Nuclear Regulatory Commission

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

A San Diego attorney is asking a federal judge to force the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to release documents related to investigations of problems related to transfer of spent fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Michael Aguirre, a familiar legal presence in cases involving used fuel management […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday it was continuing to monitor one operational nuclear power plant and a closed facility in Nebraska amid widespread flooding in the region from the Missouri River. “We are keeping an eye on the situation at both plants,” NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said. However, the agency said in a […]

The Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects would get a small raise in the next two budget years to sustain the fight against federal plans to build a nuclear weapons repository in the state, under the new biennial budget from Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). The agency is funded at just over $1.8 million in the state’s […]

Stakeholders have nearly two months to request intervention and a hearing in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of plans for a waste repository at the Church Rock uranium mine cleanup site in New Mexico. General Electric subsidiary United Nuclear Corp. in September 2008 submitted an amendment request for its remediation project near the city of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to update its generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for decommissioning of nuclear power reactors, which was last revised 17 years ago. The document, as the name indicates, assesses possible environmental impacts from decommissioning of NRC-licensed nuclear power facilities. The agency determined the 2002 version of the GEIS needed to […]

A Senate Appropriations Committee staffer and former Department of Energy nuclear fuel cycle specialist confirmed this week he is being considered for nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An informed source said Christopher Hanson is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) preferred candidate to fill the vacancy that will open when Commissioner Stephen Burns retires […]

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said this week she will block the Senate from quickly confirming nominees for senior Department of Energy jobs until the agency sets a date to remove a half-ton of plutonium from Nevada. “Until I get commitment from [Secretary of Energy Rick Perry] that [DOE] will set a date for the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

A case could be made for arranging the transport and temporary storage of U.S. commercial spent nuclear reactor fuel without involving the Department of Energy, according to a senior representative for the nuclear industry trade group. However, key stakeholders aren’t tipping their hands yet regarding their positions on such an approach to resolving the decades-old […]

The Trump administration this week again proposed to fund resumption of licensing for the long-planned, long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The state’s congressional delegation immediately pushed back against the latest White House budget plan, reminding President Donald Trump that he suggested last fall he would oppose the disposal facility. The Department of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it had promoted a nearly three-decade agency staffer to the position of director for the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS). Later in March, John Lubinski will formally succeed Marc Dapas, who retired in January after nearly four years as director. Acting NMSS Director Scott Moore […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

A Senate Appropriations Committee staffer and former Department of Energy nuclear fuel cycle specialist confirmed Tuesday he is being considered for nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An informed source said Christopher Hanson is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) preferred candidate to fill the vacancy created when Commissioner Stephen Burns retires on June 30 […]

The Trump administration is again proposing to fund resumption of licensing for the long-planned, long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for the license, together requested just over $154 million for the 2020 federal fiscal year. That is down by more […]

The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday affirmed an adjudicatory body’s decision not to recuse itself from ruling on petitions for intervention in the licensing proceeding for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Texas. In their memorandum, the five commissioners said they concurred with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) […]

Pacific Gas & Electric has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its opinion on whether the California utility’s bankruptcy proceeding will affect the future decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. In doing so, PG&E is following the order of a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge. In a Feb. 26 letter to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to update its generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for decommissioning of nuclear power reactors, which was last revised 17 years ago. The document, as the name indicates, assesses possible environmental impacts from decommissioning of NRC-licensed nuclear power facilities. The agency determined the 2002 version of the GEIS needed to […]

The trade organization for the U.S. nuclear industry has expressed deep reservations about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s fee collection plan for the current federal budget year. The NRC said in February it anticipated collecting $781.9 million in service and annual fees from licensees in fiscal 2019, the large majority of its $911 million budget through […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects this spring to issue their findings regarding potential updates to the regulatory approach for disposal of so-called very low-level radioactive waste. The study initiated in 2016 considered a wide range of options, from maintaining the status quo to a full rulemaking to update federal […]

Lawmakers from Nevada this week reintroduced two pieces of legislation intended to make it much more difficult, if not outright impossible, for the federal government to build a nuclear waste repository in their state. The bills dropped just days before the White House is due to roll out its budget request for fiscal 2020. Issue […]

For the second time, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved four nominees for senior Department of Energy positions, including Rita Baranwal as assistant secretary for nuclear energy. By voice vote Thursday, the panel advanced all four to the full Senate. A committee press release did not say when the Senate […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week moved Entergy’s soon-to-be-retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station out of the lowest safety ranking allowed for an operational power plant. “We noted several areas of sustained performance improvement including: (1) significant reduction in human performance- related events that adversely affected plant safety; (2) more effective and timely corrective […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in the next couple months to issue their findings regarding potential updates to the regulatory approach for disposal of so-called very low-level radioactive waste. The study initiated in 2016 considered a wide range of options, from maintaining the status quo to a full rulemaking […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week moved Entergy’s soon-to-be-retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station out of the lowest safety ranking allowed for an operational power plant. The agency had indicated last month it was preparing to elevate the facility from Column 4 to Column 1 of the its Action Matrix. The agency in 2015 placed the single-reactor […]

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has requested cooperating agency status in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility planned for the state. Then-NMED Secretary-designate James Kenney made the request in a Feb. 14 letter to the NRC, which was posted Tuesday to the federal […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a $408,479 unspent, unobligated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund at the end of January, according to the agency’s latest monthly update to Congress. The NRC spent $4,073 in January: $2,444 for unspecified program planning and support and the remaining $1,629 on federal litigation. Established by Congress in 1982, […]

The trade organization for the U.S. nuclear industry has expressed deep reservations about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s fee collection plan for the current federal budget year. The NRC said in February it anticipated collecting $781.9 million in service and annual fees from licensees in fiscal 2019, the large majority of its $911 million budget through […]

Donald Schneider will step down as president of bankrupt nuclear power provider FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) effective Saturday, but he will stay on as executive chairman until his retirement on May 1. Schneider’s voluntary retirement package will include a lump-sum payment of slightly over $1 million, along with company health insurance for 18 months and a […]

By John Stang Earnings reports from two California utilities this week focused far more on the impact of massive wildfires in the state than on their nuclear power plants. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. reported an $11.8 billion increase from 2017 to 2018 in wildfire expense such as repairing damages to the utility’s property or […]