Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Centrus Energy is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend a nuclear material license at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The application was filed as the company is closing out decommissioning of its American Centrifuge uranium enrichment demonstration project. The nuclear material license was originally issued in February 2004 when Centrus (then […]

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should next week receive agency staff’s proposed package of rules for nuclear power reactors transitioning from operations to decommissioning, a senior official said Wednesday. The proposal is going through its final concurrence process and should be submitted to the commissioners on May 7, according to Meena Khanna, chief […]

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Proponents of advancing disposition of the U.S. stockpile of used nuclear reactor fuel must make their voices heard in Congress, speakers said Tuesday at an industry conference here. The need for advocacy on Capitol Hill was a common refrain during the first day of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Used Fuel Management Conference […]

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Waste Control Specialists and Orano plan within the next two months to formally request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission resume its review of a stalled license application for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel in West Texas, according to the executive leading their partnership. The companies expect in the second quarter to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to withdraw its application to renew the licenses for the two reactors at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California. That takes the facility another step toward its planned closure in less than a decade. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in 2009 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should establish a new classification for radioactive waste – “Class D” – to replace the more nebulous Greater-Than-Class C designation, according to disposal provider EnergySolutions. “The NRC should designate a new waste category specifically defining what it is. It should not be defined by what it is greater than, or […]

By John Stang Transporting spent nuclear reactor fuel across the country and through New Mexico topped public concerns during a public event Wednesday on plans for an interim storage facility in the state. That included wondering which routes would be used. “An accident with this material will take decades, if not centuries, to deal with,” said […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions formally confirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday that it plans to permanently shut down three nuclear power plants unless it gets government help. The three-paragraph message to the agency simply certifies FirstEnergy’s March 28 announcement that it would end power production at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in […]

Power company Entergy said Wednesday its earnings rose -m the first quarter of 2018 with assistance from the federal tax break and better weather. The numbers in the company’s nuclear power-intensive Wholesale Commodities segment also improved, though it remained a drag on the overall business. The New Orleans-based utility owner reported consolidated earnings of $133 […]

FirstEnergy Solutions formally confirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday that it plans to permanently shut down three nuclear power plants unless it gets government help. The three-paragraph message simply certifies FirstEnergy’s March 28 announcement that it would end power production at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, by May 31, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should establish a new classification for radioactive waste – “Class D” – to replace the more nebulous Greater Than Class C designation, according to disposal provider EnergySolutions. “The NRC should designate a new waste category specifically defining what it is. It should not be defined by what it is greater […]

The Sierra Club intends to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s technical review of Holtec International’s application for a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel, an attorney representing the environmental organization said Monday. The intervention request would be filed when the regulatory agency releases its schedule for that process, Wallace Taylor, of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to withdraw its application to renew the licenses for its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant reactors. The utility in 2009 filed to renew the licenses for Units 1 and 2 at the San Luis Obispo County facility, which respectively began operations in 1985 […]

The three current members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled to appear before the Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee Wednesday to testify on the agency’s fiscal 2019 budget proposal. The nuclear industry regulator has requested $971 million for the budget year starting Oct. 1. That would be up from the $911 […]

About two months after he left the federal ranks, the former top Department of Energy official at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., joined Atkins in a new role created for him. Jack Craig, who in February retired as manager of DOE’s Savannah River Site office after three years in that role and over […]

Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said last week. Contractors can expect to receive 5 to 7 percent if everything […]

Despite its lack of movement for nearly a year, there remains hope for legislation intended to give a strong push for building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a senior official with the nuclear industry’s policy organization said this week. Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act […]

URENCO USA’s uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico passed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s latest performance review in all operational areas. The review covered safety, safeguards, radiological controls, facility support, and additional matters from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2017, the agency said Wednesday in a press release. “The NRC staff review determined that […]

By John Stang Entergy said this week it has not determined yet when it will restart moving spent nuclear fuel at its retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The power company halted spent fuel transfer from wet to dry storage on March 10 after a broken bolt was found in a Holtec International spent fuel […]

Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said last week. These companies might also eye new opportunities in the commercial nuclear […]

FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries should be found in breach of their federal regulatory requirement to ensure they can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years, a nongovernmental environmental organization said in a petition to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions on March 28 announced it […]

Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said Thursday. The reduced margins are due in part to regulatory responsibilities and “claw-back” […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking confirmation that no financial pitfalls await the transfer of the license for the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant from Entergy to NorthStar Group Services. In an April 5 request for additional information, the industry regulator said “NRC staff is unable to find that the […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions’ recent bankruptcy filing does not absolve it of legal obligations cemented in its nuclear-power plant licenses, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “The NRC licenses remain in full effect, even beyond their stated expiration date, until terminated in writing by NRC,” Louise Lund, director of the NRC’s Division of Licensing Projects, wrote […]

FirstEnergy Solutions’ recent bankruptcy filing does not absolve it of legal obligations cemented in its nuclear-power licenses, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “The NRC licenses remain in full effect, even beyond their stated expiration date, until terminated in writing by NRC,” Louise Lund, director of the NRC’s Division of Licensing Projects, wrote in an April 6 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected a request from several environmental and anti-nuclear groups for a hearing to oppose an application for a license to export up to 10,000 metric tons of radioactively contaminated material from Tennessee to Canada. Massachusetts-based UniTech Services Group in 2016 requested authorization to ship the material back customers […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled four public meetings in late April and early May to receive input on the scope of its environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s application for a license to build an interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. “At the meeting, the NRC will receive comments […]

The U.S. Energy Department has officially supported keeping millions of documents related to licensing of its planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., in their current home in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s electronic records database. Other parties, though, said this month that more consideration is necessary before a final decision is made. The Licensing […]

The U.S. Energy Department has officially supported keeping millions of documents related to licensing of its planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., in their current home in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s public electronic records database. Other parties, though, said this month more consideration is necessary before a final decision is made. The Licensing […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded the Southwest Research Institute a contract worth as much as $52 million over five years to continue operating the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses. The San Antonio-based research and development organization has managed the center since its inception 31 years ago. Its original mission was to provide […]