators took her oath of office this week, a spokesperson said. Annie Caputo was sworn in as an NRC commissioner Tuesday, an agency spokesperson told Exchange Monitor via email Wednesday. […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Final briefs filed in enviros’ interim storage lawsuit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monday submitted its last set of arguments against a coalition of anti-nuclear and other groups suing the agency over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. In its wrap-up brief, filed Monday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, NRC doubled down on its argument that […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
NRC to greenlight NuScale advanced reactor design
Nuclear services company NuScale’s advanced reactor design should soon be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be built in the United States, the agency said in a press release last week. The commission directed its staff to draw up a final rule approving NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) design, first proposed in 2016, according […]
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Decommissioning
All safety issues resolved at Oyster Creek, Holtec tells NRC
A bevy of safety violations at a New Jersey nuclear power plant under decommissioning have been resolved, the company dismantling the site told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a recent letter. Since NRC on Jan. 26 slapped Holtec International with around $50,000 in fines for several security violations at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Holtec […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC back at five commissioners as Senate confirms Caputo, Crowell
The full Senate this week confirmed the White House’s nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, bringing the nuclear safety regulator’s executive committee to five members for the first time in over a year. Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, who the upper chamber approved to become NRC commissioners on a voice vote Tuesday night, […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Texas, NRC spar over ‘major questions’ legal argument in interim storage suit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state of Texas traded blows this week about whether a recent Supreme Court decision moves the needle in the Lone Star State’s ongoing lawsuit against a proposed, privately owned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Wednesday’s filings with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Texas, NRC spar over ‘major questions’ legal argument in interim storage suit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state of Texas traded blows Wednesday about whether a recent Supreme Court decision moves the needle in the Lone Star State’s ongoing lawsuit against a proposed, privately owned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Wednesday’s filings with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are the […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
All safety issues resolved at Oyster Creek, Holtec tells NRC
A bevy of safety violations at a New Jersey nuclear power plant under decommissioning have been resolved, the company dismantling the site told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a recent letter. Since NRC on Jan. 26 slapped Holtec International with around $50,000 in fines for several security violations at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Holtec […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC back at five commissioners as Senate confirms Caputo, Crowell
The full Senate Wednesday night confirmed the White House’s nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, bringing the nuclear safety regulator’s executive committee to five members for the first time in over a year. Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, who the upper chamber approved to become NRC commissioners on a voice vote Tuesday, will […]








