The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it is considering a request from New Mexico’s congressional delegation for more time to submit comments on a key document in licensing a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state.
The NRC, like agencies at all levels of government, is wrestling with managing its regular operations while facing the hazards posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. That balancing act was at the core of the request from the New Mexico lawmakers.
The agency will respond to the lawmakers “soon,” NRC spokesman David McIntyre said by email. “We are looking for the most appropriate way to ensure an open and transparent review process while providing ample opportunity for public comment, given the current pandemic conditions restricting travel and public gatherings. An announcement about public meetings on the Holtec draft environmental impact statement and the length of the public comment period will be made in the near future.”
In a draft environmental impact statement issued earlier this month, staff at the federal regulator preliminarily recommended approval of Holtec International’s March 2017 license application for a consolidated interim storage facility in Lea County. It determined the site’s environmental effects would mostly be small across areas such as air quality, land use, geology and soils, and groundwater.
Comments are currently being accepted through May 22. Public meetings are also planned in New Mexico, but dates and locations have not been announced.
“In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we urge the Commission to delay any public meetings and to extend the 60-day public comment period regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Holtec’s proposed spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Southeast New Mexico,” New Mexico’s two senators and three representatives, all Democrats, wrote in a March 20 letter to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “The recent guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control is that public gatherings should not be held at this time.”
Public input is crucial in matters involving nuclear waste, according to the lawmakers. The Holtec project raises potential impacts to health, safety, and the environment in the state, ranging from its economy to Native American communities, they wrote.
The draft environmental impact statement is scheduled to be finalized next March. The document, along with a separate NRC safety report, would be used in determining whether to approve the Holtec license.
The 40-year license would initially cover underground storage of up to 8,680 metric tons of used fuel in 500 canisters, but could be amended to eventually cover more than 170,000 metric tons of radioactive material in 10,000 canisters.
“We respectfully urge you to extend the public comment period until the threat of covid-19 has passed and it is again safe to attend public meetings. In addition, NRC should schedule public meetings at locations across New Mexico to allow ample opportunity for full participation,” the New Mexico delegation’s letter says.
The signatories were Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Reps. Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland, and Xochitl Torres Small.
As of Friday, the New Mexico Department of Health said there were 136 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease in the state. One death has been reported.
