A bill intended to check a proposed private interim storage facility for spent nuclear in New Mexico got a step closer to the governor’s desk last week.
New Mexico’s House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee, in a 6-3 vote Saturday, approved the proposed measure, which would amend state law to prohibit the storage of radioactive waste in New Mexico without state consent. The bill’s next stop is the House Judiciary Committee, which next meets Wednesday.
Introduced in January by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), the bill would ban the construction of spent fuel storage facilities in the Land of Enchantment until the state has “consented to or concurred” with such a project.
It would also bar spent fuel storage in New Mexico until a national permanent spent fuel repository is open, and would add private storage facilities to the purview of an existing statewide radioactive waste task force.
The measure passed the state Senate Feb. 13 in a 21-13 floor vote.
This is Steinborn’s third attempt in as many years to pass legislation blocking nuclear services company Holtec International from building its proposed interim storage site in Lea County, N.M. Similar bills the state senator introduced in the last two state legislative sessions failed to pass in both chambers.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is responsible for licensing the proposed Holtec site, has said that it could make a final decision on whether to approve the project by March. NRC staff in June recommended that the project receive a license.
If built, Holtec has said that its proposed facility could store up to 8,700 tons of spent nuclear fuel in 500 canisters, with capacity upgrades of up to 10,000 canisters to be added via future license amendments.
