The company seeking a license to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week in requesting that a judge toss the state attorney general’s lawsuit over the proposed site, a court filing shows.
New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas went to the wrong court when he filed his March 29 case against NRC over Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility, the company said in a supporting brief filed Monday. Holtec agreed with NRC’s reasoning that the U.S. District Court for New Mexico, where the suit is now, is the wrong venue. NRC filed a separate motion June 17 asking the court to dismiss Balderas’s case.
Under the Hobbs Act, which ensures that federal agencies are under equal judicial supervision, Balderas should have filed suit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Holtec said. The Camden, N.J.-based nuclear services company also argued that New Mexico erred in suing NRC because there’s no “final order” from the agency to challenge — in this case, a licensing decision on the proposed interim storage site, which has yet to come down.
The state hasn’t exhausted all of its options for opposing the proposed site from within the commission’s appeals processes either, Holtec said.
Meanwhile, the state attorney general’s team is requesting more time to provide a response to the motion. Balderas asked the court Friday to move the response deadline from July 1 to July 19. Holtec and NRC have said that they don’t oppose an extension.
At deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor, a judge hadn’t ruled on either motion.
The Land of Enchantment is disenchanted with the prospect of an interim storage facility within its borders. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said June 15 that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), the New Mexico congressional delegation and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) would send a letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm voicing their concerns about the proposed Holtec site. During an interview in early June, NMED secretary James Kenney told RadWaste Monitor that New Mexico was “not the site” for an interim spent fuel storage facility.
Heinrich’s office didn’t return multiple requests for comment by deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor.
Holtec’s proposed site is one of just two such locations under NRC licensing review at the moment. An environmental impact statement for the site, a major hurdle to licensing, is expected in only a matter of days, in July, the agency has said. The commission in March had to put a safety review for the proposed facility on hold until Holtec could give them more information.
