NRC press release: NRC to Hold Additional Public Meetings in [Gallup & Albuquerque,] New Mexico on Holtec’s Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility‌ [Public Comment Deadline on Environmental Scoping Extended, from May 29 till July 30]

May 11, 2018
admin

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release [See PDF of press release, here]

No: 18-018 May 11, 2018

CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC to Hold Additional Public Meetings

in New Mexico on Holtec’s Proposed

Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility‌

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has announced two additional public meetings to be held in New Mexico to seek public comment on the scope of the agency’s environmental review of Holtec International’s application to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the southeastern part of the state. The meetings will be held on May 21 in Gallup and May 22 in Albuquerque, N.M. [See an update below, an urgent action alert from Janet Greenwald of CARD NM, about a May 21 Albuquerque City Council meeting, at which a memorial opposing Holtec/ELEA due to transporation risks, will take place.]

The May 21 meeting will be held at the Gallup Downtown Conference Center, 204 W. Coal Ave., in Gallup. The May 22 meeting will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel,1901 University Blvd., in Albuquerque. Both meetings are scheduled to run from 6-9 p.m., with an open house beginning at 5 p.m., for members of the public to meet informally with NRC staff.

Holtec submitted its application for a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel on March 30, 2017. The NRC formally docketed the application on Feb. 28, and published a Federal Register notice on March 30 requesting public comments on the scope of its environmental review. The NRC staff held public scoping meetings on April 25 at agency headquarters in Rockville, Md., and the week of April 30-May 4 in Roswell, Hobbs and Carlsbad, N.M.

At the scoping meetings, NRC staff members involved in reviewing the application will make a brief presentation about the review process. The bulk of the meetings will be devoted to allowing members of the public to make statements. Comments will be transcribed and used by the staff to define the scope of its environmental review. Spanish-speaking staff will be at each of the meetings to assist with translation if needed.

In response to requests from the public, NRC staff is extending the deadline for submitting comments from May 29 to July 30. [emphasis added] Comments may be submitted through the federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2018-0052. A notice will be published soon in the Federal Register with additional information about the upcoming scoping meetings and how to submit comments. Meeting notices for Gallup and Albuquerque are posted on the NRC website.

Article originally appeared on Beyond Nuclear (https://archive.beyondnuclear.org/).