Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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 draft environmental […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has knocked a year off its schedule for the review of SHINE Medical Technologies’ license application to operate its medical isotope production plant in Janesville, Wisc. The agency had expected it would need 36 months to complete the technical review after the application was formally accepted in October 2019. The anticipated […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered initial support for licensing a facility in West Texas for temporary storage 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 Andrews County. The document […]

The Energy Department has exercised a one-year option to keep Spectra Tech on the job overseeing spent fuel facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory through March 2021. Procurement documents show the department picked up its last option in February for the current contrac. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based engineering and environmental services firm began work on […]

The American Nuclear Society has formally backed preliminary findings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The March 10 draft environmental impact statement (EIS) from staff at the industry regulator “provides a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it identified no safety violations during three unannounced inspections in the first three months of 2020 of used fuel operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The findings were presented in an April 28 letter from Greg Warnick, chief of the agency’s Reactor […]

The Energy Department has exercised a one-year option to keep Spectra Tech on the job overseeing spent fuel facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory through March 2021. Procurement documents show the department picked up its last option in February for the current contrac. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based engineering and environmental services firm began work on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for May 8 to discuss means of relief that could be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to licensees for independent spent fuel storage Installations (ISFSI). “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how NRC ISFSI licensees can request temporary regulatory relief during the COVID-19 public health […]

By John Stang Entergy on Thursday retired reactor Unit 2 at the Indian Point Energy Center in upstate New York, leaving just one of the site’s three reactors online. Unit 3 is scheduled to close on April 30, 2021. “Over the last 45 years, thousands of dedicated professionals have operated Unit 2 at Indian Point […]

Pennsylvania’s top environmental official on Monday expressed continued concerns about the adequacy of funding to complete decommissioning of the partially melted-down reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell submitted a follow-up to an early April letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it identified no safety violations during three unannounced inspections earlier this year of used fuel operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The findings were presented in an April 28 letter from Greg Warnick chief of the agency’s Reactor Inspection Branch, to Doug […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March spent $713 of its remaining balance from the federal fund for disposal of the nation’s nuclear waste. As it has for more than a year, the agency spent the money on unspecified program planning and support, according to the latest Nuclear Waste Fund update to Congress. That left with […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for May 8 to discuss means of relief that could be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to licensees for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how NRC ISFSI licensees can request temporary regulatory relief during the COVID-19 public health […]

Pennsylvania’s top environmental official on Monday expressed continued concerns about the adequacy of funding to complete decommissioning of the partially melted-down reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell submitted a new letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it considers transferring the […]

The American Nuclear Society last week formally backed preliminary findings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel. The March 10 draft environmental impact statement (EIS) from staff at the industry regulator “provides a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts of the […]

The Department of Energy’s top nuclear energy official on Monday expressed regret over the imminent closure of one reactor at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York state. “It pains me to see Indian Point Unit 2 prematurely shutting down this Thursday,” Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal wrote on Twitter. “The […]

Federal agencies will gradually return to normal operations in parallel with the White House’s three-phase plan to reactivate the national economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, the Trump administration said Monday. The new guidance does not provide any set schedule for the process, but rather says managers must make decisions on reducing telework and staffing […]

Federal agencies will gradually return to normal operations in parallel with the White House’s three-phase plan to reactivate the national economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, the Trump administration said Monday. The new guidance does not provide a set schedule for the process, but rather says managers must make decisions on reducing telework and staffing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected nearly all appeals to a 2019 decision by one of its bodies against holding any adjudicatory hearings sought on a license application for storage of spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. However, the commission did direct the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) to reconsider one set […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the license of Honeywell’s Metropolis Works uranium source conversion plant in Illinois for 40 years. The license now expires on March 24, 2060, according to an April 15 notice in the Federal Register. Metropolis Works has been largely idled since November 2017, due to an oversupply in the product […]

By John Stang The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday it intends by the end of 2020 to finish its evaluation of the application to transfer the licenses for the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state from owner Entergy to prospective buyer Holtec International. “Our review could be completed later this year,” according to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it would give the public additional time to comment on a preliminary finding in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. “We’ve extended the public comment period on our draft Environmental Impact Statement for #Holtec‘s proposed spent #nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday it intends by the end of 2020 to finish its evaluation of the application to transfer the licenses for the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state from owner Entergy to prospective buyer Holtec International. “Our review could be completed later this year,” according to Bruce Watson, chief of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday outlined the latest opportunity for regulatory exemptions for licensees during the COVID-19 pandemic, this one for on-the-job training for security personnel. Expedited reviews of exemption requests are being offered for several subsections in the NRC regulations on licensee security personnel, according to an NRC letter Monday to three nuclear […]

Federal agencies will gradually return to normal operations in parallel with the White House’s three-phase plan to reactivate the national economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, the Trump administration said Monday. The guidance does not provide any set schedule for the process, but rather says agency heads must make decisions on reducing telework and fully […]

The Government Accountability Office said Friday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has yet to implement a set of “priority” recommendations on securing radiological sources that could be weaponized. “Our April 2019 report, in combination with our previous reports on this topic, demonstrate that there are vulnerabilities in current NRC security requirements such as the risk of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the license of Honeywell’s Metropolis Works uranium source conversion plant in Illinois for 40 years. The license now expires on March 24, 2060, according to an April 15 notice in the Federal Register. Metropolis Works has been largely idled since November 2017, due to an oversupply in the product […]

The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday unanimously approved a license for the Department of Energy to export nearly 5 kilograms of weapon-grade uranium to Europe for production of medical isotopes. The four commissioners offered no comments on the matter before or after a roll-call vote on the memorandum and order. The document […]

The Idaho congressional delegation last week urged Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to prioritize preparation of spent nuclear fuel at the Idaho National Laboratory for shipment out of state by the end of 2034. The Energy Department should follow the U.S. Navy’s lead in getting spent fuel at INL “road ready,” according to an April 8 […]

Both chambers of Congress will remain on recess later than scheduled, returning no earlier than May 4, lawmakers said this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the upper chamber would add two weeks to its current recess in a Tuesday note to fellow senators, then in a press release. His announcement followed a […]