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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of New Reactors has issued an Early Site Permit (ESP) and Limited Work Authorization (LWA) to Southern Nuclear Operating Company for the Vogtle ESP site near Augusta, Ga. The ESP, valid for up to 20 years, is the fourth such permit the NRC has approved. Successful completion of the ESP process resolves many site-related safety and environmental issues, and determines the site is suitable for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant. The LWA allows a narrow set of construction activities at the site. Southern Nuclear filed its ESP application Aug. 15, 2006, and filed its LWA request on Aug. 16, 2007, seeking permission for construction activities limited to placement of engineered backfill, retaining walls, lean concrete, mudmats, and a waterproof membrane.

"If you want to understand why the U.S. hasn't built a nuclear reactor in three decades, the Vogtle power plant outside Atlanta is an excellent reminder of the insanity of nuclear economics. The plant's original cost estimate was less than $1 billion for four reactors. Its eventual price tag in 1989 was nearly $9 billion, for only two reactors. But now there's widespread chatter about a nuclear renaissance, so the Southern Co. is finally trying to build the other two reactors at Vogtle. The estimated cost: $14 billion. And you can be sure that number is way too low, because nuclear cost estimates are always way too low. That's why no Wall Street moneyman in his right mind would finance a new reactor. But President Obama has located an alternative financier: you. On Tuesday he announced an $8.33 billion loan guarantee for the new Vogtle reactors, the first step in the Administration's push to jump-start the nuclear construction industry. Obama also urged Congress to set aside political differences and triple the budget for nuclear loan guarantees. "

"The U.S. Government Accountability Office says the federal government should soon standardize security procedures at its nuclear facilities, including one near Augusta. Private contractors provide security at the Savannah River Site and five other federal sites that handle nuclear materials. But the GAO says their protocols vary on how to respond to attack or theft. "

"Georgia's Municipal Electric Authority plans to borrow more than $2.5 billion this week to help finance its share of two nuclear reactors, which would be the first licensed in the U.S. since the Three Mile Island reactor accident in 1979. The authority will borrow almost all of the money through the U.S. Treasury's Build America Bond program, which subsidizes 35 percent of the interest cost on taxable securities sold for public purposes. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which received a letter last week from U.S. Senator Charles Grassley questioning fees earned from selling Build America Bonds, is the sole underwriter, according to offering documents. "

Some of the reactor parts weigh hundreds of tons. Had they come by barge from coastal ports, officials would have had to dredge the Savannah River -- removing sediment and dirt to deepen it. Tonya Bonitatibus, the director of the Savannah Riverkeeper, says the dredging would have harmed natural habitats and polluted the river while costing too much money."

"A protest from Utah Governor Gary Herbert caused the Department of Energy to suspend shipments in January of depleted uranium from SRS to a disposal facility near Salt Lake City. Now regulators have determined that more than 3,000 tons of the waste meet Utah's health and safety standards. That could mean shipments will start up again soon."