Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The American Nuclear Society is urging the federal government to proceed with a moribund update to regulations on recycling of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. “While no new reprocessing facilities are planned in the United States at this time, this in itself should not be the rationale for suspending rulemaking,” ANS Executive Director and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing an Oregon utility during the COVID-19 pandemic to delay mandatory physical requalifications for security personnel at the spent fuel storage pad for a decommissioned nuclear power plant. Portland General Electric Co. received notice from the regulator on May 28. The document was posted to the NRC website on Tuesday. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent just $84 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a radioactive waste repository. As has been the case each month for more than a year, the agency used the money for unspecified “program planning and support.” The expenditure left it with a Nuclear […]

A longtime federal attorney was sworn in Wednesday as inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robert Feitel succeeds Hubert Bell, who retired in December 2018 after 22 years in the position. As inspector general, Feitel now leads an office with a yearly budget of about $13 million and a mission to conduct audits and […]

The United Steelworkers union is sharply opposing a proposal to ease Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for disposal of “very low-level” (VLLW) radioactive waste in landfills. “The United Steelworkers asks the NRC to withhold issuing this proposed rule and strongly urge you to reconsider. The minimal monetary costs this rule may reduce is not worth the […]

Another canister of spent fuel was being transferred to dry storage Thursday evening at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), even as an executive affirmed majority owner Southern California Edison’s (SCE) hopes to find an off-site home for the radioactive waste. “We have engaged a strategic team to put together a plan that we […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with a set of updates to its oversight of storage pads for spent nuclear fuel, including downshifting the frequency for standard inspections to once every three years. The agency intends this year to complete the revisions to its independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) inspection program, with all […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is making preparations for bringing staff back to their offices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesman said Tuesday. Ninety-eight percent of the federal regulator’s personnel have been working remotely since March to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus 2019 during the national public health emergency. The agency’s “COVID Task Force […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management on Wednesday released the final request for proposals for the potential $6.4 billion Idaho Cleanup Project contract. The solicitation covers environmental remediation at the Idaho National Laboratory, as well as spent fuel management there and at the retired Fort Saint Vrain nuclear power plant near Platteville, Colo. The […]

The United Steelworkers union is sharply opposing a proposal to ease Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for disposal of “very low-level” (VLLW) radioactive waste in landfills. “The United Steelworkers asks the NRC to withhold issuing this proposed rule and strongly urge you to reconsider. The minimal monetary costs this rule may reduce is not worth the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with a set of updates to its oversight of dry-storage pads for spent nuclear fuel, including downshifting the schedule for standard inspections to once every three years. The agency intends this year to complete the revisions to its independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) inspection program, with all […]

A longtime federal attorney was sworn in Wednesday as inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robert Feitel succeeds Hubert Bell, who retired in December 2018 after 22 years in the position. As inspector general, Feitel now leads an office with a yearly budget of about $13 million and a mission to conduct audits and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing preparations for bringing staff back to their offices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesman said Tuesday. Ninety-eight percent of the federal regulator’s personnel have been working remotely since March to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus 2019. The agency’s “COVID Task Force continues to review plans for a […]

The Department of Energy indicated in a draft report issued Tuesday that vitrified low-activity waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state can be disposed of at the facility, rather than requiring transfer to another location. The agency will accept public comment through Sept. 26 on its draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation. The agency […]

The Senate on Thursday confirmed two nominations that will return the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to its full five-person membership. Serving Commissioner David Wright and Senate Appropriations Committee staffer Christopher Hanson were both confirmed en bloc, via voice vote from the Senate floor. There was no word at deadline Friday regarding the schedule for Wright and Hanson […]

By John Stang No U.S. facilities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have to date experienced safety hazards arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said Monday in a report to Vice President Mike Pence. NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki submitted a two-page summary of measures taken by the regulator during the public health emergency to […]

The ExchangeMonitor’s 2020 Decommissioning Strategy Forum is being pushed back from June to September and relocated to Henderson, Nev. The continuing COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to stick to the original schedule to hold the conference on June 8-9 in Nashville, according to the ExchangeMonitor’s parent company, Access Intelligence. “Please note that out of concern […]

Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal reaffirmed Thursday her interest in finding a foreign provider of reprocessing for used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “We can collaborate with entities that currently recycle used fuel and not necessarily have to have our own recycling plant in-country, so that’s certainly an option that my […]

Over the course of a decade, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has halved the amount of time needed to review and decide on applications for renewal of storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel. “My understanding is it used to take something like 48 months and now it’s taking something on the order of 24 months, which […]

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not proven its case to be allowed to intervene in the federal review of the license transfer application for reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, according to the reactor’s owner and prospective buyer. Subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. and EnergySolutions on Monday filed their response with […]

The ExchangeMonitor’s 2020 Decommissioning Strategy Forum is being pushed back from June to September and relocated to Henderson, Nev. The continuing COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to stick to the original schedule to hold the conference on June 8-9 in Nashville, according to the ExchangeMonitor’s parent company, Access Intelligence. “Please note that out of concern […]

By John Stang The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week approved its first regulatory exemption of the COVID-18 pandemic for a spent fuel storage licensee, along with lifting work-hour limits for another nuclear power plant. As of Wednesday, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has been granted a two-month extension to file the license renewal application for its […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will next week consider Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes’ nomination to the No. 2 spot at the Department of Energy. The White House in March nominated Menezes as deputy secretary of energy. He would succeed Dan Brouillette, who became energy secretary in December. After a career on Capitol […]

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not proven its case to be allowed to intervene in the federal review of the license transfer application for reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, according to the reactor’s owner and prospective buyer. Subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. and EnergySolutions on Monday filed their response with […]

The state of South Carolina wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prepare a full environmental impact statement before deciding whether to renew the license for Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF). The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) made the request in an April 27 letter regarding the federal regulator’s 2019 draft […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering an initial request for regulatory relief from a spent fuel storage licensee during the COVID-19 pandemic. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on April 30 asked the NRC for a 60-day extension to submit a license renewal application for its independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) in Morris, Ill. The application […]

The Senate on Monday voted 87-0 to confirm Department of Justice attorney Robert Feitel as the new inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Feitel succeeds Hubert Bell, who served 22 years as the industry regulator’s inspector general before retiring in December 2018. There was no debate on Feitel’s nomination prior to the Senate’s roll-call […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered initial support for licensing a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of thousands of tons of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The recommendation is included in a draft version of the environmental impact statement for Interim Storage Partners’ planned consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in […]

The Senate on Monday voted 87-0 to confirm Department of Justice attorney Robert Feitel as the new inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Feitel succeeds Hubert Bell, who served 22 years as the industry regulator’s inspector general before retiring in December 2018. The vote was conducted shortly after 6 p.m., following a brief introduction […]

BWX Technologies brought in $542 million in first-quarter 2020 revenue, 30% more than the $416 million generated during the first three months of 2019. Net income for the period ended March 31 amounted to $75.5 million, $0.79 per diluted share, a significant year-over-year jump from $49 million, $0.51 per diluted share, the Lynchburg, Va.-based company […]