Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The parties involved in a federal court case aimed at blocking a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel could still be litigating through next summer, court filings this week show. If a judge in the D.C. circuit court of appeals approves a draft schedule filed by the parties Tuesday, final briefings in the […]

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. […]

The parties involved in a federal court case aimed at blocking a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel could still be litigating through next summer, new court filings show. If a judge in the D.C. circuit court of appeals approves a draft schedule filed by the parties Tuesday, final briefings in the suit […]

An anti-nuclear watchdog group pressed Pennsylvania’s utility regulator Tuesday for more information about its ongoing investigation into water use at the shuttered Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. Docketed records, communications and work notes are among the trove of documents Three Mile Island Alert wants from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) investigation into water […]

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 […]

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 Tuesday. NRC is accepting input on the proposed license transfer of Kewaunee Power Station to an EnergySolutions subsidiary from Dominion Energy until Nov. 12, the agency […]

A lawsuit challenging a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel should see some new action this week, court documents show. Tuesday is the deadline for a coalition of anti-nuclear groups to file new motions in their suit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed spent fuel storage site in […]

Cleanup efforts at the site of one of the U.S.’s worst radiological releases is proceeding without issue, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said after a recent site inspection. A Sep. 16 inspection of the former United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) Church Rock uranium mine concluded that the General Electric team tasked with dismantling the site is “conducting […]

An updated version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s guidance for preventing workplace sabotage and other insider threats at nuclear power plants should come out this month, the agency said this week. NRC staff are “in the final steps” of revising the commission’s Insider Mitigation Program (IMP), an agency spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Monday. […]

The company decommissioning the Duane Arnold Duane Arnold Energy Center plans to start moving spent fuel from the shuttered plant’s reactor to dry storage this year, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector said this week. NextEra should have the fuel on the move “starting in 2021,” Rex Edwards, an inspector working out of NRC’s Region III […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission promoted Daniel Dorman to director of operations, the agency announced this week in a press release. Dorman is assuming his new post as NRC’s highest-ranking career official effective Oct. 10, the  Tuesday press release said. The former deputy executive director of the commission’s reactor and preparedness programs is stepping up to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a top electric power research group are renewing an unfunded five-year research agreement aimed at addressing nuclear plant aging and other challenges facing the aging fleet, according to a memo published this week. In the memorandum of understanding signed last week by both parties, NRC and the Electric Power Research […]

The utility company in charge of two financially-struggling nuclear power plants in Illinois is reversing course on its shutdown plans after a state bailout in September gave the reactors a new lease on life. In Federal Register notices published Oct. 1, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Exelon’s withdrawal of license amendments that would have let […]

A majority of staff at the nation’s top regulator for civilian nuclear power are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, an agency spokesperson said this week. Roughly 65%, or around 1,859, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2,860 employees have “certified that they are fully vaccinated,” a spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Tuesday.  Despite that statistic, NRC […]

The company decommissioning the Duane Arnold Duane Arnold Energy Center plans to start moving spent fuel from the shuttered plant’s reactor to dry storage this year, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector said Wednesday evening. NextEra should have the fuel on the move “starting in 2021,” Rex Edwards, an inspector working out of NRC’s Region III […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a top electric power research group are renewing an unfunded five-year research agreement aimed at addressing nuclear plant aging and other challenges facing the aging fleet, according to a memo published Wednesday. In the memorandum of understanding signed last week by both parties, NRC and the Electric Power Research Institute […]

A majority of staff at the nation’s top regulator for civilian nuclear power are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. Roughly 65%, or around 1,859, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2,860 employees have “certified that they are fully vaccinated,” a spokesperson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing via email Tuesday.  Despite that statistic, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission promoted Daniel Dorman to director of operations, the agency wrote Tuesday in a press release. Dorman is assuming his new post effective Oct. 10, NRC said. The former deputy executive director of the commission’s reactor and preparedness programs is stepping up to replace Margaret Doane, who is leaving NRC Friday for […]

An updated version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s guidance for preventing workplace sabotage and other insider threats at nuclear power plants should come out this month, the agency said Monday. NRC staff are “in the final steps” of revising the commission’s Insider Mitigation Program (IMP), an agency spokesperson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing via email […]

The utility company in charge of two financially-struggling nuclear power plants in Illinois is reversing course on its shutdown plans after a state bailout in September gave the reactors a new lease on life. In Federal Register notices published Friday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Exelon’s withdrawal of license amendments that would have let the […]

A pair of Democratic lawmakers this week introduced a bill that would allow a mostly non-federal taskforce, appointed in large part by the Environmental Protection Agency, to help define consent-based siting of nuclear waste and consider whether such waste could be regulated by states. If it became law, the “Nuclear Waste Task Force Act,” unveiled […]

The lights were still on in Washington Friday after Congress approved a stopgap budget to prevent a government shutdown, at least through Dec. 3, while it works on other legislation and works toward a permanent 2022 budget. President Joe Biden signed the bill Thursday evening not long after the House voted 254-175 to send congressional […]

A federal court last week gave anti-nuclear groups two more weeks to coordinate next steps in their lawsuit challenging a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas. The groups, which include Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club, now have until Oct. 12 to move forward in their case against the proposed Interim […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning to meet next week with the company in charge of decommissioning a New Jersey nuclear power plant to discuss several security violations at the site earlier this year. NRC was to host a pre-enforcement conference with Holtec International Oct. 6 to discuss an unspecified number of physical security violations […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental justice review needs to prioritize actionable outcomes, stakeholders and members of the public said during an agency conference call Monday. “[I]t’s not enough for NRC just to review its policies,” said Leona Morgan, co-founder of New Mexico community organizer Nuclear Issues Study Group. “What we need to see is change, […]

Although the looming threat of a shutdown appeared to have dissipated at deadline Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was prepared to keep the lights on for a bit if federal funds dried up because Congress and the White House could not agree on a budget for the 2022 fiscal year that starts after […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning to meet next week with the company in charge of decommissioning a New Jersey nuclear power plant to discuss several security violations at the site earlier this year. NRC was to host a pre-enforcement conference with Holtec International Oct. 6 to discuss an unspecified number of physical security violations […]

A federal court last week gave anti-nuclear groups two more weeks to coordinate next steps in their lawsuit challenging a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas. The groups, which include Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club, now have until Oct. 12 to move forward in their case against the proposed Interim […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental justice review needs to prioritize actionable outcomes, stakeholders and members of the public said during an agency conference call Monday. “[I]t’s not enough for NRC just to review its policies,” said Leona Morgan, co-founder of New Mexico community organizer Nuclear Issues Study Group. “What we need to see is change, […]

Texas started legal proceedings this week aimed at overturning the Nuclear Regulatory’s Commission’s decision to license a commercially operated interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the Lone Star state. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, alongside Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), asked a judge in the U.S. […]