A South Carolina-based venture capitalist backed by a board of nuclear experts intends to submit an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate an interim spent nuclear fuel storage and reprocessing facility in the Palmetto State.
Mike Stake – owner of personal concierge and handyman service Everything at Stake and chairman of the Aiken County Tea Party – said in a telephone interview Wednesday that he and his board of directors are trying to determine if the concept is “logistically viable.” At the same time, he said the group wants the NRC to know “we’re out here, and we’re serious.”
The group on July 26 sent the agency a letter of intent to submit an application for a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The NRC responded on Sept. 9, encouraging Stake to hold pre-application meetings with agency staff as the group gets closer to its submittal date. The NRC’s letter also noted that “applicants pay licensing fees for pre-application meetings with NRC staff.” The hourly rate for general staff review time is more than $250, meaning the pre-application process could cost tens of thousands dollars.
Texas company Waste Control Specialists, for its own spent fuel storage application, scheduled four pre-application meetings. Four three-hour meetings with 15 NRC staff present comes out to more than $45,000.
Stake said he and his board are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the project and NRC fees. He said the group is still hammering out logistics as far as facility capacity and timeline.
“(The pre-application cost) is significant, and certainly we’re going to have to tap venture capitalists and/or people within the industry that will help continue to fund that,” Stake said, estimating it would take at least a year to complete the application.
