Waste Control Specialists CEO Rod Baltzer says the company expects to complete its license application for a consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Texas by May 1.
WCS is one of two companies planning to submit an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate an interim storage facility under the Department of Energy’s consent-based storage plan for nuclear waste. The department in December unveiled a three-part siting process, which envisions plans for a pilot storage facility, interim facilities, and eventually one or more permanent repositories.
Holtec International plans to build its own facility in New Mexico. Holtec Senior Vice President Pierre Oneid said during a telephone interview Monday that the company and its partners expect to submit a license application to NRC in June. He claimed the site would eventually have the capacity to store lifetime waste from all current nuclear units operating in the U.S. To date, about 70,000 metric tons of spent reactor fuel has accumulated in storage at commercial nuclear facilities around the country.
Baltzer provided an update on the WCS plans in a video presentation last Friday on the company’s website. WCS will apply for an initial 40-year license, with a 20-year option to renew, for the storage of 40,000 metric tons at a facility built in eight phases. Each phase will accommodate 5,000 metric tons of heavy-metal, spent fuel, Baltzer said.
Baltzer noted that WCS’ and Holtec’s plans will require congressional action allowing the Department of Energy to contract with private companies. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said last week he will champion a change in law that would enable DOE to do just that.
Last fall, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) introduced House Resolution 3643, which would allow DOE to fund private endeavors using the $34 billion Nuclear Waste Fund, freeing up as much as $1 billion a year starting in 2016. Conaway’s district includes Andrews County, Texas, where WCS plans to open its interim storage facility. A GOP aide told RadWaste Monitor in February that the House Energy and Commerce Committee would not consider the bill because it did not address the need for the long-stalled national nuclear waste repository previously planned at Yucca Mountain. The source also said the committee viewed the bill’s funding mechanism as incomplete.
Baltzer said in the video: “In order for any of us to contribute to the (nuclear waste) solution, we must get clear direction from Congress that the federal government will be in a position to use the interest from the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay for interim storage. This is a very significant step and would provide a mechanism to give DOE the ability to enter into contracts with private companies to provide interim storage of used nuclear fuel.”
Assuming a bill is approved, Baltzer said WCS could begin constructing the facility in the second half of 2019 and begin accepting waste at the start of 2021.
The NRC license application review is anticipated to take three years. According to budget documents, NRC expects to spend about $1.4 million on the WCS evaluation in fiscal 2017. While the agency did not include any amount for a review of the Holtec license application in its fiscal 2017 budget request, officials have said they can reprioritize work to fund a second review.
License review will entail safety, technical, and environmental assessment, which takes about three years. However, the review also includes site-specific analysis, which opens the possibility for intervener objection and a hearing, which can significantly lengthen the process.
