Nuclear Regulatory Commission

By John Stang Southern California Edison apparently became confused on how soon it should alert the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to an Aug. 3 mishap in transferring spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Contractor Holtec International has been moving the spent fuel at the retired nuclear power plant in San Diego […]

Two very different groups have called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to dismiss separate license applications for storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in Texas and New Mexico, arguing the proceedings constitute a violation of federal law. This is the most aggressive action yet to block the projects in their early stages, but a larger […]

Southern California Edison apparently became confused on how soon it should alert the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to an Aug. 3 mishap in transferring spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Contractor Holtec International has been moving the spent fuel at the retired nuclear power plant in San Diego County facility from […]

Two groups have called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to dismiss separate license applications for storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in Texas and New Mexico, arguing the proceedings constitute a violation of federal law. The two motions were filed Friday by the nongovernmental group Beyond Nuclear and jointly by Fasken Land and Minerals Ltd. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has submitted the first of what is likely to be several requests for additional information on Holtec International’s license application to build and operate a facility for storage of used fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors. The Sept. 13 letter encompasses more than 90 distinct requests, primarily on highly technical […]

Exelon at noon Monday officially retired its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey ahead of what is anticipated to be an accelerated decommissioning. The 650-megawatt boiling water reactor in Lacey Township became operational in December 1969, on the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. Since Oyster […]

Flood waters and damage from tropical storm Florence restricted access to the Brunswick nuclear power plant in North Carolina over the weekend, leading operator Duke Energy to issue a “notice of unusual event,” according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Such a notice is the lowest emergency classification at the nuclear industry regulator. Duke Energy on […]

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to keep stranded transuranic waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico for an additional two years. The Dallas-based company asked NRC for an extension until Dec. 23, 2020, to allow the state of Texas, the Energy Department, the NRC, […]

The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Friday filed a request to intervene in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of Holtec International’s license application for a facility in southeastern New Mexico for storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. Intervention would formalize the organization’s role in the proceeding. In announcing the filing, Public […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week conducted its on-site inspection of an August mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The agency declined to discuss details of the special inspection beyond those laid out in an Aug. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuclear utilities said they took steps this week to ensure that power plants in the Carolinas and Virginia were ready for possible impact by Hurricane Florence, which made landfall Friday morning on the Atlantic Coast. Duke Energy by Thursday afternoon had already begun shutting down its Brunswick nuclear power […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it remains on track to rule by the end of this month whether to approve the license transfer for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. An agency spokesman did not give a more specific schedule for the decision, which the NRC has said only would occur in the […]

By John Stang A new approach to decommissioning the nearly retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey could save $200 million, according to owner Exelon and prospective buyer Holtec International. The plant’s single boiling-water reactor is scheduled to shut down on Monday. The two companies’ license transfer application was filed with the Nuclear […]

The Trump administration is now 0-2 in its efforts to persuade Congress to fund the long-proposed, still-unrealized nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Senate on Wednesday voted 92-5 in favor of the fiscal 2019 “minibus” appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other agencies. The House followed on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuclear utilities said Wednesday they are taking steps to ensure that power plants in the Carolinas and Virginia are ready for possible impact by Hurricane Florence later this week. Preparations include inspections of cooling pools and dry storage casks for spent reactor fuel, to identify any potential dangers if the […]

While Congress is still not prepared to fund any work on the Yucca Mountain repository, it does plan to give the Department of Energy seemingly unwanted funding for other nuclear waste management operations in fiscal 2019. The compromise version of the multiagency “minibus” appropriations bill unveiled Monday would also cut nearly $60 million in funding […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has officially terminated the license for the long-closed Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Plant in California, according to a notice posted Tuesday to the Federal Register. That opens the property in Herald, Calif., for unrestricted use. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) began providing power from the pressurized water reactor in […]

ICE Service Group on Monday denied patent infringement claims made in a lawsuit from a competitor, instead accusing the company of “brazen industrial espionage.” Louisiana-based PacTec, which makes industrial containment bags used at government and commercial radioactive waste cleanup sites, filed its lawsuit in June in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began its on-site inspection Monday of an August mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The agency declined to discuss details of the special inspection beyond those laid out in an Aug. 24 press release on […]

The Trump administration is now 0-2 in its efforts to persuade Congress to fund the long-proposed, still-unrealized nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The House and Senate late Monday afternoon released the conference report for the consensus version of the fiscal 2019 “minibus” appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, […]

Issues raised by a group of senators about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ongoing rulemaking for reactors shifting to decommissioning have and will be considered as the proceeding advances, according to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “The specific issues in your letter – regulation by exemption, public participation and awareness, spent fuel storage, and financial and physical […]

The Department of Energy must hold additional public hearings in the Pacific Northwest on a proposal that could lead to a limited amount of radioactive waste being grouted in place in the Hanford Site’s underground storage tanks, according to three members of Washington state’s congressional delegation. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, along with Rep. […]

Less than one year before its scheduled closure, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts remains in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lowest safety ranking allowed for an atomic energy plant to continue operations. The NRC made the determination in its latest quarterly performance evaluation for the single-reactor facility in Plymouth, made public on Aug. 30. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July spent another $5,861 from its Nuclear Waste Fund balance, according to its latest report to Congress. The spending was similar in both amount and type to costs listed in agency reports filed in recent months. That was topped by $4,315 for a February meeting of the Licensing Support […]

HENDERSON, Nev. — There is little chance the appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission will provide any funding in fiscal 2019 for licensing the long-planned Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, issue observers said Wednesday. Politics are at the heart of the matter, specifically safeguarding Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) chances […]

There is little chance the final appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission will provide any funding in fiscal 2019 for licensing the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, one industry observer said Wednesday. Lawmakers on the House-Senate conference committee for the “minibus” that would fund several agencies met Wednesday, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is again taking public comments on the scope of its environmental impact statement for a temporary spent nuclear fuel storage site proposed to be built in West Texas. The agency in April 2017 suspended its review of the site license application, including the comment period, at the request of applicant […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week received the application to transfer the operating license for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey from owner Exelon to prospective buyer Holtec International. Spokespeople for the NRC and Holtec confirmed the application had been filed and said it should be publicly available this week. No additional […]

Less than one year before its scheduled closure, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts remains in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lowest safety ranking allowed for an atomic energy plant to remain operational. The NRC made the determination in its latest quarterly performance evaluation for the single-reactor facility in Plymouth, made public on Thursday. It […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July spent another $5,861 from its Nuclear Waste Fund balance, according to its latest report to Congress. The spending was similar in both amount and type to costs listed in agency reports filed in recent months. That was topped by $4,315 for a February meeting of the Licensing Support […]