Podcast - Hot Topics in Nuclear Waste
Hogan Lovells' Mary Anne Sullivan on the floor of Hogan Lovells Global Energy Summit
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in NRC v. Texas, issued an opinion holding that the State of Texas did not have standing to challenge a license granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to a private entity,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2025, decided Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, 605 U.S. ___ (2025), which involved challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC or Commission) decision to grant a...more
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Nuclear Regulatory Commission, et al. v. Texas, et al., reinstated a license originally issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), permitting the storage of depleted...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in NRC v. Texas gives nuclear energy generators and storage facilities, as well as NRC, the latest win in the decades-long struggle over used-fuel storage....more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued six decisions today: United States v. Skrmetti, No. 23-477: This case addresses a constitutional challenge to Tennessee’s Prohibition on Medical Procedures Performed on Minors...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on March 5, 2025, heard oral argument in two cases related to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) authority to license temporary spent fuel storage facilities that are not co-located with a...more
The US Department of Energy’s failure to transport and store spent nuclear fuel (SNF) pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act has required the government to reimburse the industry for substantial storage costs, and future...more
In this episode of our "An Energized Exchange" podcast series by our Energy & Natural Resources Industry Sector Group, attorneys Andy Kriha and Liz Craddock sit down for a conversation about hot topics in nuclear waste. This...more
The House Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security held a hearing on April 10, 2024 to examine federal responsibility for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), along with opportunities for mitigating...more
This week, the Minnesota Legislature passed and delivered to the governor for signature HF2310, an energy policy omnibus bill that provides $216 million for energy initiatives in the state. The legislation includes...more
From the “Not-my-circus-not-my-monkeys” department, after the 10th anniversary of the Fukishima disaster last March my curiosity ventured into the nuclear energy debate. ...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a site-specific review that has broader implications for Superfund site cleanups with radionuclide contamination. The EPA is reviewing a Trump-era decision on...more
Last week, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new funding program issued by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). An impressive $40 million in funds are being set aside to support the new Optimizing...more
The NRC published a notice of a petition for rulemaking from the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC) in the Federal Register on April 9 asking the NRC to revise 10 CFR Part 37 to require that...more
EU’s in-house science body determines that nuclear energy is a sustainable technology under the EU’s green finance rules; ruling has positive impact for government and private sector support for nuclear technologies in the EU...more
A recent change in New York law requires local authorities to assess spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at permanently shutdown nuclear power plants as real property for ad valorem tax purposes. The legislation raises...more
The NRC Staff recently issued SECY-20-0098, which provides the Staff’s recommendation to consolidate two low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal rulemakings. Specifically, the Staff supports combining the draft final rule...more
Trade groups sue California to stop threatened species listing for Western Joshua Tree - Bullet Desert Sun – October 27 - Several trade groups and a high desert town sued in Fresno County Superior Court on October 21 over...more
Some New Mexico residents have for decades sought recognition and compensation from the US government for injuries they alleged they suffered as a result of fallout exposure from the first test of an atomic bomb. A new study...more
Energy-Related CO2 Emissions ‘Flatlined’ Last Year, IEA Says, Raising Hopes About Climate - "Global emissions remained at approximately 33 gigatonnes in 2019 despite the world economy growing by 2.9%, the IEA said." ...more
Focus - EPA broke rules in shake-up of science panels, according to GAO study - The New York Times – July 15 - The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Monday concluded that the U.S. Environmental...more
DOE issued an interpretive rule asserting the power to unilaterally reclassify high-level radioactive waste from Cold War-era reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel for nuclear weapons. DOE issued an interpretive rule...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Supplemental Federal Register Notice on June 5 that addresses its interpretation of what constitutes high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The DOE said the notice reflects DOE policy...more
Focus - EPA plans to change approach to analyzing health risks of air pollution - The New York Times – May 20 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to change the way it calculates the health risks of...more
Focus - New EPA policy would offer alternative to penalties for some oil and gas polluters - The Hill - January 29 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon unveil a finalized audit policy that will offer...more