Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week officially resumed its technical review of a license application for a facility in West Texas that would store up to 40,000 metric tons of used nuclear reactor fuel. A partnership of Waste Control Specialists and Orano in June filed an updated license application for the planned consolidated interim […]

The state of Nevada on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to block Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright from participating in any licensing decision for the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in the state. The filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit comes nearly two months after […]

Los Angeles-based engineering giant AECOM on Monday announced that it has promoted former Department of Energy official Mark Whitney to lead its nuclear and environment business unit, filling the slot vacated by Todd Wright. Wright recently retired as executive vice president and general manager of the AECOM branch, but is staying on at the company […]

By John Stang The California Coastal Commission has decided not to review a watchdog organization’s request for an extensive probe of an Aug. 3 mishap in the transfer of spent reactor fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “Based on the information we have we believe this is a nuclear […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week officially resumed its technical review of a license application for a facility in West Texas that would store up to 40,000 metric tons of used nuclear reactor fuel. A partnership of Waste Control Specialists and Orano in June filed an updated license application for the planned consolidated interim […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering an application for a 40-year license extension for operation of the independent spent fuel storage installation at the decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear power plant in Herald, Calif. Like other nuclear power operators around the country, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is waiting for the Department of Energy […]

The owners of operational and shuttered nuclear power plants in 2017 all demonstrated “assurance” that they are prepared to manage the costs of decommissioning their facilities, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Agency staff offered its assessment in a summary of its evaluation of the decommissioning funding status reports filed last year by licensees for […]

The August doldrums in Washington weren’t quite as quiet as in past years, and there was plenty of news during the ExchangeMonitor’s annual publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories we’ve been following. Hanford Treats Over 2 Billion Gallons of Contaminated Groundwater in FY18 Workers at the Hanford […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Petition Review Board recently agreed to review a request to determine whether FirstEnergy Solutions should be found in breach of its federal requirement to ensure it can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years. The NRC sent a memo to that effect […]

The August doldrums in Washington weren’t quite as quiet as in past years, and there was plenty of news during the ExchangeMonitor’s annual publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories we’ve been following. Parties Aim for Regulatory OK For Vermont Yankee Sale by Oct. 31 Parties to the […]

A key committee of the New Mexico Legislature appears split on whether to support plans by Holtec International to build a large-scale storage facility in the state to hold used fuel from U.S. nuclear reactors. Seven of the 12 voting members of the legislature’s interim bicameral Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee in recent weeks signed […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed set of rules for nuclear power reactors in decommissioning could leave taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in costs in the event of a major accident, according to four U.S. senators. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) aired a number […]

By John Stang Exelon and Holtec International aim by the end of this month to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer the operating license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. The two companies had initially hoped to submit the transfer application by Aug. 17. However, at an Aug. 15 […]

A recent meeting between senior U.S. and South Korean officials ended with a pledge to cooperate on dealing with used nuclear reactor fuel and other atomic operations, according to the Department of Energy. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Friday led the second plenary of the High […]

President Donald Trump on Aug. 13 signed the $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2019, accepting its prohibition on funding for disposal of defense nuclear waste. The final bill is another setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to revive plans for a radioactive waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. However, state […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it is opening a special inspection of a recent mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The announcement comes as watchdog groups in California are demanding action, with one reportedly planning a lawsuit, in […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Petition Review Board recently agreed to review a request to determine whether FirstEnergy Solutions should be found in breach of its federal requirement to ensure it can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years. The NRC sent a memo to that effect on Aug. 2 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday gave interested parties more than two additional weeks to comment on the draft version of its interim staff guidance for materials licensees’ decommissioning funding plans. The document, when finalized, is intended to give stakeholders at the NRC and in industry “guidance based on developments and lessons learned regarding financial […]

Having already been removed at least temporarily from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is suspending his re-election campaign while he fights federal insider trading charges. Collins said Aug. 11 he will use his remaining months in office to advocate both for his constituents and the agenda of President Donald Trump. […]

Exelon and Holtec international plan by Friday to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the transfer of the license for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. The Chicago-based power company aims to sell the single-reactor facility in Lacey Township to Holtec, which would then be responsible for decommissioning and spent […]

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said Wednesday it has submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission its plans for training workers to supervise the removal and storage of spent nuclear fuel at three nuclear power reactors facing shutdown in 2020 and 2021. This is a necessary step for FES to decommission its four reactors at three sites […]

Parties to the settlement agreement for the sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are betting they can secure federal and state regulatory approval for the deal by Oct. 31. That is the new date, according to a recent amendment to the settlement agreement, after which parties can withdraw if the sale has […]

President Donald Trump on Monday signed the $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2019, officially setting budget limits for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons and cleanup operations. Trump did not mention either program during a signing ceremony before several hundred people at the U.S. Army’s Fort Drum in New York state. Congress […]

Maryland-based nuclear fuel provider Centrus Energy is working toward termination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license for its American Centrifuge Lead Cascade demonstration project at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Most decontamination and decommissioning at the site was finished by June 30, Centrus said in a 10-Q quarterly report filed Thursday with […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in June spent just over $2,000 of its remaining balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, leaving it with $455,063 absent an infusion of money from Congress. The Nuclear Waste Fund is intended to pay for licensing and construction of a permanent repository for U.S. spent nuclear reactor fuel and high-level defense […]

The Senate on Wednesday voted 87-10 in favor of advancing the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides no support for shipping radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs to the always-controversial planned repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. This is the latest hit to the Trump administration’s efforts to resume licensing for the underground […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week denied the latest, and last, request to extend the comment period on the scope of its environmental impact statement for a proposed spent nuclear fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico. Monday was the agency’s deadline for public input on this aspect of the broader technical review of the […]

By John Stang Holtec International announced this week it would buy three nuclear power plants set to close in coming months and years, then turn them over for decommissioning by a joint venture recently formed with a Canadian engineering corporation. On Tuesday, Chicago-based power company Exelon said it would sell its Oyster Creek Generating Station […]

Holtec International said Wednesday it plans to buy two more nuclear power plants for decommissioning, in addition to the single-site acquisition announced just one day earlier. Power company Entergy will sell its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., and its Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich., after the reactors are shut down and defueled, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied the latest, and presumably last, request to extend the comment period on the scope of its environmental impact statement for a proposed spent fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico. Monday was the agency’s deadline for public input on this aspect of the NRC technical review of the license […]