The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asking a judge to hold off on proceedings involving three environmental groups’ petitions against a proposed interim storage site until the agency can settle a fourth complaint with a minerals company, according to new court filings this week.
The Wednesday filing in the D.C. circuit court of appeals concerned Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd.’s Feb. 23 appeal to the NRC to reconsider the company’s objections to the licensing of Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed site in Andrews County, Texas. Fasken first had its complaints tossed by the commission in December.
The commission wants to finish up with the Feb. 23 complaint before the court addresses petitions from other environmental watchdog groups: Don’t Waste Michigan, Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club.
To that end, the agency said in the filing that it also wants the court to combine the three environmental groups’ petitions into one and, notionally, to add the minerals company’s objection if one arises. Since all of the complaints, including Fasken’s, center on one commission order, the agency argued that combining the cases is justified.
The three environmental groups agreed with the agency’s proposal to delay and combine their individual petitions of the proposed site, the filing said. ISP, which plans to get involved in the case as well, has no objections either.
According to NRC’s Wednesday filing, Fasken’s appeal “may affect the issuance of a license for the [ISP] facility.” If it does not, the commission expects that Fasken might file their own petition in court alongside the environmental groups’ existing challenges.
The court had not made a decision on whether to delay proceedings at deadline for RadWaste Monitor.
The proposed Texas interim storage facility, along with Holtec International’s counterpart site in southeastern New Mexico, is undergoing a federal environmental impact review that is a prerequisite for licensing. The commission has previously said this process won’t be done until the summer.
