New Mexico is one step closer to getting the inside baseball on proposed spent fuel repositories after a bill that would expand the mandate of a radioactive waste task force won approval in the state House’s environmental committee this week.
Senate Bill (SB) 82, proposed by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), passed the state House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources committee Tuesday morning with a 5-4 party-line vote. The measure is working its way up to the full House after passing in the state Senate last week.
If the bill passes in a full session of the state House, its next stop is Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) desk.
If it became law, the measure would allow a statewide task force to assess the effects of nuclear waste storage sites on nearby communities, populations and property and coordinate state investigations into these effects. It also would require an annual report to the state legislature on these investigations.
Members of the task force would include the state secretaries of: energy; minerals and natural resources; health; environment; public safety; homeland security and emergency management and Indian affairs. An amendment to the bill last week added the state land office to the list as well, Steinborn said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.
SB 82 is scheduled for debate in the full session of the state House. The next meeting is on Wednesday.
