Nuclear Regulatory Commission

By John Stang The Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) on Thursday approved the sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant from owner Entergy to a New York company for decommissioning. The three-person panel authorized an amendment to the 2002 certificate of public good regarding the ownership and operation of the single-reactor facility. This […]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week joined a coalition of labor unions and other nongovernmental organizations in pressing Congress to end the long impasse over management of the nation’s spent nuclear reactor fuel. “Another year without progress on the Yucca Mountain repository license application and consolidated interim storage in untenable. It is time for […]

Longtime Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) is expected to become the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next month when Democrats take over leadership in the House of Representatives. Pallone, elected last month to his 16th term in the lower chamber, is currently ranking Democrat on the panel. He would succeed current […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October spent $14,325 from its remaining Nuclear Waste Fund balance on federal court costs, according to its latest update to Congress. That represented the large majority of the $15,727 spent from the fund during the month and left the agency with an unspent, unobligated balance of $415,019 as of […]

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Sen.-elect Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) on Friday called on three top Democratic lawmakers to ensure the upcoming federal appropriations bill does not provide a cent for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal facility. There have been rumors, but no confirmation, that the budget bill needed to keep a number of […]

By John Stang Southern California Edison (SCE) hopes to restart moving used nuclear fuel to dry storage at its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station between Jan. 15 and Jan. 20, 2019. The utility announced that target Thursday at a San Onofre Community Engagement Panel meeting focused on an Aug. 3 mishap in placing a canister […]

Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) expects to move all of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s used fuel assemblies from wet storage to dry storage by 2023, according to documents submitted earlier this month to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The data point is included in a set of documents provided as part of the Nov. 16 […]

The federal government has paid $7.4 billion to resolve dozens of lawsuits from nuclear utilities over the Department of Energy’s failure to meet its legal obligation to dispose of spent nuclear fuel from commercial power reactors, the DOE Inspector General’s Office said in a new report. The Energy Department estimates its ultimate liability could exceed […]

Three administrative judges of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel have been selected to rule on requests for intervention in the agency’s review of a license application for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in Texas. However, a number of environmental organizations quickly petitioned that the judges be disqualified […]

Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) this week called on the top leaders and appropriators in the House of Representatives to prevent any funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in her state in the next federal budget bill. “We are about a week out from the deadline to fund the government and there are efforts […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering civil penalties against utility Southern California Edison after determining there were several apparent and cited violations of safety requirements in an August mishap involving placement of a spent nuclear fuel canister into storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The agency on Wednesday submitted the formal […]

Nearly lost amid higher-profile nomination hearings in high-octane committees this week is a nuts-and-bolts piece of legislation that could open the door for more whistleblower disclosures in the nuclear weapons, waste, and power industries. The bill, slated for a hearing Thursday in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee along with several other pieces of legislation, […]

The Sierra Club and a host of other environmental organizations are requesting disqualification of a board of three Nuclear Regulatory Commission administrative judges established this month to rule on petitions to intervene in the licensing proceeding for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage site in Texas. The primary contention is that the same three-member Atomic […]

Three administrative judges of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel have been selected to rule on requests for intervention in the agency’s review of a license application for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in Texas. Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Orano and Waste Control Specialists, wants […]

Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) expects to move all of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s used fuel assemblies from wet storage to dry storage by 2023, according to documents submitted earlier this month to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The data point is included in a set of documents provided as part of the Nov. 16 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is cautious about meeting the hoped-for schedule to issue a decision on the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The single-reactor facility on Cape Cod is scheduled for closure by June 1 of next year. New Orleans-based owner Entergy plans to sell the plant to New […]

A story in Monday’s Weapons Complex Morning Briefing (Public Gets Chance for Input on SONGS Canister Handling Mishap) should have said a spent fuel canister at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California was in danger of falling about 20 feet.

An August incident in which a spent fuel canister nearly took a 20-foot free fall at a retired nuclear power plant in California will be the subject of a Nov. 29 meeting of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel (CEP). The meeting will include two public comment periods in addition to a presentation on spent […]

By John Stang The Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors voted unanimously Thursday to have the Nebraska utility remain in charge f decommissioning the Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant, with assistance from a hired contractor. There was little public discussion on the decision before the board voted on a resolution setting the path […]

A board of three administrative judges with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in January to hear arguments from groups that want to intervene in the review of the license application for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in southeastern New Mexico. Most, but not all, of the 18 entities that have petitioned oppose […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Nov. 6 issued its first request for additional information for Interim Storage Partners’ license application for a temporary spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in West Texas. The request covers 28 distinct questions regarding physical security at the planned installation on Waste Control Specialists’ waste disposal property in Andrews […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Nov. 6 issued its first request for additional information for Interim Storage Partners’ license application for a temporary spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in West Texas. The request covers 28 distinct questions regarding physical security at the planned installation on Waste Control Specialists’ property in Andrews County. The […]

The municipality that is home to the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and two local organizations have requested public hearings on the proposed transfer of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license for the newly retired New Jersey power plant. Among the concerns cited by Lacey Township, the Concerned Citizens of Lacey Coalition, and the New Jersey […]

A board of three administrative judges with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in January to hear arguments from groups that want to intervene in the review of the license application for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in southeastern New Mexico. Most, but not all, of the 18 entities that have petitioned for a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory in September spent $11,645 of its remaining balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund on federal court litigation, according to the latest expense report to Congress. The September expenses, totaling $12,564, leave the nuclear industry regulator with access to $430,746 in unobligated money from the federal fund intended to pay for licensing, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week began its full review of a license transfer application that would return control of the nearly decommissioned La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor in Wisconsin to its owner. The nuclear power plant has been closed since 1987, and Dairyland Power Cooperative in March 2016 received NRC authorization to transfer […]

Southern California Edison could face up to five violations from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a mishap in placing a canister of used nuclear fuel into storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Two potential violations are considered “escalated” — a major classification, according to an NRC online briefing Thursday on its […]

The electoral defeat this week of Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) could remove one major political obstacle to funding and other legislative measures that would advance the long-awaited Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) took slightly more than 50 percent of the statewide vote to beat Heller and three independent-party candidates […]

The defeat of Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) could remove one major political obstacle to funding and other legislative measures that would advance the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) took slightly more than 50 percent of the statewide vote to unseat Heller in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The first-term congresswoman, who […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week began its full review of a license transfer application that would return control of the nearly decommissioned La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor in Wisconsin to its owner. The nuclear power plant has been closed since 1987, and Dairyland Power Cooperative in March 2016 received NRC authorization to transfer […]