The U.S. Supreme Court Monday denied a petition by the advocacy group Beyond Nuclear seeking to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license approval for a Holtec International Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF).
Beyond Nuclear hoped the high court would invalidate an NRC license that would allow Holtec to construct an interim waste storage in southeastern New Mexico. But the Supreme Court denied what is known as a petition for certiorari, basically asking it to review a lower court decision.
The Beyond Nuclear petition was among many others that were denied on a long list of orders sent out Monday. As is typical, the justices did not supply a reason to why the Oct. 31 writ of certiorari was denied. Holtec’s license was reinstated after a landmark Supreme Court case last June where the justices ruled against a challenge to NRC’s authority to license a similar private spent fuel facility in West Texas.
Lisa Burtenshaw was sworn in Jan. 8 as the new mayor of Idaho Falls, the city of 69,000 where the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is based.
The swearing-in of the newly-elected Burtenshaw and other members of Idaho Falls City Council, was reported both by local news outlets and the city’s municipal website. The retiring mayor, Rebecca Casper, “who has served the city for 12 years, leaves a lasting legacy of dedicated public service and community-focused leadership,” the city said in a Jan. 7 news release.
Casper is vice chair of the executive board at the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), an advocacy group for localities around Department of Energy installations. Casper has been outspoken on the economic impact of nuclear facilities on communities like Idaho Falls. Burtenshaw won a runoff election in December with 53% of the vote, according to the East Idaho News. According to her LinkedIn page, Burtenshaw has been a development director for Idaho Foodbank and a digital marketing consultant.
Westinghouse Electric has selected Justin Johnson as executive vice president and chief legal officer following the retirement of Michael Sweeney.
Westinghouse announced the appointment in a Jan. 6 press release. Sweeney is retiring after more than 20 years at Westinghouse and 15 as the company’s chief legal officer, Westinghouse said. Johnson joins Westinghouse from Jacobs, where he spent more than eight years in various legal roles, most recently, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Westinghouse said.
Previously Johnson held positions at Vistra Energy and the law firms of Hogan Lovells, Kaye Scholer (now Arnold & Porter) and Sullivan & Cromwell.
The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is now a Department of Defense-approved industry partner, DOE said last week.
The Pentagon’s SkillBridge program allows service members up to a six-month internship paid for by the Department of Defense, according to a Jan. 8 press release.
“SkillBridge offers the perfect opportunity for the laboratory to experience the skills, knowledge and leadership of a service member prior to their departure from the military,” said Mark Davis, deputy Laboratory director of Operations and a Navy veteran.The Pentagon’s Skillbridge website encourages employers to “tap into the unmatched work ethos service members bring to the workforce.”
The annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit will feature speeches from big players in the nuclear weapons complex such as National Nuclear Security Administration head Brandon Williams, newly sworn in U.S. Strategic Command commander Adm. Richard Correll, and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) whose state houses silos for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The agenda will also feature appearances from Scott Pappano, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator, and Matthew Napoli, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation.
The 2026 Nuclear Deterrence Summit will take place Jan. 26-28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va.
Tim Walsh, the head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, will headline the Feb. 10 House Cleanup Caucus session at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Walsh, who became assistant secretary of energy for environmental management, in October, will make a presentation titled “Remediation to Redevelopment.” DOE nuclear cleanup properties such as the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee are increasingly being earmarked for new nuclear development.
The invitation-only event hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association (ETEBA), had earlier been scheduled to occur during the 43-day government shutdown last year.
Please note Exchange Monitor staff will be off on Monday Jan. 19 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.