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Subject: NRC Request for Additional Information re. Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 & 2 - Relief Request 5RR-02 (EPID L-2023-LLR-0027) Email
 
ADAMS Accession No.: ML23303A166
 

Oil & gas industry joins fight against nuclear waste site proposed in southeast New Mexico
Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
November 7, 2023

Some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin came out against a proposed nuclear waste facility in southeast New Mexico.

The basin spans southeast New Mexico and West Texas and is regarded as one of the most active fossil fuel regions in the world. It was forecast to produce about 5.9 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) in November, according to the Energy Information Administration. That is about half of the more than 12 million bopd of total U.S. output.

All that oil production is driven by some of the world’s largest energy companies establishing heavy operations in the region.

Occidental Petroleum, Concho Resources, Diamondback Energy and Fasken Oil and Ranch signed on to a Nov. 1 letter from the Permian Basin Coalition, along with other oil and gas companies and local governments, to oppose a nuclear waste storage facility near Carlsbad and Hobbs that Holtec International proposes.

Holtec proposed to build a facility to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel rods at the site on the surface, ultimately with a capacity to hold up to 100,000 metric tons of the waste brought into the region via rail from nuclear power plants around the country.

About 2,000 metric tons of the waste is produced annually by reactors in the U.S., according to a report from Department of Energy.

The proposed location was on an about 1,000-acre tract of land near border of Eddy and Lea counties.

Government and business leaders in Eddy and Lea counties and the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs touted the project as a safe means to diversify the economy of the oil-dependent region and drive-up local revenue.

They formed the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) which sited the facility, recruited Holtec and aided the company in applying in 2017 for a federal license through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The NRC issued Holtec’s license in May after years of public meetings, comments and analysis of the project.

But in its letter to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a frequent critic of the Holtec project, the coalition urged the lawmaker to seek federal legislation that would block the proposal.

The letter argued temporary storage as the company planned to build, should only exist when a permanent repository was available.

Such a site does not exist in the U.S. after a project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada was blocked by lawmakers in that state.

“The cross-country transport, consolidation, and interim storage of America’s entire inventory of spent nuclear fuel should only be considered once a permanent repository is underway and should never occur absent consent from affected communities,” read the coalition’s letter.

That consent was not present in New Mexico or Texas, argued the letter, where a similar facility in Andrews, Texas was licensed by NRC last year but was blocked by a court order.

Both states passed legislation barring high-level nuclear waste storage, amid opposition from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Lujan Grisham called the projects “economic malpractice” for the risks she said they could pose to other industries nearby.

And the U.S. Department of Energy recently started a program to develop regulations for a “consent-based” siting model for nuclear facilities, that would require states to agree to host the facilities.

A bill to put such policy into law was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada, with identical legislation brought to the U.S. Senate by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto also of Nevada.

Neither bill had garnered co-sponsorship by any of New Mexico’s congressional delegation as of Friday.

The coalition’s letter called on Heinrich to fight against any federal bills to allow nuclear waste sites like Holtec’s be developed without consent from host states, and push policy to strengthen such requirements as in Titus’ bill.

“Therefore, we are writing to respectfully request that you remain diligent in ensuring that no such legislation is enacted and humbly ask for your leadership in passing legislation to protect not only the State of New Mexico but also neighboring Texans and the many vulnerable communities along the waste’s transportation routes,” read the letter.

The group argued nuclear waste storage in the region could also endanger the oil and gas industry, a major arm of the local and national economy, along with nearby farming and ranching producers.

“The Permian Basin ranks at the top nationally as our country’s most productive source of food, fuel, and fiber for its overwhelming energy, agriculture, crops, and livestock production,” read the letter. “Its importance to our economy and security cannot be downplayed, and it is no place for high-level nuclear waste.”

Opposition from proposed host states should be given a higher weight than the desires of companies and federal agencies in finding locations for nuclear waste facilities, said Titus in a statement issued upon her bill’s introduction.

“We must codify the protection of their voices into law to protect the health and safety of our communities and guarantee a process that honors the consent of state, local, and tribal leaders,” read the statement.

In announcing the DOE’s $26 million project to develop consent-based siting regulations, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said consent-based siting was crucial to address the nation’s nuclear waste while protecting local communities.

“It is vital that, as DOE works to be good stewards of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, we do right by communities in the siting process and include them in the decision-making at the outset,” Granholm said.

Adrian Heddencan be reached at 575-628-5516,achedden@currentargus.com or@AdrianHedden on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Draft Interim Staff Guidance on Creditworthiness Criteria for Decommissioning
 
Document Title:
  Interim Staff Guidance on Creditworthiness Criteria for Parent and Self-Guarantees, Decommissioning Financial Assurance
Document Type:
  Memoranda
Document Date:
  11/03/202
Advocates fear N.H. clean energy proposal would pit nuclear against solar, wind | Energy News Network
If not designed carefully, critics say a clean energy standard that includes nuclear power could undercut the market for renewable energy credits.
 
by Sarah Shemkus 
 
Seabrook Station nuclear plant
Seabrook Station nuclear plant near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Credit: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Climate and clean energy advocates in New Hampshire say a pending proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut solar and wind power in the state. 

Though the details are still in the works, state Rep. Michael Vose, chair of the legislature’s science, technology, and energy committee, is drafting a bill that would allow nuclear power generators, such as New Hampshire’s Seabrook Station, to receive payments for contributing clean energy to the grid.

“The broad idea is that, long-term, we can hope and expect that that reliable source of baseload power will always be there,” Vose said. “It won’t be driven out of business by subsidized renewable power.” 

Some environmental advocates, however, worry that the proposal would provide unnecessary subsidies to nuclear power while making it harder for solar projects to attract investors. 

“It’s just another way to reduce support for solar,” said Meredith Hatfield, associate director for policy and government relations at the Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. 


Renewables and reliability

New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard — a binding requirement that specifies how much renewable power utilities must purchase — went into effect in 2008. To satisfy the requirement in that first year, utilities had to buy renewable energy certificates representing 4% of the total megawatt-hours they supplied that year. The number has steadily climbed, hitting 23.4% this year. 

New Hampshire was the second-to-last state in the region to create a binding standard — Vermont switched from a voluntary standard to a mandated one until 2015. New Hampshire’s standard tops out at 25.2% renewable energy in 2025, but the other New England states range from 35% to 100% and look further into the future. 

Vose, however, worries that even New Hampshire’s comparatively modest targets could put the reliability of the power supply at risk. 

“Until we can have affordable, scalable battery storage, the intermittency of renewables is going to guarantee that renewables are unreliable,” Vose said. “And if we add too many renewables to our grid, it makes the whole grid unreliable.”

That idea has been widely debunked. Grid experts say variable renewables may require different planning and system design but are not inherently less reliable than fossil fuel generation.

The details of Vose’s clean energy standard bill have not yet been finalized. A clean energy standard is broadly different from a renewable energy standard in that it includes nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide, but which uses a nonrenewable fuel source. Those writing the legislation, however, will have to decide whether it will propose incorporating the new standard into the existing renewable portfolio standard or operating the two systems alongside each other.

Clean energy advocates say they are not necessarily opposed to a clean energy standard, but argue it is crucial that such a program not pit nuclear power and renewable energy against each other for the same pool of money. And they are concerned that that’s just what Vose’s bill will do. 

“While we would welcome a robust conversation about how to design a clean energy standard, I fear that’s not what this bill is,” said Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of nonprofit Clean Energy New Hampshire. 

Undermining renewables

If a clean energy standard is structured so both nuclear and renewables qualify to meet the requirements, clean energy certificates from nuclear power generators would flood the market, causing the price to plummet. Seabrook alone has a capacity of more than 1,250 megawatts, while the largest solar development in the state has a capacity of 3.3 megawatts. Revenue from renewable energy certificates is an important part of the financial model for many renewable energy projects, so falling prices would likely mean fewer solar developments could attract investors or turn a profit. 

At the same time, nuclear generators could sell certificates for low prices, as they already have functioning financial models that do not include this added revenue. Nuclear could, in effect, drive solar and other renewables out of the market almost entirely, clean energy advocates worry.

“The intention of the [renewable portfolio standard] has always been about creating fuel diversity by getting new generation built, and a proposal like that would do the opposite,” Evans-Brown said.

A single standard that combines nuclear and renewables could also hurt development of solar projects in another way, Hatfield said. When New Hampshire utilities do not purchase enough renewable energy credits to cover the requirements, they must make an alternative compliance payment. These payments are the only source of money for the state Renewable Energy Fund, which provides grants and rebates for residential solar installations and energy efficiency projects. 

“If you add in nukes and therefore there’s plentiful inexpensive certificates, then you basically have no alternative compliance payments,” Hatfield says. “It could potentially dry up the only real source we have in the state for clean energy rebates.”

Though Vose and the bill’s other authors have not yet released the details of the proposal, he has indicated that he would not like the new clean energy standard to significantly increase costs for New Hampshire’s ratepayers. The existing standard cost ratepayers $58 million in 2022, when utilities were required to buy certificates covering 15% of the power they supplied, according to a state report issued last month. 

The legislation may meet the same fate as last year’s effort, Vose acknowledged, but he is still eager to get people talking about the issue. 

“Even if we can’t get such a standard passed in this session,” he said, “we can at least begin a serious discussion about what a clean energy standard might look like.” 


options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Police investigating incident at South Carolina nuclear plant after car drives through security fences
 
The suspect drove off and shots were fired in the area, police say.
ByJon Haworth and Luke Barr November 3, 2023, 3:42 PM

 

National headlines from ABC News

Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.
Police in South Carolina are investigating an incident involving a vehicle that drove through security fences at a nuclear power station on Thursday.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said it is in the early stages of an investigation into an incident that occurred at the Oconee Nuclear Station around 8:05 p.m. on Thursday.

Police say that a "white male driving a silver 2002 Toyota Camry drove through the exit side of the gate on the Highway 183 side of the facility," according to information obtained by Deputies from the Uniform Patrol Bureau.

"After the vehicle struck the pop-up barricades that security at the plant activated, the driver backed the vehicle up and proceeded down a dirt road, where Duke Energy security blocked the vehicle in, according to Deputies. The driver then drove through a fence after attempting to hit the security officers," a press release from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office read.

MORE: Former nurse now linked to 17 nursing home deaths

The driver then reportedly drove out of the exit of the plant where he attempted to hit a security truck with a guard in it, police said.

 

The driver then made his way back onto Highway 183 before driving into Pickens County and pulled onto some property on Jones Mill Road where shots were subsequently fired.

At this time, the source of the shots fired in the Jones Mill Road area is unknown, police said.

 


The Oconee Nuclear Station, Jan. 8, 2005, in Seneca, S.C.
Mary Ann Chastain/AP
MORE: Man arrested for pointing gun at 6-year-old boy's head over Halloween goody bag

No one was injured and the nuclear station is "operating safely," Duke Energy said.

"Duke Energy has comprehensive security plans and a well-trained security workforce in place," the company said in a statement. "A vehicle entered an administrative gate, but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security."

The silver 2002 Toyota Camry has an Arkansas tag of 380VDR, according to information obtained during the investigation.

MORE: International manhunt on after woman found dead in airport garage as cops believe suspect fled to Kenya

"About one hour before tonight’s incident, the same vehicle and driver also showed up on the property of the Oconee Nuclear Station. After being asked to leave, the driver drove off," police said.

The FBI said it was aware of the incident, but deferred to the local sheriff's office for any information related to the case.

John Cohen, the former acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, said the incident comes as the United States is on high alert because of tensions overseas.

"Over the last several months, there have been threats of violence directed at our nation's power infrastructure by foreign terrorist groups, domestic violent extremists," Cohen, now an ABC News contributor, said. "Investigators will want to determine whether this incident was motivated by extremist or terrorist ideology or whether some other grievance or factor was the inspiration behind the attack."

Anybody with any information on the whereabouts of the driver of a 2002 Toyota Camry with an Arkansas tag of 380VDR is asked to contact emergency authorities immediately.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the body which oversees nuclear plants in the United States, told ABC News the incident was "monitored closely throughout the night," and said Duke Energy proactively informed the commission.

"The plant continues to operate safely, the public remains safe, and all U.S. nuclear power plants are operating at their normal security levels," a spokesperson said.

PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3 – INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000277/2023003 AND 05000278/2023003 AND EXERCISE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION

ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER: ML23303A091
 
SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 – INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000387/2023003 AND 05000388/2023003
 
ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER: ML23307A002
 
Groups want Vogtle cost hearings halted until Georgia PSC elections are held
 
Elections for two seats on the Public Service Commission have been postponed for nearly a year
 
PSC Chairman Tricia Pridemore (center) and other commissioners are shown during a vote on May 16, 2023.<br />
Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com
 
Caption
Credit: Miguel Martinez

https://www.ajc.com/news/groups-want-vogtle-cost-hearings-halted-until-psc-elections-are-held/WBNJ5B6KGJEWPE6SAQFT66UOGI/

A pair of environmental interest groups have asked the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to hold off on deciding how much of Plant Vogtle’s remaining costs will fall to Georgia Power ratepayers until after a pair of postponed elections for two of the commission’s five seats are held.

A petition was filed on October 26 by Nuclear Watch South, a group whose goals include phasing out nuclear power, and Georgia WAND, a local nonprofit focused on environmental justice and the “health hazards resulting from nuclear energy and weapons.”

The first of Plant Vogtle’s new units was completed this summer seven years late and the second new reactor is more than six years behind schedule. The total price tag of project has swelled to more than $35 billion, and Georgia Power estimates it will have spent just under $10.8 billion on construction by the time the expansion is complete.

Early next month, the PSC is set to hear testimony about which costs incurred by Georgia Power to build Plant Vogtle’s two new nuclear reactors were “prudent” and should be allowed to be collected from the company’s electricity customers. The commission is scheduled to take a final vote on potential rate increases to pay for the units on December 19.

But the groups argue that given the “financial magnitude of the decision,” the vote should be delayed until after the body is comprised of “duly elected commissioners.”

“... Any proceeding in which two un-elected commissioners participate or vote unduly jeopardizes the authority and legitimacy of this Commission’s decision and renders it vulnerable to judicial challenge and reversal,” the groups wrote in their petition.

The two commission seats in question belong to Vice Chairman Tim Echols and Commissioner Fitz Johnson, both Republicans.

Echols was elected to the District 2 seat on the commission in 2016. Johnson, meanwhile, was appointed to fill the District 3 seat by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021, after then-Commissioner Chuck Eaton stepped down to join the Atlanta Judicial Circuit.

Elections for the seats held by Echols and Johnson were supposed to be on ballots last November. But after a legal challenge to Georgia’s system for electing PSC commissioners went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in August 2022, the elections were postponed. They have remained in limbo ever since, as the parties wait on a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. It remains unclear when the appeals court will make a decision.

In the meantime, Echols and Johnson have continued to serve and vote in cases that come before the commission. Attorneys for the PSC have said that the appeals court’s earlier ruling clearly allows the commissioners to do so until after an election is held.

During a public comment period after the commission’s meeting on Thursday, Glenn Carroll, a coordinator for Nuclear Watch South and a co-signer of the petition, asked the commission to consider the group’s request to delay the Vogtle vote.

PSC Chairman Jason Shaw said the commission is reviewing the petition, but would give other interested parties 30 days to respond. Preston Thomas, a PSC staff attorney, said that according to the PSC’s guidelines, it will be up to the chairman to make a decision on the group’s request at the start of the Vogtle cost hearings. Those are set to begin on December 4.

Thomas also said that the commission’s legal staff believes the petition is “without merit” and said the group’s concerns would be up to the federal appeals court to decide, not the PSC.

In the meantime, Georgia Power has already struck a preliminary deal with the PSC staff and some consumer advocacy groups would allow it to collect $7.6 billion of the remaining Vogtle costs from ratepayers. The rest would be absorbed by shareholders of its parent, Southern Company.

If that plan is approved by the PSC, it could drive the average residential customer’s monthly bill up by $9.

_______________________

Glenn Carroll
Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 23-069 October 31, 2023
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Staff Approves License Transfer for South Texas Project
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved the transfer of licenses for South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, and its associated spent fuel storage facility from NRG South Texas to Constellation Energy Generation.
 
The transfer is part of Constellation’s planned acquisition of NRG South Texas and its 44 percent ownership interest in the plant, which is located in Bay City, Texas, approximately 90 miles southwest of Houston. There are two other licensed owners with minority interests. The plant will continue to be operated by STP Nuclear Operating Co. on behalf of the three co-owners.
 
The NRC staff’s review of the license transfer application concluded that Constellation was financially qualified to be a licensed owner and would continue to provide reasonable assurance that funds will be available to eventually decommission the plant.
 
There is a hearing request currently pending before the Commission. The transfer approval is subject to the Commission’s authority to rescind, modify, or condition the transfer based on the outcome of any subsequent hearing on the application.
 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 23-068 October 31, 2023
CONTACT: Office of Public Affairs, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Announces Carrie M. Safford as the New Commission Secretary
 
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the selection of Carrie M. Safford as the new Secretary of the Commission, effective Nov. 5. She is the fifth person in the 48-year history of the NRC to hold this position.
 
Safford has been serving as a Deputy Director in the Division Fuel Management, which has regulatory responsibility for nuclear fuel cycle activities in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
 
She succeeds Brooke Poole Clark, who assumed her new position as the agency’s General Counsel in mid-October.
 
In her new role, Safford will provide executive management services to support the Commission and implement Commission decisions. The Office of the Secretary serves a critical role with its responsibilities for scheduling Commission meetings, managing the Commission's decision-making process, codifying Commission decisions in memoranda, processing and controlling Commission correspondence, and maintaining the Commission’s historical records, among other duties.
 
“Carrie has served in a variety of capacities and brings extensive legal and regulatory experience,” said NRC Chair Christopher T. Hanson. “Her proven executive leadership and vast knowledge of the agency’s policies and procedures well positions her to keep the Commission’s business functioning smoothly.”
 
Safford joined the NRC in 2008 as an attorney, and later was selected as Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Division of Materials Litigation and Enforcement within the Office of the General Counsel. She has served in leadership positions across the agency, including as Deputy Director of the Waste Confidence Directorate in NMSS; and as Assistant General Counsel in OGC in the Division of High-Level Waste, Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Security, and in the Division of Legislation, Ethics, and Administrative Law.
 
Before joining the NRC, Safford practiced energy law in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology-Geology from the University of Rochester and her Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law. Safford is a graduate of the NRC’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.
 

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