The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will participate in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s development of an environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s application to build and operate a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state.
The state agency’s role is formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations, which was posted Friday to the NRC website.
“The purpose of the MOU is to establish a framework for coordination and participation between the two agencies to ensure the timely review of the proposed [consolidated interim storage facility] application,” Cinthya Roman, chief of the Environmental Review Branch within the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, wrote in a July 11 letter to Rebecca Roose, director of NMED’s Water Protection Division.
Cooperating agency status is intended to ensure that the expertise of NMED staff, particularly on surface water and groundwater issues, is incorporated into the federal environmental review. “As a cooperating agency, we will have the opportunity to review and provide input on the draft EIS,” NMED spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said by email this week.
Holtec in March 2017 applied for a 40-year NRC license for its planned underground storage facility in Lea County, N.M. It would start with authorization to hold 8,680 metric tons of used fuel, but it’s ultimate capacity could exceed 100,000 metric tons. With license renewals, the facility could operate up to 120 years.
The CISF, along with a smaller site planned by competitor Interim Storage Partners in West Texas, could finally help the Department of Energy meet its legal mandate to remove spent fuel from nuclear power plants. By law, the department was supposed to begin that process by Jan. 31, 1998.
The NRC environmental impact statement is part of a broader technical review covering security and safety aspects of the Holtec International application. The draft version of the EIS is anticipated in March 2020, followed a year later by the final document – alongside the safety and security review. The agency would then rule on the application. The NRC had originally anticipated completing the evaluations by July 2020, but is allowing more time for responses to requests for additional information submitted to Holtec.
Within its areas of expertise, NMED’s role in the EIS process could encompass determining cumulative effects, recommending environmental mitigation measures, joining government-to-government meetings, and submitting comments for working drafts of the initial and final environmental document, according to the MOU.
Holtec on Friday said it did not object to NMED’s participation in preparing the environmental impact statement.
The New Jersey energy technology company had support from the state government for its project prior to the November 2018 midterm elections, but new Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and members of her administration have been publicly critical of spent-fuel storage in New Mexico. Among their concerns are the project’s potential impact on the state’s energy and agriculture sectors, and that interim storage might become permanent if the Energy Department never builds a waste repository.
Last month, the New Mexico State Land Office said Holtec had “falsely” indicated that it had received agreement from local energy operators to limit oil and gas drilling near its facility. There are no such documents, according to the state agency.
Holtec on Friday affirmed its position that its site, formally called the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility, would not affect local oil and gas operations, and vice versa.
“We have spent the last several years working closely with the Office of the Governor and the Office of the State Land Commissioner during the previous administration and will continue to work with the new state leadership,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to further constructive discussions as this process moves forward.”
Holtec has also faced intense scrutiny in recent months from news coverage and regulators in New Jersey regarding a $260 million tax break it received from the state for a new facility. The tax break has since been frozen, according to local reports.
“The NRC is aware of the press reporting related to Holtec and will take appropriate action should facts come to light that have a bearing on NRC’s regulatory decision-making,” agency spokesman David McIntyre said by email this week.
