Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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 […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff recommended granting a 40-year license extension to Westinghouse Government Services’ Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, which among other things manufactures the rods used to restock the tritium reservoirs of U.S. nuclear weapons. The recommendation was part of a draft environmental impact statement published Friday.  The 40-year extension would kick […]

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 Monday. NRC will file its next brief in the case over Holtec International’s proposed storage facility in New Mexico by […]

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 new filing with the agency. Citing new evidence in the form of emails […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is officially doing away with a proposed rulemaking that would govern spent fuel reprocessing, according to an agency notice published this week. Declining industry interest in spent fuel reprocessing, higher priorities in spent fuel management and “budgetary constraints” were the main drivers in discontinuing the staff rulemaking activity that began in […]

A federal suit against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel remains in limbo while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works through licensing proceedings, according to a court filing from the agency this week. Holtec International’s application for a federal license to build an interim storage facility in Lea County, N.M. is “still under […]

Nearly 40 years have passed since the Nuclear Waste Policy Act went into effect, mandating that the U.S. government designate a location to permanently dispose of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel from power plants.  It never happened, as nuke-watchers well know, but this week, an interim waste storage site conceived by the privately owned Interim […]

In a major milestone for the otherwise moribund U.S. spent-fuel-storage scene, one of two proposed commercial interim storage sites got the environmental green light from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. If licensed, the site in west Texas would be allowed to store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and highly-radioactive Greater-than-Class-C […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting together a team to review a financially-troubled Ohio nuclear power plant’s response to several equipment failures and a recent reactor trip, the agency said this week. Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station has experienced four emergency diesel generator failures over the last two years, NRC said in the statement dated Tuesday. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is officially doing away with a proposed rulemaking that would govern spent fuel reprocessing, according to an agency notice published Thursday. Declining industry interest in spent fuel reprocessing, higher priorities in spent fuel management and “budgetary constraints” were the main drivers in discontinuing the staff rulemaking activity that began in 2013, […]

A federal suit against a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel remains in limbo while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works through licensing proceedings, according to a Wednesday court filing from the agency. Holtec International’s application for a federal license to build an interim storage facility in Lea County, N.M. is “still under consideration […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing process for two proposed interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel can’t legally move forward without approval from host state governors, a Texas congressman argued Tuesday on the House floor. “The law is very clear … that the governor can disapprove [of an interim storage facility],” said Rep. Henry Cuellar […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting together a team to review a financially-troubled Ohio nuclear power plant’s response to several equipment failures and a recent reactor trip, the agency said Tuesday. Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station has experienced four emergency diesel generator failures over the last two years, NRC said in the statement dated Tuesday. The […]

Two proposed commercial interim storage sites run afoul of federal law governing radioactive waste disposal, a cadre of Texas state legislators told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a letter last week. If NRC were to license either Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) or Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facilities they would violate the Nuclear Waste Policy […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow members of the public to comment this week on the decommissioning of a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in New York, according to a notice from the agency. Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station will be on the docket at a public meeting […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission distorted the state of New Mexico’s arguments against a proposed interim storage facility when it said that a district court didn’t have the authority to rule on a state lawsuit, according to a new court filing. Since the state isn’t looking to challenge a final agency decision under the Hobbs Act […]

The Department of Energy has yet to write New Mexico back after the state sent a letter opposing a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, the state’s senior senator said this week. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told RadWaste Monitor after a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting Thursday […]

A state utilities regulator will look into water usage at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning after an environmental watchdog group sounded the alarm, according to a recent email from the regulator. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s bureau of investigation and enforcement will review “certain uses of water” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission distorted the state of New Mexico’s arguments against a proposed interim storage facility when it said that a district court didn’t have the authority to rule on a state lawsuit, according to a new court filing. Since the state isn’t looking to challenge a final agency decision under the Hobbs Act […]

A state utilities regulator will look into water usage at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning after an environmental watchdog group sounded the alarm, according to a recent email from the regulator. The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission’s bureau of investigation and enforcement will review “certain uses of water” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hopes the two vacant seats on its executive committee won’t be gathering dust for too long, the agency’s head told Congress this week. “I think we work best when we have a full complement,” said NRC chair Christopher Hanson while testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday afternoon. Currently […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could grant licenses to a pair of proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in the next six months, the commission’s chairman told Congress this week. The NRC should make its final call on Interim Storage Partners’ proposed site in west Texas should in September, Christopher Hanson, the NRC […]

Another attempt by a nuclear watchdog to halt the sale of Three Mile Island “falls woefully short” of review guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company in charge of the plant’s decommissioning said in a new filing. NRC should toss Three Mile Island Alert’s July 1 motion to reopen proceedings on the sale […]

Most of the cash greenlit for the Department of Energy’s nuclear waste activities should go towards a program to designate a federal interim storage facility, the House Appropriations Committee recommended this week in its budget for the 2022 fiscal year. That proposal survived Friday’s three-hour markup of an energy and water bill Friday, after which […]

The executives of a Texas county picked to host an interim storage facility voted to officially oppose the site’s licensing after a widely-attended and sometimes emotional public hearing this week. The Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court voted unanimously Thursday to pen a letter of resolution opposing Interim Storage Partners’ proposed interim storage site, currently undergoing […]

The Texas county slated to host a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel was scheduled to discuss the issue in a meeting Thursday and, according to one stakeholder, potentially resolve it. The Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court will convene at 3:00 p.m. Central time “for a discussion and possible resolution” regarding Interim Storage […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could grant licenses to a pair of proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in the next six months, the commission’s chairman told Congress Wednesday. The NRC should make its final call on Interim Storage Partners’ proposed site in west Texas should in September, Christopher Hanson, the NRC chair, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hopes the two vacant seats on its executive committee won’t be gathering dust for too long, the agency’s head told Congress Wednesday. “I think we work best when we have a full complement,” said NRC chair Christopher Hanson while testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday afternoon. Currently the […]

Christopher Hanson was scheduled to testify Wednesday before a pair of House subcommittees about the Nuclear Regulatory’s 2022 budget request, power plant decommissioning and nuclear waste management. The joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce energy subcommittee and climate change subcommittee was scheduled to air on the committee’s website at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. […]

Another attempt by a nuclear watchdog to halt the sale of Three Mile Island “falls woefully short” of review guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company in charge of the plant’s decommissioning said in a new filing. NRC should toss Three Mile Island Alert’s July 1 motion to reopen proceedings on the sale […]