House committee marks up Energy and Water Development billNuclear NewsJuly 14, 2020, 2:52PM|Nuclear News StaffThe House Appropriations Committee held its full committee markup of the Energy and Water Development bill on July 13. (The Bill Report provides a more detailed funding breakdown.) The final bill passed the committee by a party line vote of 30-21. No schedule for Floor consideration of the bill has been set, but it is likely to happen next week or the week after.Nuclear waste: Ranking member Mike Simpson (R., Idaho) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R., Wash.) expressed disappointment that the legislation fails to address permanent nuclear waste storage. No amendment was offered to the markup, however. Committee chair Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio) said that nuclear waste is an important issue that must be dealt with and stated that the bill is a “change in the proper direction,” referring to interim storage funding provisions within the bill.Below are fiscal year 2021 funding and report language highlights. In addition to the actual bill, there is a $43.5B stimulus supplemental title within the bill.Funding highlights:$40m for civil nuclear enrichment$30m for joint modeling and simulation$99m for accident tolerant fuels (ATF)$34m for TRISO fuel and graphite qualification$62.5 for used nuclear fuel disposition R&D$25m for an integrated waste management system$105m for advanced small modular reactor$47m for light-water reactor sustainability ($10m of which is to support hydrogen demonstration projects)$65m for the Versatile Test Reactor project$30m for the National Reactor Innovation Center$240m for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP)No funding included for transformational challenge reactorNo funding for establishment of uranium reserveNRC report language:Transformation Initiative—The committee directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue to provide regular briefings to the committee on the status of the transformation initiative, beginning no later than 90 days after enactment of the bill.Reactor Oversight and Safety—The NRC is directed to continue to provide regular briefings to the committee on the NRC’s current reactor oversight and safety program, and on any proposed changes before they are implemented.Mitigation of Beyond-Design-Basis Events Rule—The FY2020 Act directed the NRC to provide a briefing detailing its plans to ensure that nuclear reactors are adequately protected from the modern-day flooding and seismic hazards facing nuclear power plants. The committee is still awaiting this briefing and has directed the NRC to provide this briefing not later than 60 days after enactment of the bill.International Activities—International activities, not including the resources for import and export licensing, are funded as fee-relief activities and are excluded from fee recovery in accordance with the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (Public Law 115–439).Integrated University Program—The committee recommendation includes $16m to provide financial support for the university education programs, as the NRC continues to be reliant on a pipeline of highly trained nuclear engineers and scientists and benefits substantially from this university program. Of this amount, $5.5m is to be used for grants to support research projects that do not align with programmatic missions but are critical to maintaining the discipline of nuclear science and engineering.Budget Execution Plan—The NRC is to provide a specific budget execution plan to the committee no later than 30 days after enactment of the bill. The plan is to include details at the product-line level within each of the control points.Rulemaking—The NRC shall list all planned rulemaking activities, including its priority, schedule, and actions taken to adhere to the Backfit Rule (10 CFR 50.109), in the annual budget request and the semi-annual report to Congress on licensing and regulatory activities.Tags:ardpatfdoeenergy and water development billfy 2021house appropriations committeenrcsmrtrisoused fuelvtrShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Congress set to pass year-end funding billThe final text of the approximately 5,600-page Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 was released on December 22. While the timing of final passage is still fluid, the Senate was expected to approve it and send it on to President Trump to sign into law, according to John Starkey, American Nuclear Society government relations director.Below are some key funding highlights from the legislation pertaining to nuclear energy.Go to Article
Holtec SMR could be built at Oyster Creek siteThe site of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township, N.J., could be the location for Holtec International’s SMR-160 small modular reactor, according to an AP News story published last week.ARDP investment: Holtec received $147.5 million in Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program funding to demonstrate its SMR design. Company spokesperson Joe Delmar said, “As part of our application to the Department of Energy for its advanced reactor demonstration program, we expressed interest in possibly locating an SMR-160 small modular reactor at the Oyster Creek decommissioning site in the future. This concept is only preliminary and something we would likely discuss with Lacey Township and the community if plans to locate (the reactor) at Oyster Creek evolve.”Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Waste ManagementHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Waste Management section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Waste Management sectionFirst-ever cleanup of uranium enrichment plant celebrated at Oak Ridge: The completion of the decades-long effort to clean up the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant was celebrated on October 13, with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette joining U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and other state and community leaders at the East Tennessee Technology Park, where the uranium enrichment complex once stood. Read more.Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Research and ApplicationsHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Research and Applications section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Research and Applications sectionARDP picks divergent technologies in Natrium, Xe-100: Is nuclear’s future taking shape? The Department of Energy has put two reactor designs—TerraPower’s Natrium and X-energy’s Xe-100—on a fast track to commercialization, each with an initial $80 million in 50-50 cost-shared funds awarded through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Read more.Go to Article
INL’s MARVEL could demonstrate remote operation on a micro scaleThe Department of Energy launched a 14-day public review and comment period on January 11 on a draft environmental assessment for a proposal to construct the Microreactor Applications Research Validation & EvaLuation (MARVEL) project microreactor inside Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility.The basics: The MARVEL design is a sodium-potassium–cooled thermal microreactor fueled by uranium zirconium hydride fuel pins using high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). It would be a 100-kWt reactor capable of generating about 20 kWe using Stirling engines over a core life of about two years.The DOE proposes to install the MARVEL microreactor in a concrete storage pit in the north high bay of the TREAT reactor building. Modifications to the building to accommodate MARVEL are anticipated to take five to seven months. Constructing, assembling, and performing preoperational testing are expected to take another two to three months prior to fuel loading.Go to Article
EPRI names Rita Baranwal as new VP of nuclear, CNOBaranwalThe Electric Power Research Institute today announced Rita Baranwal as its new vice president of nuclear energy and chief nuclear officer. Baranwal succeeds Neil Wilmshurst, who was promoted to senior vice president of energy system resources in November.Baranwal most recently served as the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for its Office of Nuclear Energy, where she managed the DOE's portfolio of nuclear research for existing and advanced reactors and new designs. Baranwal unexpectedly resigned from that position late last week.Go to Article
Searching for lost revenue from shut-down nuclear plants, NY law allows towns to assess waste storageIndian Point nuclear power plant. Photo: Entergy NuclearCommunities across the United States where nuclear power plants have been shut down face huge gaps in tax revenues, sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars. States such as New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California are watching events in New York now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that says cities can “assess the economic value of storing waste” on sites where nuclear plants once operated, as reported by Bloomberg.Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Power and OperationsHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Power and Operations section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Power and Operations section Defense Department invests in three microreactor designs: Three reactor developers got a boost on March 9 when they each were awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to design a reactor that can fit inside a standard shipping container for military deployment. Read more.Go to Article
Reclassification of HLW could reduce risks while saving billions, DOE saysAn engineered stainless steel container designed to hold LLW at Hanford. Photo: Bechtel National, Inc.A Department of Energy report to the U.S. Congress shows that the reclassification of high-level radioactive waste could save more than $200 billion in treatment and disposal costs while allowing DOE sites to be cleaned up sooner—all still without jeopardizing public health and safety.The report, Evaluation of Potential Opportunities to Classify Certain Defense Nuclear Waste from Reprocessing as Other than High-Level Radioactive Waste, identifies potential opportunities for the DOE to reduce risk to public and environment while completing its cleanup mission more efficiently and effectively. Those opportunities are based on the DOE’s 2019 interpretation of the statutory term HLW, which classifies waste based on its radiological characteristics rather than its origin.Under the DOE’s interpretation of HLW, waste from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel may be determined to be non-HLW if the waste (1) does not exceed concentration limits for Class C low-level radioactive waste as set out in federal regulations and meets the performance objectives of a disposal facility; or (2) does not require disposal in a deep geologic repository and meets the performance objectives of a disposal facility as demonstrated through a performance assessment conducted in accordance with applicable requirements.Go to Article
Statement from the American Nuclear Society on the announced departure of NRC Chairman Kristine SvinickiOn behalf of America’s nuclear professionals, we thank Chairman Kristine Svinicki for her service and leadership at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.Go to Article