A board of three administrative judges with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in January to hear arguments from groups that want to intervene in the review of the license application for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in southeastern New Mexico.
Most, but not all, of the 18 entities that have petitioned for a hearing and intervention oppose the proposed Holtec International facility in Lea County. The New Jersey-based energy technology firm is initially seeking a 40-year license covering 8,680 metric tons of used fuel, but the site’s total capacity could reach 173,000 metric tons.
A three-judge board of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, appointed on Oct. 31, will determine which organizations are allowed to intervene. Authorized groups would then be able to file formal arguments for or against the license application.
“The Board will conduct a pre-hearing conference – most likely in January – to hear oral argument on standing and contention admissibility,” Administrative Judge Paul Ryerson wrote in a Nov. 7 order. “We are considering where and how to conduct oral argument most efficiently. Possibilities include New Mexico, NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland (with the option of participating from other locations electronically), and perhaps elsewhere.”
Petitioners have until Nov. 19 to submit a one-to-two-page statement regarding their preferred location and method for oral arguments, Ryerson wrote.
The petitioners are the Alliance for Environmental Strategies; Fasken Land and Minerals and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners; the Sierra Club; NAC International; Beyond Nuclear; and a coalition of Don’t Waste Michigan, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Public Citizen, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, and the Nuclear Study Group.
The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance – a coalition of two cities and two counties in New Mexico partnering with Holtec on the project – petitioned to participate in the proceeding as an interested governmental body. Each individual body also petitioned separately: the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs and Lea and Eddy counties.
