Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Department of Energy contractor Fluor will discuss its quarterly performance during a conference call with financial analysts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time Thursday. Financial results for the second quarter, which ended June 30, will be reported at market close before the call. The Irving, Texas-based construction and engineering company is coming off a rough first […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved exempting the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey from some emergency planning requirements following its closure this fall. In individual votes cast between July 5 and July 11, four of the five commissioners approved Oyster Creek owner Exelon’s entire request to forgo some emergency preparedness […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should address water supply and quality and a number of other issues in its environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The environmental evaluation is a key part of a broader NRC technical review […]

Draft guidance for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ongoing reactor decommissioning rulemaking could create additional hassles for nuclear utilities – the opposite of the purpose of the process, according to an organization representing closed nuclear power plants around the nation. “There are multiple instances in which the proposed guidance documents do not align with the stated […]

The City Council of Las Cruces, N.M., on Tuesday narrowly approved a resolution opposing plans for transportation and storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in the state. With the 4-3 vote, the city joined Albuquerque and a number of other municipalities in voicing their concerns over Holtec International’s proposal to temporarily store more than 100,000 metric […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should address water supply and quality and a number of other issues in its environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage site in New Mexico, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The environmental evaluation is a key part of a broader NRC technical review of […]

Nearly a week after a technically bipartisan delegation of House members and staff visited Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., lawmakers still have not set a date to begin final negotiations on a 2019 budget bill that, technically, could include funding for the proposed waste-repository. Those negotiations, a bicameral conference committee of lawmakers from the […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined there would be no significant environmental impact in approving the license termination plan for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. Agency staff on June 25 issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the 2014 request from ZionSolutions, a subsidiary […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff and the Indiana Michigan Power Co. have scheduled a July 17 teleconference to discuss a steep, unexpected reduction in the decommissioning trust funds for the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant’s two power reactors. In March 2017, Indiana Michigan Power reported the trust funds as of Dec. 31, 2016, stood at $459.5 […]

The House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday approved legislation that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to produce a report on “best practices” for establishing local advisory boards near nuclear power plants undergoing decommissioning. The language was included in an amendment from Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). The panel […]

By John Stang Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) is leading a dozen U.S. House members on a tour of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada on Saturday in hopes of bolstering his case to revive stalled plans for a nuclear waste repository there. Nevada leaders quickly criticized the trip as flawed because no local interests will […]

The Department of Energy expects by Sept. 30 to answer questions from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding the requested 20-year extension of the license for storage of radioactive waste from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. That would meet the deadline set by the NRC in its Jan. 29 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Indiana Michigan Power Co. have scheduled a July 17 teleconference to discuss an unexpected $150 million reduction in the decommissioning trust funds for the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant’s two power reactors. In March 2017, Indiana Michigan Power reported the trust funds as of Dec. 31, 2016, stood […]

Entergy said recently it has shipped 782,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater from its shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to a disposal facility in Tennessee. Another shipment was scheduled for today, the power company said in a June 28 update to Vermont’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. Groundwater has been seeping into the turbine room […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has set a hard deadline of July 30 for public comment on the scope of its environmental review of Holtec International’s license application for an interim spent fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. The agency extended the comment period by 60 days, but denied a request from a host of […]

The Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) on Friday said it would not issue a final ruling on the proposed sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant until after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission decides whether to approve the transfer of the site license from owner Entergy to planned buyer NorthStar Group Services. In […]

Newly installed Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright has rejected Nevada’s request that he recuse himself from any decision on licensing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in the state. Wright pushed back against the state’s contention that his actions and comments in recent years showed he supported building the disposal facility in Nevada […]

Holtec International is gently pushing back against concerns over its plans to build and operate a facility in southeastern New Mexico for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel from U.S. power reactors. “Despite what some detractors say, there is no use or them when faced with spent nuclear fuel. We are all in this together, […]

Newly installed Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright has rejected Nevada’s request that he recuse himself from any decision on licensing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in the state. Wright, who was sworn into office on May 30, pushed back against the state’s contention that his actions and comments in recent years showed […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in May spent $10,789 from the Nuclear Waste Fund, leaving its available balance at $457,235, according to the latest update to Congress. The agency spent nearly all of that — $10,366 – on costs from a February meeting of the Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Board and collecting information about possible […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its final figures for fee collections that will provide the bulk of its funding for the current 2018 federal budget year. The nuclear industry regulator is budgeted at $922 million for the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30, up by $4.9 million from the prior fiscal […]

The parties to the planned sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant hope to secure state regulatory approval within a month after the federal government signs off on the deal, according to a filing this week. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to decide sometime in the third quarter of this year […]

By John Stang Wyoming could become the 38th agreement state to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, taking over some authority for management of radioactive materials otherwise held by the federal agency. If the commission approves the request from Gov. Matthew Mead, his state would assume responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement of certain uranium and […]

The parties to the planned sale of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant hope to secure state regulatory approval just a month after the federal government signs off on the deal, according to a filing this week. Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to decide sometime in the third quarter of […]

A longtime staffer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will take over next week as executive director for operations, the agency’s top career position. Current NRC General Counsel Margaret Doane will replace Victor McCree, who formally retires on Saturday. Doane was selected by the commission to become the first woman to hold the position. Doane began […]

Wyoming could become the 38th agreement state to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, taking over some authority for management of radioactive materials otherwise held by the federal agency. If the commission approves the request from Gov. Matthew Mead, his state would assume responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement of certain uranium and thorium milling operations […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its final figures for fee collections that will provide the bulk of its funding for the current 2018 federal budget year. The nuclear industry regulator is budgeted at $922 million for the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30, up by $4.9 million from the prior fiscal […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission affirmed to two U.S. senators recently that is only authorized to license the Department of Energy for permanent disposal of spent nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), top members of the Senate Environment and Public Works clean air and nuclear safety, […]

The Energy Department said recently it had nearly $38 billion in the Nuclear Waste Fund, in the first of what it pledged will be annual summaries of the finances for the federal account intended to pay for the radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a letter attached to the summary, DOE Deputy General […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing a petition contending FirstEnergy Solutions decommissioning trust funds have enough money to shut down and dismantle three nuclear power plants. The Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center submitted the petition earlier this year as FirstEnergy Solutions filed for bankruptcy and announced it will shut down […]