Plans for nuclear waste storage facility scrapped (San Diego Union-Tribune)

“Holtec International confirmed the decision last week, following strong opposition from state lawmakers, including New Mexico’s governor.

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“I’m glad that Holtec heard our strenuous objections and decided that fighting to put more nuclear waste in New Mexico was a losing proposition,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

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In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy put up an initial allocation of $26 million to identify communities that may be interested “in learning more about hosting” a potential interim facility.

But one likely sticking point is that until a permanent site is announced, it may be difficult to find a community willing to accept an interim facility because of the fear that the waste will remain there indefinitely.

“It’s inappropriate to call anything ‘interim’ when you don’t have a permanent repository,” New Mexico state senator Jeff Steinborn told Associated Press last week.

In a similar vein, a proposed commercial waste project in West Texas has hit roadblocks.

A group called Interim Storage Partners proposed storing 40,000 metric tons of waste in canisters in a remote portion of Andrews County, Texas.

Despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that ruled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was within its rights to grant the company a 40-year lease, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fought against the project, in part due to fears of an accident disrupting drilling in the state’s oil-and-gas-rich Permian Basin.

In a statement to a Texas television station shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Interim Storage Partners announced it was putting the project on hold, saying, “we will not proceed with any development … without the consent of the state of Texas.”

Read the full article from the San Diego Union-Tribune by clicking here.