Discussion begins on nuclear waste storage in Andrews County

As reported by the Midland Reporter Telegram.

IPRA: Holtec letter to SLO [State Lands Office, New Mexico]

Beyond Nuclear was cc'd on an email from the State Lands Office of NM, to Nick Maxwell, a local citizen and opponent of Holtec/ELEA's CISF:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Koluncich, Nicholas <nkoluncich@slo.state.nm.us>
Date: Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Subject: IPRA: Holtec letter to SLO
To: IPRA Inspector <ipra.inspector@gmail.com>

Dear Mr. Maxwell:

Thank you for your public records request seeking, “1. Holtec's May 29, 2019 letter to the State Land Office,” which we received Via Email on Monday, July 1, 2019.   We searched but did not locate and are not aware of a letter from that date.  We did, however, find a lengthy letter from Holtec dated May 23, 2019.  I have attached that letter and hope that this is what you were looking for.  Thank you.

Nicholas

From: IPRA Inspector [mailto:ipra.inspector@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2019 9:37 PM
To: SLO IPRA <SLO.IPRA@slo.state.nm.us>
Subject: IPRA: Holtec letter to SLO

Dear Custodian of Records,

I wish to inspect the following public record:

1. Holtec's May 29, 2019 letter to the State Land Office.

Please waive any fee for my review of the record.

Thanks,

Nick Maxwell

PO Box 1064

Hobbs, NM 88241

575.441.3560

[The email included this attachment.]

Federal Commission Hears Intervenor Arguments in High-Level Nuclear Waste Proposal

Statement of Adrian Shelley, Director, Public Citizen’s Texas Office

[NJ State Senate Majority Leader] Weinberg ‘troubled’ by Holtec revelations

As reported by Politico.

BEYOND NUCLEAR PRESS STATEMENT, by Diane Curran, Legal Counsel

BEYOND NUCLEAR PRESS STATEMENT, by Diane Curran, Legal Counsel (2pm, Midland, TX press conference [see full coalition's press release here]):

My name is Diane Curran, I am an attorney representing Beyond Nuclear. This project is one company’s unlawful and unfair strategy to get a leg up over other competing businesses in this region and position itself to make high-level, extremely dangerous radioactive waste storage the principal business activity, instead of agriculture or oil and gas exploration. The applicant for this license presumes the federal government will take title to the highly radioactive spent fuel to be transported and stored at the proposed facility. But federal law prohibits the government from owning spent fuel unless and until a permanent repository is in place. No permanent repository exists or is even under review at this point. Therefore, the NRC shouldn’t be considering this license application at all.

Why does this matter to the people in this region? Because ISP does not plan to go forward with building a spent fuel storage facility unless and until Congress changes the law to shift liability for the project from the company to the federal government. The company is prepared to bide its time, betting that the law will be changed to favor its proposed waste dump. All this watching and waiting will be at your expense, because lawful businesses in this area will have to operate under a dark cloud of anticipation that this area will become a high-level radioactive waste dump with all of the adverse effects on agriculture, oil and gas exploration, and property values. At the hearing tomorrow we will bring these arguments before the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and urge them to dismiss this unlawful application.