The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again delayed its final licensing decision for a commercially-operated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for southeast New Mexico, the agency said in a webinar this week.
Although NRC said in May that it would decide whether to approve Holtec International’s application for its proposed interim storage site by January, the agency needs “two or three additional weeks” to review supporting documents from the company, agency project manager Jose Cuadrado said during an update on the licensing process held via webinar Thursday afternoon.
That new timeline pushes NRC’s final licensing decision into mid-to-late February 2023, Cuadrado said.
Despite that new projection, Shana Helton, director of NRC’s fuel management division, said that a final licensing decision was “predicated” on Holtec’s timely submission of additional information the agency needs for its review.
Holtec, which plans to build its proposed facility in Lea County, N.M., submitted its most recent round of supplemental information in August. The company expects to send the final revision of its documents this month, Cuadrado said.
Kimberly Manzione, director of licensing at Holtec, agreed the company still expects to submit those final revisions by November, but declined to provide a more specific date.
NRC staff in July recommended that Holtec get a federal license for its proposed interim storage site.
Holtec’s proposed site has faced challenges from both local and national stakeholders. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in July accused NRC of “choosing profit over public interest,” and asked the state legislature to block the project.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is also suing NRC in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals over both the proposed Holtec site and a similar project planned for west Texas which the agency licensed in September 2021.
If it gets built, Camden, N.J.-based Holtec has said that its interim storage site would initially be able to store around 8,700 tons of spent nuclear fuel in 500 canisters. That capacity could be increased by 10,000 canisters via future license amendments.
