INTERIM HIGH LEVEL STORAGE | WASTE MANAGEMENT


create environmentally benign and well-paying jobs, and help diversify the region’s economy thus fostering a stable industrial base,” said Holtec President & CEO, Dr Kris Singh in a statement. Holtec’s expected contribution to the community includes additional economic development opportunities, such as a state-of-the art manufacturing facility, a technology development cente and a global workforce training centre. NRC’s review of the licence application included a


technical safety and security review, an environmental impact review and adjudication before an Atomic Safety & Licensing Board. A safety evaluation report, documenting the technical review, was issued along with the licence. This followed a final environmental impact statement (EIS) that noted the absence of any environmental impacts that would preclude a licence for HI-STORE. It also confirmed that there are no adverse impacts to other enterprises in the area including oil and gas, potash, ranching, and farming. NRC’s recommendation was based on its review of


Holtec’s licence application; consultation with Federal, State, Tribal and local agencies; input from other stakeholders; independent consultation with the New Mexico Bureau of Land Management; and NRC’s own environmental review. Alongside Holtec’s CISF, NRC notes that it has previously


issued similar licenses for away-from-reactor storage installations. Private Fuel Storage received a license in 2006 although it was never constructed. The NRC also issued a license to Interim Storage Partners LLC in September 2021 for a proposed storage site in Andrews, Texas. ISP has not yet initiated construction. NRC issued the licence despite a backlash from the state of New Mexico, including the passage of a new law that seeks to block the facility by requiring a federal permanent repository to be in operation before any nuclear waste can be stored.


Program Director for the HI-STORE CISF, US Navy


Captain (retired) Ed Mayer stated, “Thanks to the local support, we have persevered for the past eight years to license HI-STORE in spite of variable enthusiasm from the State’s authorities. However local protests continue. In the 2023 legislative session, New Mexico passed Senate Bill 53, which bans state agencies from granting permits, contracts or leases for building a high-level nuclear waste storage facility. This would include New Mexico Department of Transportation and New Mexico Environment permits needed for construction and operations. The new law also prevents local governments in the


region from approving contracts or leases for the facility. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Jeff Steinborn, said in a statement that NRC’s decision to issue the licence illustrates why the new law is so important. “It’s time that our voice be heard and honoured, and that this project be shut down,” he said. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said


in a press statement: “Placing a nuclear storage facility in the heart of oil and gas operations is a recipe for ecological disaster and unnecessarily puts New Mexicans at risk.” There are some 2,500 oil, gas or mineral extraction sites operated by 54 different entities within 10 miles of the site where Holtec plans to build the facility. Senator Martin Heinrich, who serves on the New Mexico


Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, said NRC “used ‘interim’ standards to approve indefinite nuclear storage in New Mexico.” He added: “No matter how many times NRC and Holtec use the word ‘interim,’ it doesn’t make it so. And the people left to pay the consequences will be New Mexicans. Until there is a permanent repository for our nation’s spent nuclear fuel, no regulatory commission should be using ‘interim’ standards to approve ‘indefinite’ storage. New Mexicans didn’t sign up for this.” ■


www.neimagazine.com | Patram Special Edition | June 2023 | 15


Above: HI-STORE CISF (Consolidated Interim Storage Facility) will store used nuclear fuel and high-level waste from around the USA in a below- ground facility


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