Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. With the Decommissioning Strategy Forum a wrap, here are some updates from the civilian nuclear power world that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week from our conference hub outside of Las Vegas: Industry Holding on for a Hero in Congress for Spent Fuel Solutions SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The nuclear industry needs someone […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule “misses the mark” and cedes too much of the agency’s and the public’s power over the decommissioning process to industry, one commissioner said this week. The proposed rules change, which the commission approved on a 2-1 vote Wednesday after three years of drafts, “tilt[s] the regulation” of nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission greenlit Wednesday a proposed rule aimed at streamlining the decommissioning process for nuclear power operators, the agency said in a statement. The newly-approved rule would implement “specific regulatory requirements” for reducing agency-mandated safety and emergency preparedness protocols at nuclear power plants that become unnecessary when the site is being decommissioned, NRC […]

SUMMLIN, NEV. — Federal regulators should approve the sale of a Michigan nuclear power plant early next year, a Holtec executive said Monday at the Exchange Monitor’s annual Decommissioning Strategy Forum. Holtec International expects the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve its acquisition of the Palisades Power Plant from Entergy “no later than January of 2022,” […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Here are some developments from around the world of civilian nuclear power RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. “We Appreciate Your Concern” About Interim Storage, Hanson Tells Texas Gov A recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas meets the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s guidelines, the agency recently told the state […]

The interested public has until the end of the week to submit its comments on a proposed cleanup plan for a former New Mexico uranium mine currently under Nuclear Regulatory Commission jurisdiction. Sunday is the deadline for public input on a proposed license amendment for the United Nuclear Corporation’s (UNC) Church Rock site, according to […]

A decommissioning company planning to take over operations at a Wisconsin nuclear power plant may have to submit its first evidence briefing to the state agency reviewing the transaction in December, according to a draft schedule in a recent notice from the panel. Dec. 1 could be the deadline for an EnergySolutions subsidiary company and […]

Holtec International this week secured the latest exemption to a low-level waste tracking rule that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has planned to rework as part of a long-stalled decommissioning rule. The proposed rulemaking would instruct companies shipping low-level radioactive waste to a disposal site to track shipments and notify the commission if the waste packages […]

One of two economically-troubled Illinois nuclear power plants bailed out by the state government last month has completed its refueling process, the plant’s operator said this week. Byron Nuclear Generating Station “completed its refueling outage earlier this month,” a spokesperson for Exelon Generation told RadWaste Monitor via email Wednesday afternoon. The Ogle County, Ill. nuclear […]

A federal court case challenging one of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel remained on hold Wednesday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked through its licensing review, the agency said in a status report filed this week. NRC told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that Holtec International’s application to build […]

A federal court case challenging one of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel remained on hold Wednesday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked through its licensing review, the agency said in a status report Tuesday. NRC told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that Holtec International’s application to build an interim […]

One of two economically-troubled Illinois nuclear power plants bailed out by the state government last month has completed its refueling process, the plant’s operator said Wednesday. Byron Nuclear Generating Station “completed its refueling outage earlier this month,” a spokesperson for Exelon Generation told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing via email Wednesday afternoon. The Ogle County, Ill. […]

A decommissioning company planning to take over operations at a Wisconsin nuclear power plant may have to submit its first evidence briefing to the state agency reviewing the transaction in December, according to a draft schedule in a recent notice from the panel. Dec. 1 could be the deadline for an EnergySolutions subsidiary company and […]

The interested public has until the end of the week to submit its comments on a proposed cleanup plan for a former New Mexico uranium mine currently under Nuclear Regulatory Commission jurisdiction. Sunday is the deadline for public input on a proposed license amendment for the United Nuclear Corporation’s (UNC) Church Rock site, according to […]

Low-level nuclear waste shipments from a Massachusetts nuclear plant being decommissioned by Holtec International won’t have to adhere to a 20-day tracking rule, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided last week. Although NRC’s regulations say that a company shipping low-level radioactive waste to a disposal site needs to track and report shipments that don’t arrive at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing decommissioning plans from the company set to take ownership of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant even as the state’s public service commission deliberates about the details of the plant’s sale, according to a recent agency filing. EnergySolutions, which is slated to take over the license for Kewaunee Power Station […]

Happy ‘Nuclear Science Week,’ nuke-watchers.  The Secretary of Energy and industry ambassadors took to social media this week to mark this international week of recognition for the field of nuclear science. “Nuclear science is an incredible asset to our nation,” said energy secretary Jennifer Granholm in a video message published Monday, “and we are just […]

The former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now part of a utility company’s board of directors, according to a press release this week. Kristine Svinicki, who was the top regulator at NRC from 2017 to January, was elected to Southern Company’s board effective Sunday, the company said in a press release dated Monday. […]

An environmental watchdog group wants Pennsylvania’s environmental protection office to pressure an interstate regulator to step in on water use at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, according to a request the group sent this week. Three Mile Island Alert asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Wednesday to petition the Susquehanna River Basin […]

The company in charge of a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas is getting involved in the state’s federal suit against the proposed site, according to recent court filings. A judge in the U.S. fifth circuit court of appeals allowed Interim Storage Partners (ISP) to intervene in Texas attorney general Ken […]

There “has been some uncertainty” about developing guidelines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to request religious or medical exemptions from the Joe Biden administration’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, an NRC official said at a virtual all-hands meeting this week.  “I think we’re very close on the guidelines for the medical exemption,”  the agency’s newly appointed […]

An environmental watchdog group wants Pennsylvania’s environmental protection office to pressure an interstate regulator to step in on water use at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, according to a request the group sent this week. Three Mile Island Alert asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Wednesday to petition the Susquehanna River Basin […]

There “has been some uncertainty” in developing guidelines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to request religious or medical exemptions from the Joe Biden administration’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, an NRC official said at a virtual all-hands meeting Tuesday morning.  “I think we’re very close on the guidelines for the medical exemption,”  the agency’s newly appointed […]

The former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now part of a utility company’s board of directors, according to a press release Monday. Kristine Svinicki, who was the top regulator at NRC from 2017 to January, was elected to Southern Company’s board effective Sunday, the company said in a press release dated Monday. Svinicki […]

The company in charge of a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas is getting involved in the state’s federal suit against the proposed site, according to recent court filings. A judge in the U.S. fifth circuit court of appeals allowed Interim Storage Partners (ISP) to intervene in Texas attorney general Ken […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission team conducting an environmental justice review of agency practices will give members of the public an update on their progress next week, the agency announced recently. The review team, spearheaded by Gregory Suber, the head of the agency’s operating reactor licensing division, will host its second virtual public comment session Oct. […]

An anti-nuclear watchdog group pressed Pennsylvania’s utility regulator this week for more information about its ongoing investigation into water use at the shuttered Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will give Three Mile Island Alert a response to a sweeping records request on the agency’s investigation into water use […]

Members of the public have a month to comment on the proposed sale of a mothballed Wisconsin nuclear power plant to a decommissioning company, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week. NRC is accepting input on the proposed license transfer of Kewaunee Power Station to an EnergySolutions subsidiary from Dominion Energy until Nov. 12, the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should finish its final environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s interim storage site proposed for Lea County, N.M., in November, an agency spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor this week.  The final licensing decision and a safety analysis are both still planned for January, the spokesperson said in an email Thursday. That schedule […]

A bipartisan group of four senators reintroduced a bill to protect whistleblowers at the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from retaliation, according to a recent press release. Before the Senate adjourned last week, Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ron Wyden (D-Wash.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) announced that they filed their […]