NRC -- SUBJECT: Extension of the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Holtec International’s Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Lea County, NM

Sent by NRC NMSS (Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards):

SUBJECT:  Extension of the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Holtec International’s Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Lea County, NM

The current 60-day comment period on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s application for the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility was scheduled to close on May 22, 2020.  Given recent events associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency, and the corresponding actions taken by Federal and State governments to mitigate its spread, the NRC staff will extend the public comment period for an additional 60 days.  A notice of this extension will be published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2020.

The NRC staff plans to hold a nationwide webinar and five public meetings in New Mexico during the public comment period to present the staff’s preliminary findings and receive public comments.  As the COVID-19 public health emergency evolves, the NRC staff will continue to re-evaluate these plans for engaging the public, and will consider whether additional extensions to the comment period are warranted.

The draft EIS can be accessed at:  https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2006/ML20069G420.pdf

A summary (Reader’s Guide) of the EIS report can be accessed at:   https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2007/ML20073P254.pdf

You may submit comments by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web Site:  Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0052.  Address questions about NRC docket IDs to Jennifer Borges; telephone:  301-287-9127; e-mail:  Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov.
  
  
• Mail comments to:  Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
  
  
• E-mail comments to:  Holtec-CISFEIS@nrc.gov.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission.  The NRC posts all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov and enters all comment submissions into ADAMS, the NRC’s document filing system.