A public meeting is set for 5 p.m. Mountain Time today as the New Mexico Environment Department reviews plans by the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for two new underground disposal panels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.
The Amentum-led Nuclear Waste Partnership, which includes BXW Technologies, will present information on waste disposal units, Panels 11 and 12, during the session at the Skeen-Whitlock Building in Carlsbad. The meeting can be viewed on Zoom.
The contractor and DOE filed a Class 3 modification request for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) state hazardous waste facility permit on July 30.
Panels 1-6 have been filled with defense-related transuranic waste and permanently closed under the current permit requirements, according to the 130-page document. Disposal is taking place in Panel 7, while Panel 8 construction is nearing completion with plans to start waste emplacement in May 2022. Panel 8 could be filled by August 2025 and WIPP could start filling Panel 11 then, under the request.
Generally underground panels take about 30 months to develop and then another 30 months to fill, according to the permit request. The areas designated as Panels 9 and 10 provide operational support, such as transport and ventilation, according to the document.
But nuclear critics in New Mexico are wary about infrastructure projects that might extend WIPP operation well past the original 2024 retirement date. New Mexico is considering a 10-year extension to the existing permit for the disposal facility, which technically expired in December but remains in effect.
Written comments on the panel must be received by Ricardo Maestas of the New Mexico Environment Department, [email protected], no later than 5 p.m. M.T. on Oct. 4.
