The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project in Nevada, if it were built, would have a small environmental impact. The commission continued working on the environmental impact statement even after the Obama administration shelved the project, following a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that said NRC must consider the project in accordance with a 1987 law.
“The NRC staff concludes that the estimated radiological doses are small because they are a small fraction of the background radiation dose … and much less than the NRC annual dose standards for a Yucca Mountain repository,” the commission’s report said.
Yucca Mountain advocates hope the final environmental report could help fuel a resurgence of support for the moribund project. “The big-picture take on this is that it is yet another independent expert study that has found the proposed repository to be safe and environmentally sound,” the Nuclear Energy Institute’s nuclear expert Rod McCullum said.
More: POWER Magazine
Kemper ‘Accounting Matters’ Spur Probe by SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into the cost and disclosure timeline of Southern Co.’s $6.7 billion Kemper coal-gasification plant in Mississippi.
The commission is focusing on “accounting matters, disclosure controls and procedures, and internal controls over financial reporting,” Southern reported in regulatory filing late last week. Though stock prices dipped the day after the filing’s release, Southern does not “expect the investigation to have a material impact on the financial statements of either Southern Co. or Mississippi Power,” stated Tim Leljedal, a Southern spokesman.
The company still plans to move ahead in the third quarter with switching the plant from natural gas, which it’s currently burning, to coal. The six-year project, which has come under fire for delays and cost overruns, would convert coal to gas to fuel electrical generators.
More: Bloomberg
Enviro Groups Sue EPA Over Fracking Waste Disposal
An alliance of environmental groups sued EPA last week to force stricter controls over the disposal of oil and natural gas drilling wastes.
The Environmental Integrity Project, which filed the suit with other groups, says the underground disposal of wastewater from fracking operations has been linked to an increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma and other states. The group said federal regulations covering disposal of liquid and solid wastes are 30 years old and need updating.
The groups also want EPA to ban dumping wastewater on fields and roads, where they say it could pollute drinking water.
More: The Washington Post
NARUC Names New Committee Chairs
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Travis Kavulla appointed Nancy Lange as chair of the Energy Resources and Environment Committee and Richard S. Mroz as chair of the Critical Infrastructure Committee.
Lange is the vice chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, having been appointed in 2013. She is also on NARUC’s Washington Action Committee. Before being appointed to the PUC, she was manager of policy and engagement at the Center for Energy and Environment.
Mroz, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, is also on NARUC’s Nuclear Issues – Waste Disposal subcommittee. He is New Jersey’s representative to the Organization of PJM States Inc.
More: NARUC
DOE Puts up $25M For Solar Integration
The Energy Department announced it will distribute $25 million for projects designed to speed up the integration of solar power to the grid.
The department expects the funding, part of an existing program called Enabling Extreme Real-Time Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE), to result in 10 to 15 projects by software developers, utilities and solar companies.
“Our ongoing grid modernization work will help accelerate the widespread adoption of the clean energy resources that will define our low-carbon future,” said Lynne Orr, undersecretary for science and energy. “In doing so, we hope to drive down costs and encourage even more American homeowners and businesses to install solar systems.”
More: Department of Energy
TVA Set to Start New Reactor at Watts Bar
The Tennessee Valley Authority is ready to start Unit 2 at Watts Bar, the first new reactor to come online in the U.S. in two decades.
The reactor, which first went under construction in 1972, will add 1,411 MW to the TVA fleet. After repeated delays and construction suspensions, the unit is projected to achieve initial criticality later this month. It should be synchronized to the grid by this summer after more tests, according to TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Grimes.
TVA says the final price tag for the unit is $4.7 billion.
More: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Plant Operators Plead Guilty to Emissions Tampering
The operators of an Agawam, Mass., power plant pleaded guilty in federal court to tampering with emissions equipment and submitting false information to regulators.
The Berkshire Power Plant and Power Plant Management Services agreed to pay $8.5 million in fines. The companies will be sentenced in August. The plant’s operations and maintenance manager, Frederick Baker, also pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and tampering.
The case marks the first criminal prosecution for false statements made to FERC. The companies admitted they instructed employees to adjust an oxygen monitor to hide the amount of pollutants released.
More: The Boston Globe
Group Asks FERC to Dismiss Pipeline Application
The Pipeline Awareness Network for the Northeast filed a motion with FERC to dismiss Kinder Morgan’s application for the 412-mile Northeast Energy Direct pipeline that would run through Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The company recently said it was suspending development work on the $3.3 billion project, citing a lack of commitments from utility customers and low natural gas prices. But the group asked FERC to dismiss the project “with prejudice” to ensure the project cannot be revived.
More: The Berkshire Eagle