U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Four Public Online Webinars (Aug. 20, 25, 26, & Sept. 2) for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

New Mexico groups are planning to use the following statement in protest of the webinar/call-in only process, before delivering the rest of their verbal comments; one group, NISG, plans to boycott the webinar/call-in sessions altogether, while still working to generate written comments by the Sept. 22nd deadline:

This statement may be read at the start of or in place of your public comments --

Protest Statement to the NRC at next Webinar Hearing

My name is _______________, I’m from_____________ and I’m making these comments under protest because we can’t verify that the NRC decision-makers are receiving them.

To be relevant, these hearings

• must be conducted in-person at site locations in New Mexico, as the NRC promised,
• must extend the comment period until after the Public Health Emergency has ended and it is safe to have mass gatherings,

There is no compelling reason - except to accommodate Holtec - for these meetings to be rushed during the pandemic. The NRC says that waste can be safely stored at the reactor sites for 120 years. There are no contracts with waste generators or railroads that Holtec must honor.  I oppose the Holtec plan, as do the Governor of New Mexico, the governors of 20 tribal nations, and the large majority of New Mexicans.

With these blind, on-line meetings it is apparent that you have no interest in understanding our concerns.  Every state in the nation has clearly said “no” to hosting a storage site for this waste.  The people of New Mexico also say “no.”

As announced by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC):

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Four Public Online Webinars for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct four additional public meetings via webinar soliciting comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s (Holtec) proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico.  The draft EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts of Holtec’s request to build and operate the proposed CISF. 

The public meeting webinars will be accessible to the public by navigating, on the day and time of the meeting, to the internet link below and entering the event number and password associated with the date of the webinar when prompted.  Telephone access will be required for the audio portion of the meetings and is available by dialing the telephone number and entering the passcode provided below.  The NRC staff will present the results of the draft environmental impact analysis and receive the public’s comments on the draft report.  The NRC invites members of the public to attend the public meeting webinars and to present oral comments on the draft EIS.

Tuesday, August 25th email from NRC NMSS DSFM (Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards Division of Spent Fuel Management):

*****Note: Corrected hyperlinks to NRC’s WebEx site*****

SUBJECT: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Public Online Webinars for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility – August 26, and September 2, 2020

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct additional public meetings via webinar soliciting comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s (Holtec) proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico.  The draft EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts of Holtec’s request to build and operate the proposed CISF. 

The public meeting webinars will be accessible to the public by navigating, on the day and time of the meeting, to the internet link below and entering the event number and password associated with the date of the webinar when prompted.  Telephone access will be required for the audio portion of the meetings and is available by dialing the telephone number and entering the passcode provided below.  The NRC staff will present the results of the draft environmental impact analysis and receive the public’s comments on the draft report.  The NRC invites members of the public to attend the public meeting webinars and to present oral comments on the draft EIS.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 – 4:00 pm MT (6:00 pm ET)

Webinar:

Event address: https://usnrc.webex.com/

Event number: 199 278 6216

Event password: HOLTEC

Telephone access:

Phone number: 888-566-6509

Passcode: 1904459

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 – 9:00 am MT (11:00 am ET)

Webinar:

Event address: https://usnrc.webex.com/

Event number: 199 183 5099

Event password: HOLTEC

Telephone access:

Phone number: 888-566-6509

Passcode: 1904459

The public may also submit written comments on the draft EIS before September 22, 2020.  Members of the public can provide comments by any of the following methods:

•  
  • E-mail to  Holtec-CISFEIS@nrc.gov
  • Online at  https://www.regulations.gov/ (search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0052) 
  • US Mail to the following address: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:  TWFN-7-A60M, ATTN:  Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

The draft EIS can be found on the NRC public webpage for the Holtec CISF license application at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html.  If you do not have internet access, contact the NRC Public Document Room at 800-397-4209 for assistance.  Questions regarding the draft EIS should be directed to Jill Caverly at 301-415-7674 or at Jill.Caverly@nrc.gov.

Fort Worth doesn't need dangerous nuclear waste rolling through on Tarrant rail lines

Op-ed in the Star-Telegram, written by Peggy Hendon and Linda Hanratty.

Peggy Hendon is president of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County. Linda Hanratty is the group’s environmental chairwoman.

Read more here: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/other-voices/article244891627.html#storylink=cpy

Beyond Nuclear comments to the New Mexico Environment Department, opposed to the expanded Forever WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant)

See Beyond Nuclear's public comments, posted at our Repositories website section.

See the backgrounder, "WIPP History: The Forever WIPP Expansion & the New Shaft Permit Modification," dated July 20, 2020, posted at the CCNS (Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety) website.

The WIPP site is only 16 miles from the proposed Holtec/ELEA highly radioactive waste consolidated interim storage facility (CISF). And just 40 miles from there, is the Waste Control Specialists national "low" level radioactive waste dump, and propsed CISF, in Andrews County, west Texas, immediately upon the New Mexico border at Eunice. This attempt to turn the majority minority State of New Mexico, and the majority Hispanic and Native American southeast of NM, into a national radioactive waste sacrifice zone, is an outrageous environmental injustice. Learn more about the CISFs at our Centralized Storage website section.

NRC Schedules Webinars to Present Draft Environmental Findings on Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in New Mexico

[See the NRC press release, below. Note that NRC is defying the united New Mexican U.S. Congressional Delegation, which has demanded five in-person public comment meetings, once safe to hold post-pandemic, across the state.

Note that in early April, 2020, letters from 14 U.S. House Democrats (all committee chairs), as well as 25 U.S. Senate Democrats (five of them had just been running for president not long before), to OMB (White House Office of Management and Budget), demanded that the Trump administration executive branch agencies, including NRC, cease and desist with any public participation (including public comment) deadlines, till the pandemic emergency is over.

Also, environmental coalition requests to NRC, for suspension of this public comment proceeding, and a significant extension of its deadline, has been violated by this agency decision. NRC is slamming through this public comment proceeding, amidst a highly infectious, deadly, viral pandemic emergency.]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release

No: 20-041 August 10, 2020

CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC Schedules Webinars to Present Draft Environmental Findings on Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in New Mexico

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold four webinars in late August and early September to present its draft environmental findings and receive comments on Holtec International’s proposed consolidated spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. Webinars were previously held on June 23 and July 9.

 The NRC remains committed to opportunities for the public to inform the agency’s decisions related to its draft Environmental Impact Statement on Holtec’s proposal. In 2018, the NRC staff held one webinar and five in-person meetings in New Mexico. This fall, the agency planned similar public meetings in New Mexico; however, in-person meetings during the comment period will not be possible because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

 The series of additional webinars will allow the NRC staff to continue its public outreach under the current circumstances, and to make a well-informed and timely regulatory decision. The public also will be able to submit comments through U.S. mail, email or online.

 Information for the additional webinars will be posted on the NRC’s Public Meetings webpage. They will be held at different times of the day to maximize opportunities for the public to participate. The webinars are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 20 from 6–9 p.m., Aug. 25 from 2–5 p.m., Aug. 26 from 6–9 p.m., and Sept. 2 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. All times are Eastern.

 Holtec submitted its application for a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel on March 30, 2017. The draft EIS was published in March for a 60-day public comment period, which has been extended twice because of the COVID-19 public health emergency, for a total comment period of 180 days.

 Comments will be accepted through Sept. 22, including by mail to the Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; email at Holtec-CISFEIS@nrc.gov; and online at the federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2018-0052. Information about the NRC’s review of the Holtec application is available on the NRC website, including the draft EIS, reader’s guides in English and Spanish, and a detailed explanation of how to submit comments.

Congressman John Lewis's votes against environmentally unjust radioactive waste dumps

As the Honorable U.S. Representative John Robert Lewis (Democrat-Georgia-5th) was laid to rest in power yesterday, it is fitting to remember his good environmental justice votes against radioactively racist high-level radioactive waste dumps in the past.

On May 10, 2018, Congressman Lewis voted against H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2018. He was one of only 72 U.S. Reps. to vote against the bill on the House floor; 340 U.S. Reps. voted for it.  H.R. 3053 would have greased the skids for the opening of the permanent repository for highly radioactive wastes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada -- Western Shoshone land. In addition, it would have authorized so-called consolidated interim storage facilities targeted at a majority Hispanic region of the New Mexico/Texas borderlands, not far from the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. Fortunately, the U.S. Senate never took up the legislation that session, so it did not become law. (Learn more about the House floor vote, and the legislation, here.)

However, a nearly identical bill, H.R. 2699, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, did pass subcommittee and full committee on the U.S. House side last year. Although it has not (yet) gone to the House floor for an up or down vote, it has been taken up on the Senate side (S. 2917). We must remain vigilant and resist its passage into law. (Learn more, here.)

And on May 8, 2002, Congressman Lewis voted against Joint Resolution 87, the override of Nevada's veto against the Yucca Mountain dump. (See the NIRS press release from that day, here.) Only 117 U.S. Reps. voted against the override; 306 voted in favor of it. The U.S. Senate followed suit, voting 60 to 39 to override Nevada's veto on July 9, 2002. Despite this, the Yucca Mountain dump has been staved off, led by the resistance of the Western Shoshone and a thousand environmental groups, as well as the efforts of the State of Nevada and its U.S. Congressional delegation. The Obama administration cancelled the Yucca Mountain dump early on; efforts to revive it since have not succeeded, but eternal vigilance is required.

Also, as Mustafa Ali, former head of EJ at US EPA, and now serving at the National Wildlife Federation, pointed out on Democracy Now! in early September 2019, the high-level radioactive waste shipments to such dumps in the Southwest, whether by road, rail, or waterway, would themselves be a large EJ burden on people of color and/or low income communities.

As the nation honors the iconic life and work of Congressman John Lewis, we express our thanks for his environmental justice votes in 2002 and 2018, in resistance to high-level radioactive waste dumps targeted at people of color communities, and the large-scale, high-risk Mobile Chernobyl shipping campaign the opening of any one of these dumps would launch.