The Department of Energy has no authority to issue contracts for any commercially operated spent nuclear fuel storage services, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a recent letter to a member of Congress.
That runs counter to the business plans laid out by both corporate teams seeking federal regulatory approval for consolidated interim storage facilities (CISF) for used fuel: Holtec International, in Lea County, N.M.; and Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Orano and Waste Control Specialists, in Andrews County, Texas.
For example: Holtec said in the environmental report for its March 2017 application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the first phase of construction would begin “after issuance of the license and after Holtec successfully enters into a contract for storage with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).”
Interim Storage Partners made a corresponding statement regarding its contracting plans in its own application to the federal regulator.
The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act made the Energy Department legally responsible for disposal of the nation’s growing stockpile of used fuel from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste. The agency has made little progress toward meeting this directive, still lacking an NRC license for the planned geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev.
The CISFs have been seen as an option for DOE to meet its legal responsibility before permanent disposal is available. The Holtec project, though, has particularly run into stiff opposition from state and federal elected officials in New Mexico.
In an Oct. 23 letter to Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), Perry wrote that “DOE has no authority to contract for SNF storage services for Holtec or any other private storage provider. This restriction was recently recognized by the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in a May 7, 2019, Memorandum and Order issued in the Holtec proceeding.”
Perry appeared to be addressing the reference in the document to the Energy Department being prohibited from taking title to commercial used fuel until the permanent repository is ready.
While they have identified DOE as their primary intended customer, both Holtec and Interim Storage Partners have said also they could contract directly with nuclear utilities for storage.
