U.S.
Southern California Edison (SCE) is on pace to complete its independent spent fuel storage installation expansion at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) by 2019, SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano said recently.
Palmisano appeared earlier this month before the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, which serves as a liaison between SCE and the public. The target date for completing the expansion, as outlined in the company’s post-shutdown decommissioning activities report, is mid-2019.
SONGS houses more than 3.6 million pounds of nuclear material. There are about 50 dry-cask canisters in place at the storage pad, but SCE claims it needs 73 more canisters to store fuel that remains in the spent fuel pools.
The Secure Nuclear Waste group, which includes residents from San Diego and Orange counties, is opposing the company’s storage plans. San Diego attorney Mike Aquirre, one of the group organizers, has filed a lawsuit requesting that the California Coastal Commission revoke SCE’s expansion permit. The group has requested that the NRC and Energy Department facilitate the creation of a California interim storage facility in a more secure area to deal with the waste.
Palmisano also gave an update on forthcoming NRC inspections at the facility:
- April 3-4: ISFSI construction inspection;
- April 17-21: Security access control inspection;
- May 22-25: Second quarter decommissioning inspection;
- 28-30: Third quarter decommissioning inspection.
Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) on Thursday introduced legislation that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin a rulemaking process for decommissioning of nuclear power plants.
It’s unclear if the bill would address the agency’s current 2019 decommissioning rulemaking effort. That rulemaking is the NRC’s attempt to improve the decommissioning process, with a focus on reducing the need for safety exemptions at closed plants. The NRC expects to deliver a rule proposal in April 2018.
Kinzinger and Doyle in a joint announcement Thursday said that the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy’ (NUKE) Act aims to establish “a framework for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fees to increase transparency and provide long-term certainty for nuclear plants. The bill also provides greater transparency and certainty in the licensing process for new plants, calls for reports on other issues facing the nuclear energy industry, and requires the NRC to begin a rulemaking process on decommissioning, giving the public a voice in the process.”
The legislation follows from ongoing concerns in the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding the NRC budget development and fee collection processes.
Offices for both lawmakers could not be reached for comment on the bill’s specifics. The text of the legislation had not been posted to Congress.gov as of Friday afternoon.
“Nuclear power is incredibly important for the district I represent, and for the country,” Kinzinger said in a statement. “Across Illinois, nuclear contributes nearly $9 billion annually and the four plants in my district employ over 3,500 people. I’ve visited these plants and know we need to make the regulatory process more efficient and transparent.”
Doyle said in his own statement that it is vital to promote nuclear investment as the country looks to curb emissions and address climate change.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of the Inspector General recommended in a new report that the agency update fitness-for-duty requirements to improve security at nuclear reactors undergoing decommissioning.
Fitness for duty activities include drug and fatigue testing for plant employees. The IG recently conducted an audit of the NRC’s security oversight for decommissioning reactors, completing its exit conference on Feb. 9.
“NRC’s oversight of security at decommissioning reactors provides for adequate protection of radioactive structures, systems, and components,” according to the report, made public Monday. “However, NRC can improve its oversight by clarifying regulatory requirements related to the insider mitigation program and fatigue management. NRC is currently taking steps to address both issues.”
There were two specific areas for improvement, the IG found: inadequate clarity in NRC regulations on which aspects of fitness-for-duty must be enacted by decommissioning licensees; and insufficient NRC regulatory mandates for fatigue management programs at those licensees.
Agency management agreed with the recommendations, the report says. Among its efforts to address these vulnerabilities, the NRC is conducting decommissioning rulemaking and has complete a report on lessons learned from power reactor closures from 2013 to 2016, the IG said.
The NRC currently has regulatory oversight of 20 reactors that are being decommissioned.
INTERNATIONAL
British design and project management consultant Atkins has named two nuclear industry veterans to its Atkins Energy Americas engineering and technology (E&T) team.
John Hayfield, former head of AECOM’s Nuclear and Environment Business Development group, will join as senior vice president. He will lead Atkins’ southeast E&T operations, while also helping to develop and carry out Atkins’ Energy Americas growth strategy.
Keyes Niemer, former vice president of operations for the BWXT Nuclear Energy and Technical Services Business Unit, will serve as Atkins’ vice president of commercial E&T operations. He will assist in growth and delivery of Atkins’ commercial nuclear projects in the U.S.
Hayfield will work out of Atkins’ Aiken, S.C. location, while Niemer will be based in Charlotte, N.C.
