Despite the global attention being paid to combatting climate change, nuclear energy is often ignored in the discussion about how to reduce carbon emissions, but as a reliable, low-carbon energy source, nuclear power is...more
In a recent Memorandum and Order (Order), an NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Board) unanimously granted summary disposition to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), dismissing three alleged violations and partially...more
11/23/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Atomic Energy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Energy Reorganization Act ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Oil & Gas ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Statutory Violations ,
Whistleblowers
President Joseph Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Act) on November 15, 2021, which allocates $550 billion in new spending over the next five years to improve US infrastructure,...more
11/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Nuclear Power ,
Popular ,
Power Grid ,
Renewable Energy
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking public comment on the need to continue or modify the portion of the Price-Anderson Act that it administers, as it prepares a report to Congress. The Price-Anderson Amendments Act...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed a Trump administration decision involving use of nuclear materials. On June 30, the EPA announced that it was “withdrawing, revoking and rescinding” its conditional...more
In a recently issued NRC adjudicatory decision, the Commission reaffirmed its regulatory interpretation allowing power reactor licensees applying for subsequent license renewal (SLR), and the NRC Staff reviewing these...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
The NRC Office of Enforcement (OE) recently published its Enforcement Program Annual Report for calendar year 2020. The report shows that the number of escalated enforcement actions increased 7% over 2019, but remained below...more
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) held a public stakeholder meeting on May 19 to discuss its Whistleblower Protection Program and solicit feedback from interested individuals on...more
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report. The report analyzes regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2020. The report’s top-line numbers show that the number of...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report FY 2020, summarizing its activities during the last fiscal year. The annual report shows that OI opened 13% more cases in 2020 than in 2019,...more
The NRC held a public meeting on January 26 to discuss potential options for licensing fusion energy systems. This meeting is part of the NRC’s work to develop regulations to license and regulate advanced nuclear reactors as...more
In a recently issued NRC adjudicatory decision, the Commission reaffirmed its regulatory interpretation allowing power reactor licensees applying for subsequent license renewal (SLR), and the NRC Staff reviewing these...more
The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Administrative Review Board (ARB) recently announced it is updating its electronic filing system (EFS) at 8:30 am EST on December 7, 2020. Beginning December 7, all parties who wish to file...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently held a public stakeholder meeting to discuss its Whistleblower Protection Program and how it can improve its administration of the 20-plus whistleblower...more
Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders along with Representative Peter Welch recently introduced the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020. ...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) published a final rule in the September 4 Federal Register updating IRS regulations under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 468A....more
The NRC recently issued its report to Congress on the best practices for the establishment and operation of local community advisory boards (CABs) associated with decommissioning nuclear power plants. This report was required...more
The US Department of Labor’s chief administrative law judge (ALJ) issued an administrative order and notice on June 1, indefinitely suspending all in-person hearings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ). ...more
The proposed regulations, released on May 28 and on which taxpayers may currently rely pending finalization, build on prior guidance for carbon capture and sequestration tax credits under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue...more
6/2/2020
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
Revenue Procedures ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Urban Planning & Development
The NRC’s Office of Enforcement (OE) recently issued Attachment 3 to Enforcement Guidance Memorandum (EGM) 20-002, providing guidance to NRC Staff to disposition violations of emergency preparedness (EP) regulations during...more
The NRC’s Office of Enforcement (OE) recently issued Attachment 2 to Enforcement Guidance Memorandum (EGM) 20-002, providing guidance to NRC inspection staff for exercising enforcement discretion for certain byproduct...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently held a public stakeholder meeting to discuss its Whistleblower Protection Program and how it can improve its administration of the 20-plus whistleblower...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s recent favorable decision in Lemon v. Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation, announced its rejection of the chain-of-events theory of causation in whistleblower cases. In doing...more
5/15/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Causation ,
Energy Reorganization Act ,
False Statements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
OSHA ,
Railways ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Injury
One threshold issue in whistleblower cases involving alleged retaliation is whether a complainant who is not a direct employee is nonetheless a “covered employee.” ...more
5/13/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review Board ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Employment Policies ,
Environmental Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Retaliation ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers