May 3, 2023
Will New Mexico’s new law stop a proposed nuclear waste dump?
In March, New Mexico lawmakers took their biggest step yet in an attempt to block plans for a nuclear waste storage facility in the scrublands near Carlsbad.
The legislature passed Senate Bill 53 on a largely partisan vote, seeking to block Holtec International’s eight-year effort to build a facility in southeastern New Mexico that would hold 8,680 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants across the country.
The state has been challenging Holtec’s plans for years, both in court and before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But New Mexico’s best chance at stopping the project may come in the form of the new law, which became effective when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it on March 17.
Legal and nuclear experts anticipate that the law will face legal challenges, however. And in the end, federal courts will likely determine if New Mexico has the authority to keep Holtec from building its Consolidated Interim Storage Facility on a 1,040-acre site between Carlsbad and Hobbs.
March 24, 2023
Abilene Christian University Molten Salt Research Reactor Preliminary Safety Analysis Report
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ML22227A203 – Abilene Christian University Molten Salt Research Reactor Preliminary Safety Analysis Report
(611 pages), 8/31/2022
February 24, 2023
Nuclear energy regulators go through motions of a public meeting. Their heart isn’t in it
GLEN ROSE — A few hours before a public hearing on whether to renew the operating licenses of Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, I drove out for the first time to see the twin domes that are supposed to protect us in case of a radiation release.
Unit 1 came online in 1990 and Unit 2 came on in 1993. From the outside they look a bit old and weather-beaten. But their importance to the shaky Texas electric grid cannot be ignored.
We need electricity from every possible source. But when it comes to nuclear power, potential disasters are always lurking. The plant is 50 miles from downtown Fort Worth and 80 miles from downtown Dallas.
Owner Vistra Corp. is applying for license renewals. Unit 1′s license runs out in 2030 and Unit 2′s license expires in 2033.
The renewals, if approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, would extend their life all the way to 2050 and 2053.
February 13, 2023
New Mexico may seek veto power over spent nuke fuel storage
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Senate on Monday approved a proposed ban on the local disposal of spent nuclear fuel, unless the state provides its consent first.
The bill from Democratic state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, of Las Cruces, could impact a proposed multibillion-dollar facility in southeastern New Mexico that is expected to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants across the nation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may announce a decision as soon as March on whether to grant a license to that project from Holtec International.
The Senate endorsed the bill on a 21-13 vote with Republicans and two Albuquerque-based Democrats in opposition to the proposed ban. The bill moves next to the state House for consideration, amid backing from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Steinborn said New Mexico residents should be wary of becoming “guinea pigs” for temporary storage projects before the federal government decides on a permanent storage site.
New Mexico may seek veto power over spent nuke fuel storage
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Senate on Monday approved a proposed ban on the local disposal of spent nuclear fuel, unless the state provides its consent first.
The bill from Democratic state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, of Las Cruces, could impact a proposed multibillion-dollar facility in southeastern New Mexico that is expected to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants across the nation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may announce a decision as soon as March on whether to grant a license to that project from Holtec International.
The Senate endorsed the bill on a 21-13 vote with Republicans and two Albuquerque-based Democrats in opposition to the proposed ban. The bill moves next to the state House for consideration, amid backing from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Steinborn said New Mexico residents should be wary of becoming “guinea pigs” for temporary storage projects before the federal government decides on a permanent storage site.
January 31, 2023
Court dismisses challenges to Texas SNF storage facility
A federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit brought by environmental groups challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing of a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the NRC reasonably applied its hearing regulations when approving Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) license for the facility.
ISP, a joint venture of Orano USA and Waste Control Specialists, with additional support from NAC International, submitted a revised CISF license application to the NRC in June 2018. The NRC-approved license was issued in September 2021. The proposed facility will eventually store a total of 40,000 metric tons of SNF over eight phases.
November 17, 2022
D.C. Circuit Skeptical of Challenge to Texas Nuclear Waste Site
SEED Coalition is part of the legal case opposing high-level radioactive waste storage in Texas. Our case was appealed to the DC Circuit Court, where our oral hearing was held on November 10, 2022.
We are part of the Don’t Waste Michigan group, which has been represented by Terry Lodge. In this hearing our party was combined with Sierra Club and was represented by Wally Taylor.
Nov. 10, 2022
A three-judge panel at the D.C. Circuit on Thursday sharply questioned arguments by environmental groups challenging a federal license of a privately owned interim nuclear waste storage facility in Texas.
Petitioners argued that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval last year of Interim Storage Partners’ facility violates the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act because it includes language allowing a contract with the Energy Department. The case is the second legal challenge against the interim high-level waste facility licensed for Andrews County.
The provision is unlawful because the department, under that law, must select a permanent waste repository before siting a temporary facility, said Diane Curran, of counsel for Harmon Curran representing Beyond Nuclear.
“The only issue before this court is whether you should disregard the plain terms of the license condition, as suggested by the NRC, based on extraneous promises by the agency the fulfillment of the unlawful condition will never ever be carried out or allowed until Congress changes the law,” Curran said.
March 16, 2022
Japan says it has so far detected no abnormalities at nuclear power plants
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority inspected several nuclear power plants after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit late Wednesday night off the coast of Fukushima, the site of a nuclear meltdown in 2011.
As of 1 a.m. Thursday, the authority said that it had not detected any abnormalities at plants in Fukushima; in Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture; or in Tokai in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said that a fire alarm was still sounding in one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where the 2011 meltdown occurred. The plant has been shut down and undergoing an enormous cleanup since the disaster 11 years ago.
Read more here.
September 23, 2021
Texas Attorney General Calls the Interim Storage Partners License Unlawful
Great news… The Texas Attorney General submitted a filing on behalf of Governor Greg Abbott and TCEQ on Sept. 23, 2021 in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, calling the Interim Storage Partners license unlawful and requesting that it be vacated.
Read the filing here.
September 13, 2021
NRC Issues License to Interim Storage Partners for
Consolidated Spent Nuclear Fuel Interim Storage Facility in Texas
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a license to Interim Storage Partners LLC to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Andrews, Texas.
The license, issued Sept. 13, authorizes the company to receive, possess, transfer and store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent fuel and 231.3 metric tons of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste for 40 years. The company has said it plans to expand the facility in seven additional phases, up to a total capacity of 40,000 metric tons of fuel. Each expansion would require a license amendment with additional NRC safety and environmental reviews.
Interim Storage Partners is a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists LLC and Orano USA. It intends to construct the storage facility on property adjacent to the WCS low-level radioactive waste disposal site already operating under a Texas license. Information about the license application and the NRC staff’s reviews is available on the NRC website. The licensing documents will be available on this page as well.
Read the NRC full news release
September 13, 2021
Protestors to Nuclear Regulator Commission: Keep Nuke Waste out of Texas
Sept. 13, 2021
For Immediate release
MEDIA ADVISORY
Protestors to Nuclear Regulator Commission: Keep Nuke Waste out of Texas
Arlington, Texas – Protesters gathered outside of the Regional Headquarters of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Arlington, Texas today to oppose the agency’s expected approval of a license to store dangerous nuclear reactor waste in West Texas.
Overwhelming opposition to the plan has been demonstrated over and over again, most recently with the passage of HB 7 unanimously in the Texas Senate and by a 119-3 vote in the House. Such a strong bipartisan vote is rare these days in Texas. The Governor signed the bill on September 9 and it went into effect immediately.
“The NRC should listen to the voices of our governor, legislators and millions of Texans and halt licensing of a facility that would put our health and safety at risk. Strong bipartisan votes are a clear message from the Texas Legislature to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. When it comes to importing deadly radioactive waste to Texas: We Don’t Want It!,” said SEED Coalition Director Karen Hadden. “We will keep fighting even if the license is issued. We have legal challenges in the courts and will continue organizing. We hope the Texas Attorney General fights to protect us as well.”
“The U.S. Nuclear regulatory Commission is likely to issue a license today to store up to 40,000 metric tons of the nation’s most dangerous nuclear reactor waste in Andrews County, Texas. With the passage of HB 7, the state can deny the permits necessary to dump new waste at the site. We hope the feds have heard the message: We don’t want it!” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, former director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office.
September, 2021
NO CONSENT! Texans reject high-level radioactive waste
There is opposition to the plan to bring high-level radioactive waste to Texas at all levels – from the local level in Andrews County Texas, to cities and counties, school districts, state legislators, Governor Abbott and Congressional Representatives including Reps. Henry Cuellar, Kay Granger, Lloyd Doggett and Louie Gohmert. Resolutions passed by cities and counties represent the voices of over 5.4 million Texans. The Midland Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution as well. The Permian Basin Coalition of Land & Royalty Owners and Operators is actively fighting high-level radioactive waste in the West Texas region where they live and work. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to hear our voices!
When it comes to having the nation’s radioactive waste dumped on our state…
We DO NOT CONSENT!
Resolutions, and Letters in Opposition:
- >>Governor Greg Abbott’s letter to NRC 9/10/21
- >>Congressman August Pfluger Objects to License 9/13/21
- >>Texas Governor Greg Abbott to Dept. of Energy Secretary Rick Perry
- >>Representatives Pfluger, Doggett, Gohmert, Nehls, Herrell & Cuellar, Texas and New Mexico Congressional Delegation In Opposition Letter.
- >>Texas Legislator’s Letter
- >>Andrews County Resolution
- >>Dallas Resolution
- >>Fort Worth and Keller ISD Letter to NRC
- >>SEED Coalition and Public Citizen Press Release 8/25/21
News Stories:
- Texas bans storage of highly radioactive waste, but a West Texas facility may get a license from the feds anyway Texas Tribune 9/10/21
- Debate over radioactive waste storage in West Texas revived by Greg Abbott’s special session agenda Dallas Morning News 8/24/21
- State lawmakers again try to ban most dangerous nuclear waste as feds consider allowing it at West Texas site Texas Tribune 8/23/21