Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential development of a federal rule that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state. That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposition and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comment through Aug. 26 on a petition to update federal regulations to allow use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for removal of large parts prior to shutdown. The NRC in March docketed the petition from Gerard Van Noordennen, vice president for regulatory affairs at nuclear […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for fiscal 2020 encompassing several smaller measures already approved […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has formally objected to commercial plans for an interim storage facility in the state for spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power reactors. Holtec International, of Camden, N.J., has applied for a 40-year license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a facility that ultimately could hold up to […]

The Energy Department published its justification May 31 for contracting a Centrus Energy subsidiary to demonstrate high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) production without competitive bidding. The federal government wants to deploy a 16-machine cascade at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to demonstrate production of 19.75% enriched uranium fuel by June 2022 using domestic technology. Centrus’ […]

The movement of used nuclear fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is expected to begin again in early 2020. Fuel movement was expected to begin in a few weeks and conclude between February and April, Doug Bauder, Southern California Edison’s (SCE) chief nuclear officer at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), said […]

The nuclear watchdog organization Beyond Nuclear filed an appeal this week with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission to try to overturn an earlier ruling that rejected petitions for an evidentiary hearing to contest Holtec International’s license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. Beyond Nuclear filed its appeal Monday. The […]

About 40% of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s staff members are expected to be eligible to retire by 2022. That translates to 1,147 out of 2,868 permanent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) employees on the rolls as of March 31. Eligibility for retirement is based on age and years of federal service. This number does not include […]

Not all waste resulting from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel should be considered high-level radioactive waste (HLW), the Energy Department reaffirmed Wednesday. Under its new interpretation, DOE says some lower-risk reprocessing waste can be deemed non-HLW and be disposed of according to its radiological traits rather than its point of origin. That could speed up […]

The Energy Department Friday published its justification for contracting a Centrus Energy subsidiary to demonstrate high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) production without competitive bidding. The federal government wants to deploy a 16-machine cascade at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to demonstrate production of 19.75% enriched uranium fuel by June 2022 using domestic technology. Centrus’ American […]

By John Stang The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts was preparing to permanently shut down Friday, ahead of what its owner and prospective buyer hope will be a rapid decommissioning. “#FYI Tomorrow, Friday, May 31, control room operators at @PilgrimNuclear Power Station will shut down the reactor for the final time,” Entergy tweeted on […]

Duke Energy on Thursday said it had awarded a $540 million contract for expedited decommissioning of its retired Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida. The Charlotte, N.C.-based power company now anticipates decontamination, disassembly, and teardown operations will wrap up by 2027, decades earlier than the prior projected end date of 2074. Pending state and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants a subsidiary of nuclear services provider EnergySolutions to explain an apparent $15.2 million shortfall in the decommissioning trust fund for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. ZionSolutions is the NRC licensee for the retired two-reactor facility while it carries out decommissioning for owner Exelon Generation Corp. In its […]

Duke Energy on Thursday said it had selected a contractor to expedite decommissioning of its retired Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida. The power company now anticipates decommissioning will wrap up by 2027, decades earlier than the prior end date of 2074. Pending state and federal regulatory approval, Accelerated Decommissioning Partners, a team of […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) on Wednesday placed blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing freeze in licensing and then building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. “The project boasts support in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. So why hasn’t it moved forward? Politics,” Barrasso wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting more information about the Energy Department’s plan for closure of a radioactive waste storage tank farm at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The nuclear regulator will present the request at a DOE public meeting, scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. May 30 in Richland. The information request […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is among a growing list of presidential candidates voicing clear opposition to disposal of nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Trump is proposing to send our nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain,” Sanders tweeted on May 16. “That would be a disaster. We must stop building new nuclear power plants, and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on May 17 announced it would collect $782.5 million in licensee fees for the current federal fiscal 2019 budget year, a slight bump up from the amount proposed earlier in the year. The final fee rule will take effect on July 16, according to a notice in the Federal Register. By […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light Tuesday for resumption of loading used nuclear fuel into dry storage at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The decision puts plant majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) and fuel offloading contractor Holtec International on a direct path to […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday turned back an effort to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository as it approved legislation to fund the Department of Energy and other agencies for fiscal 2020. In the late minutes of a seven-hour markup of two appropriations bills, the Democrat-led panel voted 25-27 against approving […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday turned back a proposal to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository as it approved legislation to fund the Department of Energy and other agencies for fiscal 2020. The panel voted 31-21 to report the $46.6 billion energy and water development appropriations bill to the full House. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light Tuesday for resumption of loading used nuclear fuel into dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The actual work will resume after plant majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) and fuel offloading contractor Holtec International review their readiness to restart operations.  […]

The House Appropriations Committee this morning will resume the debate over funding licensing of a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The fiscal 2020 energy and water development bill scheduled to be marked up in committee starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time zeroes out the White House request for roughly $150 million for licensing […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday announced it would collect $782.5 million in licensee fees for the current federal fiscal 2019 budget year, a slight bump up from the amount proposed earlier in the year. The final fee rule will take effect on July 16, according to a notice in the Federal Register. By […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is among a growing list of presidential candidates voicing opposition to disposal of nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Trump is proposing to send our nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain,” Sanders tweeted on May 16. “That would be a disaster. We must stop building new nuclear power plants, and find […]

The Department of Energy is still waiting on action from Congress that would be necessary to carry out its legal requirement to dispose of the nation’s Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste, a senior official said last week. The agency has largely been in a holding pattern since issuing a November 2017 report to Congress […]

By John Stang Holtec International’s founder and top executive lashed out earlier this month at a California citizens advisory panel that criticized its work at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). President and CEO Kris Singh was responding to an April 8 memo by the three top members of the SONGS Community Engagement […]

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled Tuesday to consider an energy and water funding bill that, for the first time in years, provides no money to resume federal licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Instead, the legislation would offer an unspecified appropriation for initial interim storage operations for spent reactor fuel […]

By John Stang The majority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes its updated nuclear power plant safety rules contain measure determined necessary to protect the public. Agency Chairman Kristine Svinicki offered the message in a May 3 letter to Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). She was responding to concerns the lawmakers raised in […]