Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied a request from a group of New Mexico lawmakers to extend its public comment period on the scope of its environmental review of Holtec International’s license application to build an interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state. In February, nine state senators and 21 state representatives asked […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions supports allowing use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for certain operations even before the facility ceases operation, an executive said last week. “We are very supportive of using the decommissioning funds early for legitimate decommissioning activities at nuclear power plants,” Daniel Shrum, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking public comment through June 5 on a request for an update to federal regulations regarding storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel. Once the comments are received, NRC staff will review the petition for 12 to 18 months, depending on the number and complexity of the […]

By John Stang Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, FirstEnergy Solutions announced Wednesday it would close its four nuclear power reactors in Ohio and Pennsylvania in coming years if it does not get rapid assistance from the federal and state governments. The four reactors are the 908-megawatt Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station at Oak Harbor, Ohio; the […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions supports allowing use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for certain operations even before the facility ceases operation, an executive said last week. “We are very supportive of using the decommissioning funds early for legitimate decommissioning activities at nuclear power plants,” Daniel Shrum, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

There was no word Monday on whether three nominees for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission might finally get up-or-down votes on the Senate floor after the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada was blanked on funding for fiscal 2018. There had been chatter on Capitol Hill that zeroing out the underground repository might […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking public comment through June 5 on a request for an update to federal regulations regarding storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel. Ray Lutz, and his California watchdog group Citizens’ Oversight, filed the petition for rulemaking on Title 10, Part 72, of the Code of Regulations in January. His […]

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday signed legislation that will cut radioactive waste disposal fees paid by EnergySolutions by more than $1.7 million per year. State Rep. John Knotwell (R) in January filed the bill to reduce the flat fee paid by radioactive waste disposal facilities in Utah by the amount they paid in taxes in […]

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has formally requested to withdraw its application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for renewal of reactor Units 1 and 2 at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The utility instead plans to shut down California’s last operational atomic energy facility within a decade. “PG&E hereby requests to withdraw the […]

By John Stang It might take up to six months after the approval of the 2019 federal budget for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal facility in Nevada to get back on track, a pair of U.S. House subcommittees were told Tuesday. That is because the regulator’s Yucca team […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Orano USA and Waste Control Specialists (WCS) are just weeks from formalizing their partnership to license, build, and operate a facility for centralized interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel, new WCS CEO Scott State said Monday. The joint venture, announced last week, will be called Interim Storage Partners. Its first job […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed fiscal 2019 budget provides enough funding for staff to review two applications to build facilities for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, commission members assured a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) raised the question during the panel’s oversight hearing on the […]

Orano and Waste Control Specialists (WCS) are just weeks from formalizing their partnership to license, build, and operate a facility for centralized interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel, new WCS CEO Scott State said this week. The joint venture, announced last week, will be called Interim Storage Partners. Its first job will be to […]

It might take up to six months after the approval of the 2019 federal budget for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada to get back on track, a pair of U.S. House subcommittees were told Tuesday. That is because the regulator’s Yucca team was reassigned after the […]

The three sitting members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled to make two appearances on Capitol Hill this week to testify on the agency’s fiscal 2019 budget and other matters. NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki and Commissioners Jeff Baran and Stephen Burns are due to appear this morning at a joint hearing of the […]

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on Monday offered an optimistic outlook on the future of the planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Whether it’s been in the courts or Congress, we are winning the battle on Yucca, but we’re not there yet,” Fleischmann said in a prerecorded video message to attendees of […]

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has formally requested to withdraw its application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for renewal of reactor Units 1 and 2 at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The utility instead plans to shut down California’s last operational atomic energy facility within a decade. “PG&E hereby requests to withdraw the […]

Nevada businessman and perennial political candidate Danny Tarkanian dropped out of the race for Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) seat Friday, freeing Congress’ chief Yucca Mountain naysayer from fighting a primary challenge as appropriations season heats up. Tarkanian, a Republican who has said he supports turning the Nye County, Nev., site into a nuclear research-and-development hub, […]

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, this morning will kick off the plenary session for the 2018 Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix, Ariz. Fleischmann, whose district includes the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation, will speak this morning at the Phoenix Convention Center alongside Billy Morrison, CEO of Veolia Nuclear […]

By John Stang Honeywell International recently sued the federal government in an effort to reclaim almost $2 million in payments made to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2013 and 2014. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 16 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Honeywell’s Metropolis Works plant in Illinois converts natural uranium into uranium hexafluoride […]

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki on Tuesday touted the benefits of full membership in the five-person panel, without directly mentioning the U.S. Senate’s extended inaction on nominees waiting to fill two vacancies. Svinicki noted that the commission has been at three members “for some period of time” – specifically since William Ostendorff stepped […]

Nearly a year after putting it on ice, Waste Control Specialists aims to revive its application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for consolidated interim storage of used nuclear reactor fuel. It is doing so in a joint venture planned with Orano USA, the nuclear services and technology […]

Nearly a year after putting it on ice, Waste Control Specialists aims to revive its application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for consolidated interim storage of used fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors. It is doing so in a joint venture planned with Orano USA. Establishment of […]

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki on Tuesday touted the benefits of full membership in the five-person panel, without directly mentioning the U.S. Senate’s extended inaction on nominees waiting to fill two vacancies. Svinicki noted that the commission has been at three members “for some period of time” – specifically since William Ostendorff stepped […]

Honeywell International recently sued the federal government in an effort to reclaim almost $2 million in payments made to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2013 and 2014. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 16 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Honeywell’s Metropolis Works plant in Illinois converts natural uranium into uranium hexafluoride for use in […]

All three sitting members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled to speak Tuesday on the first day of the agency’s 30th Regulatory Information Conference. Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki will offer the keynote speech to start off the conference Tuesday morning, followed by separate “commissioner plenaries” from Commissioners Jeff Baran and Stephen Burns. While […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has less than $500,000 left in its available balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, which pays for the agency’s work on the proposed Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository in Nevada. In its latest update to Congress on activities related to licensing of Yucca Mountain, the NRC said its unobligated Nuclear […]

By John Stang The owner and prospective buyer of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant have agreed to a set of financial assurance and site-cleanup terms that should help the sale pass the state’s regulatory review. All but one of the parties authorized to intervene in the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) process signed […]

The House’s top energy appropriator appeared to quash any hope that a fiscal 2018 budget being put together in advance of a March 23 federal-funding deadline would contain any money for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada. In the face of that ominous prediction, Yucca booster-in-chief Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) told news outlets […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should extend its public scoping comment period on a proposed spent reactor fuel storage facility in New Mexico to allow the state’s Legislature and public agencies to review and comment on the project, New Mexico lawmakers said recently. In a series of identical Feb. 27 letters, the NRC told the […]