Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The executive of a Texas county slated to host a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel said Wednesday that the county commission may vote to take a public stance on the project following a community meeting earlier this week. While the Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court can vote to pen a letter of […]

A nuclear watchdog aiming to halt the sale and decommissioning of the power plant at the epicenter of one of the nation’s worst nuclear disasters is again asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its challenge, according to a new motion filed with the agency last week. NRC erred when it tossed Three Mile Island […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has delayed the final environmental review for Holtec’s proposed interim spent fuel storage site in Lea County, N.M., to November from July, the agency said last week. In a letter dated July 2, the commission also said that a separate safety review for the proposed site will also be delayed, to […]

New Mexico is very unhappy about the possibility of a commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, a cadre of officials told the Secretary of Energy last week. The Land of Enchantment “has not and will not consent” to the proposed Holtec International interim storage site in Lea County, N.M., said […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting together a team to look into how the agency currently addresses environmental justice, according to a press release this week. The commission’s new Environmental Justice Review Team has already started “reviewing recent Executive Orders and assessing practices of other federal, state and tribal governments,” NRC said in a Thursday […]

The executive of a Texas county slated to host a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel said Wednesday that the county commission may vote to take a public stance on the project following a community meeting earlier this week. While the Andrews County, Texas Commissioners’ Court can vote to pen a letter of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has delayed the final environmental review for Holtect’s proposed interim spent fuel storage site in Lea County, N.M., to November from July, the agency said Friday. In a letter dated Friday, the commission also said that a separate safety review for the proposed site will also be delayed, to January from […]

A nuclear watchdog aiming to halt the sale and decommissioning of the power plant at the epicenter of one of the nation’s worst nuclear disasters is again asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its challenge, according to a new motion filed with the agency last week. NRC erred when it tossed Three Mile Island […]

New Mexico is very unhappy about the possibility of a commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, a cadre of officials told the Secretary of Energy last week. The Land of Enchantment “has not and will not consent” to the proposed Holtec International interim storage site in Lea County, N.M., said […]

A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated June 25, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the […]

A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]

A Texas minerals company has joined a federal lawsuit, headlined by an antinuclear group, aimed at holding up the licensing process for a proposed interim nuclear waste storage facility at the Western edge of the Lone Star state. Fasken Land and Minerals’s June 25 petition against NRC was combined Tuesday with an existing coalition of […]

The company seeking a license to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week in requesting that a judge toss the state attorney general’s lawsuit over the proposed site, a court filing shows. New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas went to the wrong court […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is abandoning its inquiry into whether it should double the license renewal period for nuclear power plants to 40 years from 20 years, agency staff recommended this week. Because 90% of existing reactors already have a 20-year license extension allowing them to run for 60 years, a 40-year extension period would have […]

Anticipated decreases in activity surrounding two proposed interim storage sites partly explain the relatively flat budget request the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made for its spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning programs, a detailed spending justification published this week shows.  For the 2022 fiscal year, NRC apportioned $28 million of its proposed budget to its spent […]

One of the nuclear industry’s most prominent trade groups pressured the Joe Biden administration this week to do something about the dwindling Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as one of four current commissioners finished her term this week and left the agency. It’s important for the five-person NRC to be at full strength so it can “act […]

State and federal agencies informed an interstate commission that no violations of environmental law appeared to occur in the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant that would require them to step in on the matter, a spokesperson for the commission said this week. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental […]

A Texas minerals company has joined a federal lawsuit, headlined by an antinuclear group, aimed at holding up the licensing process for a proposed interim nuclear waste storage facility at the Western edge of the Lone Star state. Fasken Land and Minerals’s June 25 petition against NRC was combined Tuesday with an existing coalition of […]

The company seeking a license to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week in requesting that a judge toss the state attorney general’s lawsuit over the proposed site, a court filing shows. New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas went to the wrong court […]

One of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s four current commissioners sees out her term today, leaving the Joe Biden administration with two seats to fill at the top of the independent regulatory agency. Commissioner Annie Caputo, who was nominated to her three-year term in 2018 under the Donald Trump administration, leaves NRC Wednesday, commission chair Christopher […]

After holding up the project two years, the Department of Energy will start developing an environmental assessment in July for a 2,000-gallon test of the Test Bed Initiative that involves grouting and out-of-state disposal of low-activity tank waste from the Hanford Site in Washington state. DOE’s site manager for Hanford, Brian Vance, told the Washington […]

A pre-pandemic report from the company set to decommission a New York nuclear power plant is available for public comment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week. Members of the public can submit comments on Holtec International’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for Indian Point Energy Center through October 22, NRC said in a Federal […]

A proposed rulemaking for decommissioning nuclear power plants doesn’t go the distance to ensure a balance of safety and efficiency, one of the Senate’s most outspoken nuclear critics told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. In a letter to NRC chair Christopher Hanson dated Friday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the agency’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission had kind words for one of its outgoing commissioners at her last public meeting this week. Commissioner Annie Caputo, whose three-year term ends June 30, was honored by NRC chair Christopher Hanson during the agency’s midyear review meeting held Tuesday. Hanson said that he had “no doubt” that Caputo would continue […]

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission don’t agree on whether the agency has the authority to rule on a motion to delay the sale of a Pennsylvania nuclear plant, according to a commission order published this week. After an affirmation session Tuesday, NRC published its decision denying environmental watchdog Three Mile Island Alert’s request to […]

Residents in the area around a shuttered nuclear plant in southern New Jersey were in the dark for around two hours early this week after a construction accident caused a power outage, said the company in charge of decommissioning the site. A contractor working for Holtec International backed into a utility pole while moving equipment […]

The state of New Mexico is pursuing its lawsuit over a proposed interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel in the wrong venue, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission argued in a recent court filing. Since New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas’s March suit in the state’s district court cited a violation of the Atomic Energy Act […]

After a board meeting this week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission affirmed its decision to again deny a minerals company’s request to reopen the record about an objection to the licensing of a commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, according to the commission’s schedule. After the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday, NRC published an order rejecting […]

WASHINGTON — As federal budget season wears on, details are still scarce on the Joe Biden administration’s plans for a federal interim storage site for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, and one key appropriator isn’t happy with the lack of specifics. Asked after a Department of Energy budget hearing Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations energy […]

A month-long moratorium on transuranic waste shipments using filler material commonly known as dunnage ended in early June, a spokesperson for DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant said this week. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico notified DOE that transuranic waste generators were estimating the weight of their payloads, including the dunnage, instead of […]