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Category:Press Release
MONTHYEARML23166A0192023-06-15015 June 2023 News Release-23-020: NRC to Seek Public Comment on Environmental Review of Monticello Subsequent License Renewal Application ML23166A1112023-04-0303 April 2023 News Release-23-027: NRC Names New Chief Financial Officer ML23166A1022023-03-31031 March 2023 News Release-23-026: NRC Awards Fiscal Year 2023 Grants for Minority-Serving Institutions ML23166A0592023-03-17017 March 2023 News Release-23-025: NRC to Begin Reviewing Portions of NuScales Small Modular Reactor Standard Design Approval Application ML23166A0582023-03-14014 March 2023 News Release-23-024: NRC Seeks Comment on Proposed Revision to Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Renewing Reactor Licenses ML23166A0372023-03-14014 March 2023 News Release-23-023: International Safety Review Team Visits Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant ML23166A0302023-03-13013 March 2023 News Release-23-022: NRC Proposes Fy 2024 Budget to Congress ML23166A0292023-03-10010 March 2023 News Release-23-021: NRC Authorizes Restart of National Institute of Standards and Technology Reactor ML23165A2342023-03-0303 March 2023 News Release-23-019: NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nations Nuclear Power Plants ML23165A0262023-03-0303 March 2023 News Release-23-017: NRC Proposes to Amend Licensing, Inspection and Annual Fees for Fiscal Year 2023 ML23165A0252023-03-0303 March 2023 News Release-23-016: NRC Seeks Comment on Proposed Revision to Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Renewing Reactor Licenses ML23165A0272023-03-0303 March 2023 News Release-23-018: NRC Accepts Application for Monticello Subsequent License Renewal; Announces Opportunity to Request a Hearing ML23165A0222023-03-0202 March 2023 News Release-23-015: NRC Grants Timely Renewal Exemption to Allow Continued Operation of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant ML23163A2092023-03-0101 March 2023 News Release-I-23-001: NRC Names New Resident Inspector at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant ML23163A2012023-03-0101 March 2023 News Release-23-014: NRCs Nicholas Melly Honored as a 2023 Federal Engineer of the Year ML23163A1982023-02-27027 February 2023 News Release-23-013 - Latest Edition of NRC Information Digest Now Available Online ML23163A0592023-02-27027 February 2023 News Release-23-012: NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation Report for Shine Medical Technologies Operating License ML23139A0982023-02-24024 February 2023 News Release-23-011: NRC Releases La Crosse Nuclear Power Plant Site for Public Use ML23052A1012023-02-16016 February 2023 News Release-23-010: NRC Approves Proposed Disposal Plan at Church Rock Site in New Mexico ML23052A1002023-02-14014 February 2023 News Release-23-009: NRC Announces Additional Public Meeting, New Comment Deadline for Environmental Review of Comanche Peak License Renewal Application ML23052A0992023-02-0707 February 2023 News Release-23-008: NRC Issues Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Shine Medical Technologies Operating License ML23052A0982023-02-0101 February 2023 News Release-23-007: NRC Opens Hearing Opportunity for Abilene Christian University Research Reactor Construction Permit Application ML23052A0972023-01-30030 January 2023 News Release-23-006: NRCs 35th Annual Regulatory Information Conference to Focus on Navigating the Nuclear Future ML23052A0962023-01-27027 January 2023 News Release-23-005: NRC Makes Monticello Subsequent License Renewal Application Available for Public Inspection ML23052A0952023-01-24024 January 2023 News Release-23-004: NRC Proposing Revision to Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Renewing Reactor Licenses ML23052A0942023-01-12012 January 2023 News Release-23-003: NRC to Host 8th Annual Flood Hazard Assessment Workshop ML23052A0932023-01-0909 January 2023 News Release-23-002: *Updated* NRC Announces Hearing Opportunity for Comanche Peak License Renewal; Public Meeting in January 2023 to Discuss Environmental Review ML23005A0612022-12-19019 December 2022 News Release-22-054: NRC Makes Available Supplemental Environmental Report for Oconee Subsequent License Renewal ML23005A0602022-12-16016 December 2022 News Release-22-053: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Issues for Proposed TRISO-X Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Facility ML23005A0592022-12-12012 December 2022 News Release-22-052: NRC Names David Skeen New Director of International Programs ML23005A0582022-12-12012 December 2022 News Release-22-051: NRC Announces David Pelton as New Director, Office of Enforcement ML22346A0482022-12-0101 December 2022 News Release-22-050: NRC Announces Hearing Opportunity for Comanche Peak License Renewal; Public Meetings in January 2023 to Discuss Environmental Review ML22346A0492022-11-30030 November 2022 News Release-22-049: NRC Awards Research and Development Grants ML22346A0512022-11-21021 November 2022 News Release-22-048: NRC Accepts Application for Abilene Christian University Construction Permit ML22346A0522022-11-15015 November 2022 News Release-22-047: NRC to Review North Anna Subsequent License Renewal Report; Seeks Public Input on Environmental Issues ML22346A0532022-11-0707 November 2022 News Release-22-046: NRC to Conduct Special Inspection at University of Texas at Austin Research Reactor ML22346A0542022-11-0303 November 2022 News Release-22-045: NRC Publishes Annual Report to Congress on Nuclear Security Inspections ML22305A5472022-10-31031 October 2022 News Release-22-044: NRC Announces Headquarters and Regional Leadership Appointments ML22305A5462022-10-21021 October 2022 News Release-22-043: NRC Makes Available Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application ML22305A5452022-10-19019 October 2022 News Release-22-042: NRC Expands Social Media Platforms by Adding Instagram ML22305A5432022-10-0707 October 2022 News Release-22-041: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Issues for Review of Turkey Point Subsequent License Renewal Report ML22305A5422022-10-0303 October 2022 News Release-22-040: NRC Approves Probation for Mississippis Agreement State Regulatory Program ML22273A1272022-09-29029 September 2022 News Release-22-039: NRC Seeks Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Kairos Hermes Test Reactor Construction Permit ML22270A0792022-09-12012 September 2022 News Release-22-038: NRC Renews Operating License of Westinghouse Fuel Fabrication Facility ML22255A0862022-09-0909 September 2022 News Release-22-037: NRC to Hold Decommissioning Plan Public Meeting for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan ML22255A0852022-09-0909 September 2022 News Release-22-036: NRC Issues Ninth U.S. National Report for Convention on Nuclear Safety ML22231A1982022-08-11011 August 2022 News Release-22-034: NRC Commissioner Caputo Sworn in; Crowell Scheduled; Will Bring Commission to Full Strength ML22223A1242022-08-10010 August 2022 News Release-22-033: NRC Identifies Eight Abnormal Occurrence Events in Fy 2021 Annual Report to Congress ML22221A0522022-08-0808 August 2022 News Release-22-032: NRC Webinar to Discuss Review of Supplemental Environmental Reports for Subsequent License Renewal ML22215A2102022-08-0303 August 2022 News Release-22-031: NRC Authorizes Vogtle Unit 3 Fuel Loading and Operation 2023-06-15
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United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Public Affairs Washington, DC 20555 Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234 Internet:opa@nrc.gov No.99-151 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)
TASK FORCE REPORT SAYS NRC REGULATORY STRUCTURE ADEQUATE FOR OVERSIGHT AT 3 DOE PILOT PROJECT SITES The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sent Congress a task force report saying NRCs existing regulatory structure could adequately handle most of the technical, policy, and regulatory issues involved in oversight of three Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities studied in a 15-month pilot program.
The report further says it believes the NRC could be the sole external radiological safety regulator of DOE at the facilities studied, contingent on adequate funding and staffing.
These and other findings and recommendations -- most of them generally supportive of regulating DOE sites -- are contained in the report which the Commission has forwarded to appropriate oversight committees of both the House and Senate, as well as to the Secretary of Energy.
In letters transmitting the report, NRC Chairman Greta Joy Dicus said the pilot project found no significant issues that would impede NRC regulation of similar DOE non-defense nuclear facilities. She said NRC would take a risk-informed approach to regulation of DOE facilities, if so assigned, imposing new requirements only when they were necessary for safety.
The task force report summarizes NRCs experience, from October 1997 to January of this year, in conducting a pilot program of simulated regulation, which evaluated each of three DOE facilities against safety standards NRC believed appropriate: the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California; the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee; and the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuel at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The pilot project did not involve any DOE defense programs. Because DOE facilities, by law, are largely exempt from regulation by NRC, any change in that status would require Congressional legislation. DOE has long self-regulated the safety of its facilities, many of which are operated by contractors.
The NRC pilot program began as a result of recommendations for external regulation of DOE nuclear activities by both a departmental advisory committee and an internal DOE working group, and was supported by stakeholder comments on NRCs strategic assessment and rebaselining initiative. An NRC-DOE Memorandum of Understanding putting the pilot program into effect was signed in November 1997.
The NRC task force found that for the pilot facilities studied, agency oversight would require few, if any, changes in DOE facilities, calculations, safety programs, or procedures. It said it believes that DOEs cost estimates for the transition to NRC oversight are higher than
NRC believes is justified. Additionally, the task force said NRC regulation of DOE facilities could provide added credibility because NRC processes lend themselves to public scrutiny and stakeholder participation.
By statute, NRC already regulates a number of DOE facilities, including spent fuel storage facilities at the Fort St. Vrain nuclear power plant decommissioning site in Colorado, and at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). NRC also monitors and advises DOE on some activities, such as the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York. The law also assigns NRC responsibility for licensing a planned mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility and the spent nuclear fuel repository proposed for Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
The NRC addressed many issues raised during the pilot program when it licensed the Three Mile Island-2 Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation in March. This license, the first of its kind issued to DOE, authorizes the storage of nuclear fuel debris from the damaged Three Mile Island Unit 2 in Pennsylvania in dry storage at INEEL near Idaho Falls.
The NRC report, entitled, External Regulation of DOE Nuclear Facilities: A Pilot Program (NUREG-1708), will be available for purchase from the Government Printing Office and has been placed in the NRC Public Document Room. It also will be published on the NRC Internet web page at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/doepilot.html.