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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final safety evaluation report (SER) for the proposed renewal of the operating licenses for the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, and concluded that there are no open items that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation. The report documents the results of the NRC staff's review of the license renewal application and site audits of the plant's aging management programs to address the safety of plant operations during the period of extended operation. It represents the culmination of NRC's comprehensive review of the application and inspection of the plant to verify license renewal implementation is consistent with the application. Overall, the results show that the applicant has identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the appropriate safety systems, structures and components of the plant and that their functions will be maintained during the period of extended operation. Issuing the final SER is a significant milestone in the license renewal review process. This process proceeds along two tracks - one for review of safety issues and another for environmental issues. The SER marks the completion of the NRC staff's safety review that is published and subsequently reviewed and publicly discussed by the agency's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The staff concluded its environmental review in March of this year when it issued the final supplemental environmental impact statement.

AmerenUE has asked the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the company's July 2008 application for a combined construction permit-operating license to build a new nuclear unit at its Callaway plant in Missouri. In a June 23 letter to NRC released on Friday, Adam Heflin, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, said "we have determined that it is in AmerenUE's best interests to suspend the review" of the COL application and requested "that the NRC staff suspend all activities" related to the review. AmerenUE announced in April that it was dropping plans to build a 1,600-MW Areva US-EPR reactor at Callaway because the company did not think Missouri state lawmakers would be able to overturn the state's ban on recovering costs on construction work in progress. AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary said June 26 that NRC's review of the COL continued after that decision while AmerenUE "looked at its options," but it is now deemed "prudent" to suspend the review.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for formal review an application by General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment for a license to construct and operate a uranium enrichment plant using laser technology in Wilmington, N.C. GE-Hitachi submitted the application in two stages: an environmental report, submitted on Jan. 30, and a safety report, tendered on June 26. The NRC staff has completed an initial acceptance review and determined that the application is sufficiently complete for the agency to begin its formal licensing reviews. The agency has already requested additional information from the applicant, and additional requests are possible throughout the licensing review. Acceptance of the application for review does not indicate whether the Commission will issue a license.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for formal review an application by Areva Enrichment Services LLC for a license to construct and operate a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant in Bonneville County, Idaho, and has made the application available on the agency's Web site for public review. Areva submitted the application Dec. 30. The NRC staff completed an initial acceptance review and determined that the application is sufficiently complete for the agency to begin its formal environmental and safety reviews. Acceptance of the application neither precludes future requests for additional information, nor indicates whether the Commission will issue a license. The agency anticipates the formal reviews and adjudicatory hearings will take approximately 30 months. In the coming weeks, a notice of opportunity to request a hearing before the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, and a separate notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. The Areva application, minus certain classified and sensitive portions (e.g., proprietary information), is available on the NRC Web site at this page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/arevanc.html. The application has been assigned docket number 70-7015.

"The Obama administration is expected to make final decisions as early as today about the Nuclear Posture Review, the official policy document that will define U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the next five to 10 years. This will take place at what is called a "principals meeting" attended by Cabinet members whose departments are involved in the review. The congressionally mandated review will set the role nuclear weapons will play in overall U.S. security policy, how many nuclear weapons the United States needs to fulfill those roles, and whether the United States should produce new nuclear warheads. "The administration's decisions on the Nuclear Posture Review will not only set U.S. policy, they will shape the future of nuclear weapons globally," said Lisbeth Gronlund, senior scientist and co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "President Obama, who has the final word, can choose to make the transformational changes needed to address the real threats of the 21st century, or can allow bureaucratic inertia and the parochial interests of the federal nuclear weapons labs to hold sway." "

"Uranium Resources, Inc. announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has denied a petition for a rehearing or en banc review of the court's previous decision that upheld, in all respects, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) original decision to grant URI a license to conduct in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining in McKinley County, New Mexico. On March 8, 2010, the Tenth Circuit denied the original petition by several parties opposed to uranium mining for review of URI's NRC license, which the Commission issued to Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI), Uranium Resources' wholly-owned subsidiary, in 1998. One of the opposed parties, The Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, subsequently filed a petition requesting a rehearing or en banc review of the March 8 decision. In a May 18, 2010, order, the court denied the rehearing request and indicated that no judges of the court acted on the request for an en banc review. The petitioners now have 90 days from May 18, 2010 to file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court requesting that Court's review of the Tenth Circuit's decision."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is revising its schedule for the issuance of two reports that are central to the agency's review of the license renewal application for the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The documents are the draft Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the application. Release of the draft SER will be extended by approximately four months for several reasons. They include additional time required to review supplemental information provided by the plant's owner, Entergy; time devoted by the license renewal review staff to responding to an unusually large number of contentions filed by those seeking a hearing on the application; and the staff's efforts to address, in reviews currently under way, issues raised by the agency's Office of Inspector General in a report on the NRC's license renewal program. As a result of the schedule change, the NRC now expects to issue the draft SER in early January.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for in situ leach uranium recovery (ISR) operations in the Western United States, and is announcing a change in the agency's approach for environmental reviews of new ISR facilities. The agency has decided to issue full Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (SEIS) for new recovery operations, instead of Environmental Assessments as originally planned. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, an Environmental Impact Statement is the most thorough review of potential impacts of a proposed licensing action on the environment. It involves extensive opportunities for public participation, with a draft report issued for public comment before a final report is prepared. "This new approach responds to public concerns that our review of generic impacts common to all uranium recovery actions would overlook unique characteristics of each individual site," NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said. "Citizens may have confidence in the certainty of our regulatory decisions, because our reviews will be as comprehensive and transparent as possible, with maximum opportunity for the public to participate in the process."

An environmental group won its request to review safety and engineering records of a Department of Energy nuclear reactor 100 miles upwind of Yellowstone National Park, according to federal court records. The Jackson-based Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free will be able to review 1,400 pages evaluating the safety of the advanced test reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory, according to the Sept. 14 order by Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes. The lab is a 890-square-site with three main complexes west of Idaho Falls. "KYNF has been anxiously awaiting this decision because they maintain that the redacted documents contain the DOE's assessment of the safety and consequences of an accident at the controversial ATR, the largest nuclear test reactor in the world, said Mary Woollen, the environmental group's director. However, the environment group did not disagree with a Department of Energy motion granted by Downes to put the order on hold until Nov. 27 because of a possible appeal. The government also needs the time to review the documents and edit certain details.

An environmental group won its request to review safety and engineering records of a Department of Energy nuclear reactor 100 miles upwind of Yellowstone National Park, according to federal court records. The Jackson-based Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free will be able to review 1,400 pages evaluating the safety of the advanced test reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory, according to the Sept. 14 order by Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes. The lab is a 890-square-site with three main complexes west of Idaho Falls. "KYNF has been anxiously awaiting this decision because they maintain that the redacted documents contain the DOE's assessment of the safety and consequences of an accident at the controversial ATR, the largest nuclear test reactor in the world, said Mary Woollen, the environmental group's director. However, the environment group did not disagree with a Department of Energy motion granted by Downes to put the order on hold until Nov. 27 because of a possible appeal. The government also needs the time to review the documents and edit certain details.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the operating license renewal of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1, in North Carolina for an additional 20 years. The Harris plant is a pressurized water reactor located about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh, N.C. The operator, Progress Energy, submitted an application for renewal of the license Nov. 16, 2006. Their current license would have expired on October 24, 2026; with the renewal, the license is extended until Oct. 24, 2046. The NRC's environmental review for this license renewal is described in a site-specific supplement to the NRC's "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437, Supplement 33). Public meetings to discuss the environmental review were held near the plant on April 18, 007 and Jan. 30. The NRC's review was published in August. The review concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed, or accepted for review, a combined license (COL) application from Entergy for a new reactor at the River Bend site in Louisiana. Entergy's application, submitted Sept. 25, is the 14th COL request the agency has accepted for review. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/river-bend.html. Entergy seeks approval to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, about 24 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, La. The NRC currently is reviewing the ESBWR design for possible certification. The staff will consider any findings concerning the design during the review of the River Bend application. Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating license for the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant is available for public review. The Duane Arnold Energy Center has one boiling water reactor, and is located 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The current operating license expires Feb. 21, 2014. Duane Arnold's operator, the FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC, submitted the application Oct. 1. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/duane-arnold-energy-center.html. A copy is also available at the Hiawatha Public Library, 150 W. Willman St., in Hiawatha, Iowa. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial review of the application to determine whether it contains sufficient information required for the safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file it and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request. Additional information about the NRC's process for reviewing reactor license renewal applications is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed, or accepted for review, a combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Victoria County site near Victoria City, Texas. Exelon's application, submitted Sept. 3, is the 11th COL request the agency has accepted for review. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site here: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/victoria.html. Exelon seeks approval to build and operate two Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 13 miles south of Victoria. The NRC currently is reviewing the ESBWR design for possible certification. The staff will consider any findings concerning the design during the review of the Victoria County application. Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

Agency will explain how it will review PPL's expected application for a third reactor. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting on Aug. 19 on PPL Corp.'s expected application for a new reactor in Salem Township. The purpose is to discuss how the NRC will review the application, which will include safety and environmental reviews and a mandatory hearing, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said in an e-mail. Because it's been decades since the NRC reviewed new-reactor applications, Sheehan said it's a good idea to explain to the public how the process works.

Constellation Energy Group said Tuesday that it has appealed a Baltimore judge's decision to dismiss the company's request for review of a plan by the Public Service Commission to investigate the proposed sale of half the company's nuclear operations. The PSC said in June that it has jurisdiction to review the sale plan to French firm EDF because it would give EDF major control over Baltimore Gas and Electric, Constellation Energy's regulated utility. The PSC is considering whether the proposed $4.5-billion transaction is in the public interest. Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Stuart Berger on July 2 said the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the appeal of the PSC decision because the commission's decision to review the sale was not a final decision and therefore not subject to review. The company filed the appeal Monday to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. "We are taking this step to preserve our legal rights in the future," spokesman Robert Gould said.

"The reviews were not too good Tuesday night as Nuclear Advisory Committee members gave their feedback on the open house format instituted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for review of the annual safety assessment of Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant. Rather than give a presentation reviewing the results of the assessment for 2009, the NRC held a question and answer session for the public during an open house held at Hilton Garden Inn. Plymouth Nuclear Advisory Committee Chairman Jeff Berger and member Richard Rothstein were disappointed by the format. They agreed that one person's question asked of the NRC team could give others a greater understanding of an issue they might not otherwise know to ask about. All in all, Berger said he considered it to be a poor educational experience. "I don't like the format because it puts people at a disadvantage," Berger said. "It makes a difference when you hear questions asked of other people." Rothstein added, "I prefer they go back to the previous format.""

Entergy asked NRC January 9 to suspend the review of the utility's two new plant license applications, citing difficulties in reaching an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with vendor GE Hitachi. Entergy had filed an application for a combined construction permit-operating license, or COL, in February for an additional unit at its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi and another COL application in September for a new unit at its River Bend station in Louisiana. An Entergy spokesman said the company has asked NRC to suspend the safety review for both applications and to temporarily defer the environmental portion of those reviews.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials on Tuesday will offer a public performance review outlining activities at Babcock & Wilcox. The NRC's reviews of the company have been behind closed doors for three years, but the restrictions that closed the review to the public were lifted last year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has provided Congress and the Secretary of Energy its conclusion that the Department of Energy's regulatory processes for its Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state, if properly implemented, are adequate to ensure public health and safety. The conclusion is contained in a review delivered Aug. 6 to Congress and the Secretary of Energy and made public today on the NRC's ADAMS online document system at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by entering access code ML081150883. Congress required NRC's review in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2008. The review was conducted with the full cooperation of DOE.

Several appeals have been lodged against the planned environmental review of the Yeelirrie uranium mine in Western Australia's Goldfields. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) released its environmental review and management program for public comment, which closed on Monday. The Greens joined the Conservation Council and seven others in seeking to change the way the environmental impact of the mine is assessed. Greens MP Robin Chapple says the Environment Minister, Donna Faragher, should conduct a ministerial review of the project.