Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Two companies and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have reached an agreement to allow the sale and decommissioning of reactor Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Last October, nuclear services firm EnergySolutions signed a contract to buy TMI-2 from FirstEnergy Corp. and several subsidiaries. A subsidiary, TMI-2 Solutions, would be […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pushed back to this fall the expected submission of a report on the potential path forward for two rules proceedings for disposal of radioactive waste, a senior official said Tuesday. Earlier this year, the report had been anticipated this summer. “That’s being pushed back slightly. It’ll probably be in the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a series of additional webinars to discuss its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned facility in New Mexico for storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. In the document issued in March, staff at the federal regulator said the Holtec International project would largely have […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week preliminarily cited NextEra Energy with violating federal regulations in mischaracterizing a shipment of radioactive waste from its Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Wisconsin. The incident would constitute a “White” breach, representing low-to-moderate increased safety significance, according to an Aug. 3 letter to Michael Strope, site director for NextEra Energy […]

Pending legislation from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) would require the Department of Energy to each year account for continuing and anticipated costs for management of the nation’s growing inventory of radioactive waste. The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 contains a series of measures intended to sustain the United States’ existing nuclear power fleet and […]

The Senate overwhelmingly approved Mark Menezes as deputy secretary of energy on Tuesday, despite opposition from some nuke-wary Democrats. The 79-16 vote elevated Menezes to the No. 2 position at the nuclear weapons, waste, and energy agency. Menezes was sworn in to his new job Thursday, after nearly three years as undersecretary of energy. All but […]

The United States must find an innovative solution to its growing inventory of radioactive waste even as it takes steps to strengthen its nuclear power sector, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Wednesday. Whitehouse focused his comments and questions on the waste issue during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Chairman John Barrasso’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week preliminarily cited NextEra Energy with violating federal regulations in mischaracterizing a shipment of radioactive waste from its Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Wisconsin. The incident would constitute a “White” breach, representing low-to-moderate increased safety significance, according to an Aug. 3 letter to Michael Strope, site director for NextEra Energy […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission aims by the end of August to decide on potential enforcement measures for apparent license and regulatory violations by International Isotopes that contributed to the release of cesium-137 last year at a hospital facility in Seattle. An agency official noted the schedule at the end of a teleconference Tuesday with the […]

After a brief spike for May, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in June returned to the standard practice of spending just a few hundred dollars of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a permanent radioactive waste disposal facility. The NRC outlay from its Nuclear Waste Fund carryover for the month totaled […]

The House of Representatives on Friday approved a massive appropriations package that provides nothing to resume licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, despite pleas late in the week from four Republican lawmakers. In a nearly party-line vote, the Democrat-led chamber passed a roughly $1.3 trillion, six-bill spending “minibus” for the fiscal 2021 budget […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

International Isotopes has agreed to a pre-decisional enforcement conference with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over apparent breaches of federal regulations and its license in connection with the May 2019 spill of cesium-137 at a hospital research building in Seattle. The teleconference is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Central time on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The […]

A deal could be approaching to resolve Pennsylvania’s concerns about the planned sale and decommissioning of the long-retired reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. In a motion filed Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to wait at least until Aug. 11 to rule […]

The House of Representatives on Friday approved a massive appropriations package that provides nothing to resume licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, despite pleas late in the week from four Republican lawmakers. In a nearly party-line vote, the Democrat-led chamber passed a roughly $1.3 trillion, six-bill spending “minibus” for the fiscal 2021 budget […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

A deal could be approaching to resolve the state of Pennsylvania’s concerns about the planned sale and decommissioning of the long-retired reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. In a letter Monday to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked to be given until Aug. 10 […]

International Isotopes has agreed to a pre-decisional enforcement conference with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over apparent breaches of federal regulations and its license in connection with the May 2019 spill of cesium-137 at a hospital research building in Seattle. The teleconference is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The meeting notice […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has voted 4-1 to approve an exemption for some emergency planning requirements for the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The commissioners’ votes and comments were collected during the past couple weeks, and posted Monday to the NRC website. Commissioner Jeff Baran cast the sole vote against the exemption. […]

Texas’ provider of low-level radioactive waste disposal, plus its state regulator and other stakeholders, have firmly opposed a potential interpretation of federal rules that could make it easier to ship so-called “very low-level waste” to landfills around the nation. That puts Waste Control Specialists in line with most comments submitted in recent months, in writing […]

The number of Nuclear Regulatory Commission employees who continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic has ticked down slightly in recent weeks. The percentage was 94% as of Thursday, compared to 95% cited at the beginning of July, according to NRC Director of Public Affairs David Castelveter. He noted that some personnel are not […]

The reactor pressure vessel for the decommissioned Unit 1 at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California has reached its final destination for disposal. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted the July 14 milestone in a report issued Monday from its latest inspection of the three retired reactors at the San Diego County power […]

Orano TN said Wednesday it has promoted a vice president to the newly established position of chief commercial officer. Roger Maggi assumed the role this month after more than two years as vice president for aging management systems at the nuclear logistics subsidiary of Orano USA, according to his LinkedIn profile. “I want to thank […]

The reactor pressure vessel for the decommissioned Unit 1 at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California has reached its final destination for disposal, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal agency noted the July 14 milestone in a report issued Monday from its latest inspection of the three retired reactors at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said it would give stakeholders another three months to comment on a potential update to rules for disposal of very low-level radioactive waste. The new deadline to submit input on the proposed interpretive rule is Oct. 21, according to a tweet from the federal agency. The previous deadline had […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Friday submitted a long list of concerns about a proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule interpretation that could make it easier to ship “very low-level” radioactive waste to landfills. “The NRC’s proposed interpretive rule could create administrative, enforcement, and compliance challenges for both regulators and the regulated community,” […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will prepare an updated technical review for the Saltstone Disposal Facility at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The Energy Department requested the technical review of the 2020 Saltstone Disposal Facility performance assessment in keeping with a provision of the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, according to the […]

By John Stang With a combination of reluctance and unanimity, the California Coastal Commission voted 10-0 Thursday to approve an inspection-and-maintenance plan for on-site storage of spent reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The plan is a requirement of the coastal development permit the commission issued in 2015 to SONGS majority […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday passed a potentially massive budget plus-up for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), while again dismissing the White House proposal to transfer it to the Department of Energy. The panel voted 31-20 in favor of its $49.6 billion energy and water appropriations […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday threw its support behind the Trump administration’s new plan to develop interim storage of radioactive waste now held at commercial and government facilities around the nation. In a 30-21 party-line vote, the Democrat-majority panel advanced its $49.6 billion energy and water bill for fiscal 2021 to the full House. […]