Nuclear Regulatory Commission

An anti-nuclear watchdog’s agency-level effort to halt the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant is dead to rights after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted it down this week. The three NRC commissioners voted unanimously during a Tuesday meeting to nix Three Mile Island Alert’s petition to reconsider the sale of Three Mile Island Nuclear […]

In mid-August, with his former colleagues enjoying a week of recess back home, a self-described “nuclear-waste guy” with nearly a quarter of a century on Capitol Hill worked on lesson plans for his new teaching gig, watching nuclear-waste history repeat itself. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) ended a 24-year career representing Illinois’s 15th congressional district in […]

Second time’s the charm for a proposed bill aimed at banning the storage of high-level nuclear waste including spent fuel in Texas, which cleared both houses of the state legislature this week in a parliamentary blitz. The measure, co-sponsored by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R) and state Sen. Brian Birdwell (R), passed in its second […]

The sponsors of a proposed bill banning the storage of high level nuclear waste in Texas, which passed the state Senate Wednesday, are using a parliamentary gambit to get the law on the books before the federal government can license a planned interim storage facility in the Lone Star State. After unanimously passing the Texas […]

An anti-nuclear watchdog’s agency-level effort to halt the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant is dead to rights after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted it down Tuesday. The three NRC commissioners voted unanimously during a Tuesday meeting to nix Three Mile Island Alert’s petition to reconsider the sale of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating […]

As Hurricane Ida rolls through Louisiana, one of two nuclear power plants in the storm’s path is offline while the other is operating at reduced capacity, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday. Waterford Nuclear Generating Station, located about 25 miles from New Orleans, lost offsite electrical power Sunday evening, NRC said in a statement published […]

A proposed bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Texas got a new lease on life last week after its second iteration made it through the state House. The measure, proposed by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R), passed via voice vote in a special meeting of the state House Friday evening. […]

An Ohio lawmaker has requested the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio seek a third-party investigation of its former chair who resigned due to a scandal over state subsidies for two FirstEnergy nuclear reactors. On Wednesday, state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman (D) sent a letter to current Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) chair Jenifer French requesting […]

The House should vote Sept. 27 on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes a cash injection for financially-struggling nuclear power plants, now that Democrats have resolved an intra-party logjam. Party leadership settled on that date Tuesday after several days of negotiations with dissenting House Democrats who did not want to continue work on a partisan […]

A bill proposing to ban high-level nuclear waste storage in Texas, which previously died in the state legislature, is getting a second wind during a special session, with some minor alterations. State Rep. Brooks Landgraf’s (R) reintroduced measure, which passed the Texas House’s environmental regulation committee on a 6-2 vote Monday, aims to prevent high-level […]

The Department of Energy is taking public comment on a draft environmental assessment of its plan to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and ship the material out of state.  The 14-day public comment period on the Test Best Initiative, officially started Saturday and runs through […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced late last week that it was extending the comment period for its Environmental Justice review through September 22.  The commission is seeking “input on how the agency is addressing environmental justice, considering the agency’s mission and statutory authority,” according to a Federal Register notice published August 10. The agency has […]

San Diego’s county commission this week joined a group lobbying the federal government to remove the shuttered San Onofre Generating Station’s spent fuel from the California coast. The San Diego County board of supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to use as much as $100,000 to hire a contractor that would manage the county’s participation in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday offered a strongly-worded rebuke to the New Mexico attorney general’s claim that a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel violates federal law, according to a new court filing. NRC has the right to license commercial facilities under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the agency argued in the […]

Southwestern host states probably cannot stop construction of temporary spent-fuel depots in their territories by arguing that licensing such sites is against federal law, a couple of retired nuclear policy hands opined this week. Pending a few more reviews, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could license Interim Storage Partners’ proposed commercial interim storage facility in west […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday offered a strongly-worded rebuke to the New Mexico attorney general’s claim that a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel violates federal law, according to a new court filing. NRC has the right to license commercial facilities under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the agency argued in the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will end mandatory telework and allow in-person work to resume by the end of next month, the agency said in a recent letter to staff. As part of its “full re-entry” program, NRC staff can return to their offices September 26, the agency said in the letter dated July 30. Although […]

Members of the public have a bit more time to weigh in on how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is handling issues of environmental justice, the agency said this week. September 22 is the new deadline for public comment on NRC’s current environmental justice posture, which it will use as part of a “systematic” review of […]

Although it was on the menu for a special session of the Texas legislature, the body didn’t debate this week legislation to address a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the state. Several days of special sessions of the state Senate ended without discussion on Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed interim storage […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will end mandatory telework and allow in-person work to resume by the end of next month, the agency said in a recent letter to staff. As part of its “full re-entry” program, NRC staff can return to their offices September 26, the agency said in the letter dated July 30. Although […]

The company in charge of decommissioning Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power station accused a nuclear watchdog of serious process fouls after the group’s latest attempt to halt the plant’s license transfer, according to a regulatory filing. NRC should no longer allow Three Mile Island Alert to “blatantly ignore” reasonable requirements of public participation in […]

Despite being on the menu for a special session this weekend, the Texas legislature hasn’t yet heard debate on legislation to address a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the state. Saturday’s special session of the state Senate ended without discussion on Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed interim storage facility in Andrews […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should certify that the parties involved with decommissioning Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant comply with environmental law and that there’s a plan in place for water use at the site, a watchdog group said in a filing with the agency last week. Citing new evidence in the form of […]

An inspection at a New Jersey nuclear plant being decommissioned by Holtec International revealed several security violations that might earn the company a civil penalty, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a letter to the plant’s owner last week. According to NRC’s letter, dated July 28, Holtec has a month to either contest the commission’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning to fire its next salvo this month in an ongoing legal battle over one of two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel, according to a court filing this week. NRC will file its next brief in the case over Holtec International’s proposed storage facility in New Mexico […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved all of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s funding request for the upcoming fiscal year at a markup this week. In a 25-5 vote Wednesday the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the annual Energy and Water Development budget, which included every dime of NRC’s roughly $874 million request for fiscal […]

In a special session starting this weekend, the Texas state legislature will get another chance to pass laws that could make it harder to dispose of some radioactive waste in the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called the special session of the legislature at a time when a privately operated waste disposal company […]

After a Tuesday hearing to vet a nominee for a senior Department of Energy job, New Mexico’s senior senator pounded the table about making sure proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel do not turn into permanent repositories. “The concern, really, is that the department does not have a plan to ensure that any […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved all of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s funding request for the upcoming fiscal year at a Wednesday markup. In a 25-5 vote Wednesday the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the annual Energy and Water Development budget, which included every dime of NRC’s roughly $874 million request for fiscal 2022.  […]

After a Tuesday hearing to vet a nominee for a senior Department of Energy job, New Mexico’s senior senator pounded the table about making sure proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel do not turn into permanent repositories. “The concern, really, is that the department does not have a plan to ensure that any […]