A federal appeals court Wednesday hit the pause button on an environmental group’s recent petition against the licensing of a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, after combining it with a similar case from last year, according to the court docket.
Sierra Club’s April 14 petition against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is on indefinite hold until the commission wraps up with agency-level challenges to the proposed Holtec International consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in southeast New Mexico, according to a clerk’s order filed Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The environmental group’s petition — which alleges that NRC misapplied federal law when it decided to toss objections to the Holtec site in a Feb. 18 order — will be considered in tandem with a similar case filed by anti-nuclear watchdog Beyond Nuclear in July. Since a judge put that case on hold in October, Sierra Club’s combined petition is subject to the same guidelines.
NRC is currently reviewing a motion filed against the proposed Holtec site by minerals holding company Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd. The commission will meet April 28 to discuss the issue, according to a Federal Register notice.
The parties involved in the court proceedings need to file a status report on the case April 29, according to the docket. After agency proceedings are closed, the parties have 30 days to file new motions.
The proposed Holtec facility is one of two such sites awaiting federal approval. Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between Orano and Waste Control Specialists, is also under commission review. Environmental impact statements for the proposed sites are pending and likely won’t be done until the summer, the agency has said.
