A bill introduced in New Mexico’s state legislature last week, and backed by the governor, aims to block a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel by banning the storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in the Land of Enchantment.
If it became law, Senate Bill (SB) 54, introduced Jan. 19 by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), would amend New Mexico law to ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in the state. The bill would also adjust the duties of an existing statewide radioactive waste task force allowing it to examine the impacts of proposed private nuclear waste disposal facilities in addition to federal sites.
The ban would not apply to transuranic waste, which is stored at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant outside Carlsbad, N.M. New Mexico law defines high-level waste as liquid or solid byproducts of nuclear-fuel reprocessing and spent fuel as irradiated fuel. Transuranic waste is defined separately as certain material contaminated with elements heavier than uranium.
A high-level waste ban would come as Holtec International eyes New Mexico as a potential site for an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The Camden, N.J., nuclear services company has applied for a federal license with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build such a site.
SB 54 was referred Tuesday to the state Senate’s Conservation Committee. As of Friday the panel had yet to schedule debate on the bill. A state House-site version of the measure is scheduled to be heard in its energy and environment committee Jan. 27.
Steinborn introduced a similar bill in last year’s session of the New Mexico legislature, but it never made it through the full legislature.
State Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, already a vocal opponent of the proposed Holtec site, has thrown her office’s weight behind the proposed rad waste ban. In a Jan. 20 message Lujan Grisham authorized state lawmakers to debate SB 54. Under New Mexico law, during even-numbered years the only new legislation the state legislature can consider are bills brought forward by the governor and the annual budget.
With its proposed high-level waste ban, New Mexico is following a trail blazed last year by its neighbor to the east. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in September signed into law a similar piece of legislation in a bid to block a separate interim storage site owned by Interim Storage Partners (ISP) from breaking ground in the Lone Star State.
Meanwhile, Holtec’s license application with NRC is the subject of some delay. The agency was supposed to wrap things up in January, but informed the company in November that it still needed more information to complete required safety and environmental reviews of the proposed site. NRC has yet to unveil a revised schedule for the reviews.
ISP, a joint venture between Waste Control Specialists (WCS) and Orano USA, had its license application approved by NRC in September.
