The company seeking federal approval to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico is asking to get involved with the state’s ongoing lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to recent court filings.
Holtec International filed a formal petition April 29 to intervene in New Mexico’s proceedings against NRC in the state’s court of appeals, according to the court docket. At press time Wednesday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing the court hadn’t made a decision on whether the company could step in.
State attorney general Hector Balderas argued in the March 29 suit against the commission that it would be illegal for the government to grant a license for Holtec’s proposed interim storage site in southeastern New Mexico in the absence of a permanent repository for nuclear waste. Balderas also raised concerns with the Camden, N.J.-based nuclear services company’s ability to fund the site’s construction, and took issue with the commission’s refusal to hold a public hearing on the subject.
Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, the New Mexico state legislature is scheduled to vote in its next session later this year on a proposed bill that would expand a statewide task force’s oversight of radioactive waste storage sites. The measure was still pending on the state House’s floor calendar when the current session ended March 31.
Holtec’s proposed interim storage site is currently the subject of a federal environmental review. NRC’s environmental impact statement, a prerequisite for licensing, won’t be complete until the summer, the agency has said.
