New Mexico Congressional Delegation, Governor Send Letter To Energy Secretary Opposing Nuclear Waste Interim Site

NEWS FROM THE NEW MEXICO U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION:

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION NEWS

U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm opposing the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) in New Mexico.

“We are strongly opposed to the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) in New Mexico.  There is currently no permanent disposal strategy for SNF and HLW in place at the Department of Energy.  This leaves us extremely concerned that ‘interim’ storage sites with initial 40-year leases, like one proposed for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing in New Mexico, will become the country’s de facto permanent nuclear waste storage facilities.  We cannot accept that result,” they wrote.

There are currently two pending applications before the NRC for licenses to construct and operate consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) - one in Andrews, Texas, and one in Lea County, New Mexico. 

“Without a strategy in place at the Department of Energy for permanent waste disposal, any CISF constructed in or near New Mexico could become a waste storage site that is, in essence, permanent.  New Mexico has not and will not consent to such a situation,” they continued.

The New Mexico lawmakers cautioned that, “We cannot repeat such harms by establishing interim nuclear waste storage sites, especially without a permanent waste disposal strategy.  We would welcome collaborative work to establish a coherent, consent-based federal policy on managing and disposing of SNF and HLW, and look forward to engaging in that work with you.”  

Last month, Senator Heinrich raised his concerns about interim storage directly with Secretary Granholm during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing to review the President’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Granholm,

We are strongly opposed to the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) in New Mexico.  There is currently no permanent disposal strategy for SNF and HLW in place at the Department of Energy.  This leaves us extremely concerned that “interim” storage sites with initial 40-year leases, like one proposed for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing in New Mexico, will become the country’s de facto permanent nuclear waste storage facilities.  We cannot accept that result.  

As you have recognized, the consent of those affected is a critical component of any approach to nuclear waste storage.  There are currently two pending applications before the NRC for licenses to construct and operate consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) - one in Andrews, Texas, and one in Lea County, New Mexico.  Without a strategy in place at the Department of Energy for permanent waste disposal, any CISF constructed in or near New Mexico could become a waste storage site that is, in essence, permanent.  New Mexico has not and will not consent to such a situation. 

New Mexico is proud to host Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  The people of New Mexico have long been at the forefront of our national security mission and the discovery of nuclear science and technologies.  Unfortunately, in some cases, this has resulted in situations that have harmed the health and wellbeing of New Mexicans. We cannot repeat such harms by establishing interim nuclear waste storage sites, especially without a permanent waste disposal strategy.  We would welcome collaborative work to establish a coherent, consent-based federal policy on managing and disposing of SNF and HLW, and look forward to engaging in that work with you. 

Update on July 2, 2021 by admin

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION NEWS

Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, joined the New Mexico delegation to urge the Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to oppose the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste in New Mexico. 

She highlights in a letter sent to Secretary Granholm that New Mexicans have repeatedly and emphatically opposed the proposed storage site and many of her constituents are familiar with the harmful effects of nuclear testing and waste as they continue to suffer from related health ailments. 

Read the full text of the letter below: 

Dear Secretary Granholm:

Thank you for your commitment to public service. I write to join the voices of the New Mexico congressional delegation to oppose the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste in New Mexico. 

As you know, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently considering two applications for licenses to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (“CISF”). One of these sites is in my home state of New Mexico in Lea County and the other in Andrews County, Texas. I strongly oppose the placement of an interim storage site in New Mexico. My constituents, and citizens throughout New Mexico, have repeatedly and emphatically expressed opposition to the proposed storage site. 

New Mexicans have long led the nation in scientific discoveries and national security, and we recognize the importance of our national laboratories. However, we are also uniquely familiar with the harmful effects of nuclear testing and waste. Many of my constituents continue to suffer from serious health ailments related to such testing and waste. I must raise my voice in opposition to the establishment of an interim nuclear waste storage site, which would add to the burden we already carry. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

HOLTEC'S HIGH RISKS: Dangerous screw-ups and schemes

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Tee shirt design by Noel Marquez, Alliance for Environmental Strategies (AFES)Holtec's dangerous stumbles, at decommissioning (including knocking out power to 30,000 Jersey Shore residents!) and highly radioactive waste storage, continue at Oyster Creek, New Jersey. Its suspect containers are also used at Vermont Yankee and Indian Point, New York. Perhaps sooner than later, they'll also be used for even higher risk transportation. This is a theme of the most recent interview by Margaret Harrington, of our radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, on her program "Nuclear Free Future," on Channel 17/Town Meeting TV in reactor-free Vermont. Watch the 43-minute program. Holtec containers, of dubious structural integrity, could roll down railways, roadways, and waterways, beginning in a couple years, if NRC rubberstamps its consolidated interim storage facility license this autumn!

NM Court Can’t Rule on Interim Storage Challenge, NRC Says

As reported by ExchangeMonitor. (The article is behind a paywall.)

With Feinstein on Her Tail, Granholm Says Interim Storage Effort Starting in Summer

As reported by the ExchangeMonitor. (The article is behind a paywall.)

Resistance continues, as ISP, TX CISF poised for final approval by NRC in the next several weeks

On June 22, 2021, the Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners rejected Fasken's motion to re-open the licensing proceeding, as well as its submission of a contention based on new information, in the case of Interim Storage Partners -- an irradiatiated nuclear fuel (highly radioactive waste) consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) application targeting Waste Control Specialists' site in Andrews County, TX.

Fasken's -- a century-old oil and gas company, as well as ranching, company -- new contention and motion to re-open the proceeding was the last oppositional subject matter remaining before the NRC in the ISP licensing case.

The NRC Staff announced some months ago that it would publish the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Safety Evaluation Report re: ISP's CISF sometime in July 2021.

The NRC Chairman, Christopher Hanson, has made clear -- in a face to face meeting with Beyond Nuclear and environmental justice allies from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, some weeks ago, as well as in media statements -- that the NRC Commission will vote sooner, rather than later, on the ISP application, once the FSER and FEIS are published.

All four currently sitting Commissioners have voted in favor of the ISP CISF at every twist and turn for the past several years -- joining the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) in rapid-fire rejection of every single one of scores of contentions brought forward by the likes of Fasken, Beyond Nuclear, Sierra Club, and a national grassroots environmental coalition (Don't Waste Michigan, et al., including Public Citizen's Texas Office, as well as Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition of Austin).

As soon as the NRC issues its final Record of Decision on the ISP CISF license to construct and operate, opponents are hopeful they will get their day in court. Each of the opposing parties has already appealed to the second highest court in the land -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit -- in the ISP CISF case.

The Holtec International/Eddy Lea Energy Alliance CISF application is not far behind ISP's in the NRC process. Fasken, again, has the last remaining matter in the licensing proceeding before the NRC Commissioners -- an appeal of the ASLB's wholesale rejection of its contentions. Holtec's application is poised for final approval by NRC in the October to November 2021 timeframe, at which point the same coalition of opponents will seek their day in court on the matter, per above. (In addition, the State of New Mexico Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the NRC, opposing the Holtec CISF application, in federal district court in Albuquerque.)

In addition to the NRC licensing proceedings and federal court appeals, opposition continues on the ground to both CISFs. In response to a groundswell of public opposition, the governors of both TX (Greg Abbott, a rightwing Republican) and NM (Michele Lujan Grisham, a liberal Democrat) oppose both the ISP and Holtec CISFs, which straddle either side of their joint border in the Permian Basin.