Holtec International wants to open the world’s largest “interim” nuclear waste dump for one of the most deadly materials on Earth – high-level radioactive waste – in southeast New Mexico.  The proposed site is located 16 miles northeast of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  But Holtec has to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), among other approvals.

Last week, the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board held a hearing in Albuquerque with arguments from the twelve parties opposing the application, including two industry groups, and from Holtec and the NRC staff.  To view the hearing, go to https://saveleacounty.net/ and to read the hearing transcript, go to https://adams.nrc.gov:4443/ehd/

Some statements from Holtec’s lawyers contradicted information the company previously provided.

For example, Holtec’s license application states the lethal radioactive waste would be owned by either the Department of Energy (DOE) or the nuclear utility companies that made it.  Nevertheless, during the second day of the hearing Holtec’s lawyer, Jay Silberg, admitted that under current law DOE cannot take title and ownership of the waste at an interim site.

In response, Diane Curran, one of the attorneys representing Beyond Nuclear, a Takoma Park, Maryland non-governmental organization opposing the license application, said, “We should not even have to argue this hypothetical case.  We call on the licensing board to dismiss the application.”  http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/

The waste generated by commercial nuclear power plants located mostly in the eastern U.S. would have to be transported across the country by rail, barge and truck.  The deadly containers would pass through nearly 90 percent of the U.S. congressional districts.  This waste can cause death in minutes if unshielded, and remains radioactive for literally millions of years.

Later, Silberg said that Holtec could bring the deadly waste to New Mexico if the nuclear power plant limited liability corporations retained title to the waste.  The companies would have to pay to transport the waste and remain economically and legally liable until DOE took title and shipped the waste to a permanent repository.  This scenario raises all sorts of questions, such as, who will fund the operations at the dump and its closure when the waste is removed – which may never happen – thus creating a de facto permanent dump.  https://www.gao.gov/key_issues/disposal_of_highlevel_nuclear_waste/issue_summary  [“Authorization: The Administration would require new legislative authority for interim storage because provisions in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act that authorized interim storage have either expired or are unusable because they were tied to milestones in the development of a repository at Yucca Mountain that have not been met.”]

Terry Lodge, an attorney representing six organizations near power plants and the Nuclear Issues Study Group based in Albuquerque that oppose the license, said, “The Holtec proposal is a corporate welfare trough that will make the nuclear waste problem in this country worse, putting millions of people along transport routes at unnecessary risk.”  https://www.facebook.com/NuclearIssuesStudyGroup/

The three judge NRC panel will decide in early April which of the parties may continue in the licensing process.

This summer the NRC plans to release a draft environmental impact statement for public comment.  Stay tuned!  Get involved!

About the number of environmental bills before the New Mexico Legislature?

1.    For instance, House Bill 206 – The Environmental Review Act “requires a state agency to conduct an ‘environmental assessment’ for a project if preliminary evaluation shows the project could have significant impact on the environment. The bill requires agencies to prepare a more detailed ‘environmental impact statement’ if the assessment shows the project is likely to have a significant environmental impact. Projects subject to review are those undertaken by public agencies (including state agencies, higher education institutions, counties, and municipalities), by an applicant for a ‘lease, permit, license, certificate or other entitlement’ issued by the state, or proposed on state land or land subject to state jurisdiction. HB206 provides for public comment periods, rulemaking authority to implement the legislation, and judicial review.”  1/18/19 Fiscal Impact Report at https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/19%20Regular/firs/HB0206.PDF

2.  CCNS recommends that you become familiar with the New Mexico legislature website at https://www.nmlegis.gov/  There you can find the names and contact information for your legislators.  Please contact them about your concerns and recommendations about pending bills. You can also learn about when the House and Senate will reconvene, review the House and Senate agendas for each day and watch the committee hearings.

This week, CCNS filed an appeal in the New Mexico Court of Appeals to overturn the New Mexico Environment Department approval of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Disposal Volume permit modification, which was signed on December 21, 2018.  The modification would allow expansion of WIPP’s capacity by approximately thirty percent.  It was approved over the repeated opposition of many New Mexico non-governmental organizations.  Southwest Research and Information Center and Nuclear Watch New Mexico also filed an appeal last week.  http://nuclearactive.org/environment-department-approves-30-percent-wipp-expansion/     

Beginning last January, the Martinez Administration did everything in they could to ensure the proposed expansion was approved before leaving office on December 31^st.  In late October, the Environment Department held a rushed three-day public hearing in Carlsbad, with a hurried post-hearing briefing schedule.  The Environment Department, and the Department of Energy and its contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, a limited liability corporation, supported the proposed expansion.  http://nuclearactive.org/thwarting-public-process-environment-department-rushes-ahead-to-hearing/ and http://nuclearactive.org/hearing-begins-oct-23rd-on-proposed-major-wipp-expansion/

The Environment Department receives federal financial assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its permitting programs.  As a result, it must comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and EPA’s implementing regulations.  To keep the funding, the Department cannot discriminate.

CCNS participated in the hearing and challenged the Department’s on-going discriminatory permitting process and on-going patterns and practices of denying adequate accommodations for limited English proficient Spanish-speaking residents.

New Mexico is one of the few states in the U.S. where distinct populations constitute the majority of the population.  In New Mexico, nearly 36 percent of the population speaks a language other than English in the home.  Under the Civil Rights Act, accommodations must be made.

The Department did little to accommodate.  The entire amount of information available in Spanish for the limited English proficient community was two public notices – the notice that the draft permit was available for review and comment, and the hearing notice.  The public notices excluded information that translators would be available at the hearing, thus preventing meaningful participation for those needing accommodations.  Limiting the permitting process almost entirely to English created disparate effects or impacts for New Mexico communities located near the WIPP site and along the transportation routes.

Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, “Our thirty years of experience in the permitting process shows that when people are not provided with the necessary accommodations to fully participate as required by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, people and communities are harmed.  People are not informed about the permitting processes that allow polluters to expand operations until after the decision has been made.  We are hopeful that the Lujan Grisham Administration will take a critical look at the decision to approve the WIPP expansion modification.”

1.    Objections from many organizations to the rushed WIPP permit process and the expansion modification are available at:

http://sric.org/nuclear/docs/2018_08_20_Tongate_extension.pdf and

http://sric.org/nuclear/docs/2018_09_20_Group-hearing-letter.pdf

2. The New Mexico Environment Department’s information about the modification are available at:

https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/

3.     Other documents related to modification are available at:

http://sric.org/nuclear/wipp_permit.php

• New Hearing Location: State Bar of New Mexico
  
• A call-in number to listen to the hearing
  
• Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 3:30 pm Press Conference at State Bar

Next Wednesday, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a pre-hearing about the standing and sufficiency of the hearing requests made by the Parties challenging Holtec International’s application for a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial high-level radioactive waste in southeast New Mexico.  http://nuclearactive.org/nrc-holds-holtec-hearing-in-albuquerque-on-january-23rd/

Listen-only, call-in numbers have been provided by the ASLB, so those unable to attend in person can still take in the proceedings:  the telephone number is 1-888-790-1895, and the passcode is 5046496.

The proposed dump would be the world’s largest.  It would be 2.5 times larger than the proposed Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada; and four times larger than the proposed Private Fuel Storage facility at Skull Valley in Utah.

The public hearing will begin at 9 am on Wednesday, January 23^rd, and, will continue as necessary, on Thursday, January 24^th.  Because of the government shutdown, the hearing will be held at a new location – at the State Bar of New Mexico, 5121 Masthead Street, Northeast, in Albuquerque.  https://www.nmbar.org/nmstatebar/Contact_Us/Nmstatebar/About_Us/Contact_Us.aspx?hkey=48be8d52-5c8a-4e72-a10a-f429a08ffaa5

Although no opportunity for public comment will be provided, please attend to support those challenging the license application.  https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/aslbp/

The Parties challenging the application include environmental and environmental justice organizations from California, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC.  Together the groups filed over 40 objections, or contentions, in NRC speak.  The objections include challenging the NRC for illegally considering the license application.  A summary of proceedings is available at http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/2019/1/24/summary-of-holtecelea-cisf-licensing-application-proceeding.html

Beyond Nuclear, a Washington, DC non-governmental organization, and other Parties argue that the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act does not allow the U.S. Department of Energy to take title, or ownership, to the waste at a privately owned and operated interim storage facility, such as Holtec.  This is only allowed at a permanent repository, which is not available.

The Board will hear oral argument from the attorneys for the Parties.  The Board has established the following order:  counsel for Beyond Nuclear http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ ; counsel for the Sierra Club http://www.riograndesierraclub.org/holtec/ ;  counsel for Alliance for Environmental Strategies http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ ; counsel for seven groups:  Don’t Waste Michigan https://dwmi.homestead.com/ , Citizens’ Environmental Coalition http://cechouston.org/ , Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination http://www.caccmi.org/ , Nuclear Energy Information Service https://neis.org/ , Public Citizen, Inc. https://www.citizen.org/ , San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace https://mothersforpeace.org/ , and Albuquerque-based Nuclear Issues Study Group https://abqpeaceandjustice.org/index.php/about/pajola/item/266-nuclear-issue-study-group ; counsel for NAC International, Inc., a direct competitor of Holtec https://www.nacintl.com/ ; counsel for Fasken Land and Minerals, http://www.mineralholders.com/texas/midland/fasken-land-minerals/7257465 and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners; counsel for Holtec International https://holtecinternational.com/ ; and counsel for the NRC Staff.  https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1901/ML19010A157.pdf

The afternoon before the hearing, on Tuesday, January 22^nd, beginning at 3:30 pm, representatives from the groups and their attorneys will hold a press conference at the State Bar of New Mexico.  The public is invited to attend.  http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/2019/1/24/summary-of-holtecelea-cisf-licensing-application-proceeding.html

Speakers from New Mexico include Rose Gardner and Noel Marquez, of the Alliance for Environmental Strategies, and their lawyer, Nancy Simmons.  Leona Morgan, of the Nuclear Issues Study Group, based in Albuquerque, which is part of a seven-group coalition, will speak along with the coalition’s lawyer, Terry Lodge, of Toledo, Ohio.

Other speakers include lawyers Diane Curran and Mindy Goldstein, who are representing Beyond Nuclear; and Wally Taylor, representing the Sierra Club’s Nuclear-Free Campaign.

The proposed Holtec site is located half way between Carlsbad and Hobbs, along U.S. 62/180, 15 miles north of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

If approved, barges, trains, and trucks would transport high-level radioactive waste from commercial nuclear power reactors across the country to converge in southeast NM.  Transportation maps are available at:  https://www.nirs.org/category/nuclear-waste-transport-maps-statistics/

The Board reserved time for comments from a representative of each of the following local government petitioners who support the dump:  Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance http://www.eddyleaenergyalliance.com/ ; the City of Carlsbad http://www.cityofcarlsbadnm.com/ ; Lea County https://www.leacounty.net/ ; Eddy County https://www.co.eddy.nm.us/ ; and the City of Hobbs https://www.hobbsnm.org .

…how to participate in the 60-day New Mexico Legislature?

You can learn about when the House and Senate will reconvene.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has 61.5 metric tons of what it calls “surplus” nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.  Approximately 13 metric tons is currently stored in the old K-Reactor building at the DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.  It can stay there until a technically sound and publicly accepted plan is developed and implemented.  But the public has to demand that better approach.  Many groups have stated that the next step

should be an environmental impact statement process to discuss the reasonable alternatives.

The previous plan was to mix the plutonium with uranium to create mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel for nuclear power plants.  But DOE’s construction of a MOX facility was decades behind schedule and tens of billions of dollars over budget.  The Obama administration proposed terminating it.  South Carolina politicians resisted, so for several years Congress funded the construction.

Congress did allow DOE to terminate the MOX facility, which it did in 2018.  http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/srs_watch_on_mox_termination_letter_october_12_2018.pdf

Lawsuits were filed by South Carolina to keep the construction going.  Last June, a federal district judge granted South Carolina’s request for a preliminary injunction to continue construction.  But on January 8^th, a federal appeals court in Virginia issued a final, strongly worded ruling affirming the DOE’s termination of the boondoggled MOX project.  http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/srs_watch_on_appeal_ct_mox_termination_ruling_january_8_2019.pdf

Tom Clements, Director of Savannah River Site Watch, said, “This ruling by the appellate court is thankfully one of the very last nails in the coffin of the problem-plagued MOX project.  Now, all termination activities at the MOX project must continue apace and the taxpayer must be relieved of the burden the mismanaged project caused.”  http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/srs_watch_news_on_mox_reactor_photos_jan_4_2019.pdf

DOE must have a new plan.  If the surplus plutonium does not stay in South Carolina, it appears DOE will target New Mexico.

DOE will ship some of the surplus plutonium to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for disposal.  The recently approved permit modification to increase WIPP’s capacity would allow for more surplus plutonium.  http://nuclearactive.org/environment-department-approves-30-percent-wipp-expansion/

In response to other South Carolina litigation, DOE also plans to ship some of the surplus plutonium, approximately one metric ton, from South Carolina to the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada Test Site.  But the State of Nevada has sued to prevent such shipments.  http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/savannah_river_site_watch__news_on_plutonium_shipment_court_hearings_jan_7_2019.pdf

Eventually, DOE plans for that surplus plutonium to be shipped to Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in nuclear weapons.  http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/savannah_river_site_watch__news_on_plutonium_shipment_court_hearings_jan_7_2019.pdf

These are yet additional proposed assaults on New Mexico.  However, since the public is opposed to those plans, the New Mexico state government and the congressional delegation can demand new and better plans.  DOE has made a mess.  New Mexico has and is doing its part.  New Mexico should not be targeted for more surplus plutonium.

DID YOU KNOW?

1.    Due to the government shutdown, the January 23 – 24, 2019 NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearing about the Holtec license application will be moved to a new location.  Please stay tuned to CCNS.  We’ll let you know as soon as we know.  For more information about the NRC Holtec hearing, http://nuclearactive.org/nrc-holds-holtec-hearing-in-albuquerque-on-january-23rd/

2.    On Monday, January 7, 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed James Kenney as Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department.  Read Laura Paskus interview with him at http://nmpoliticalreport.com/2019/01/10/qa-with-incoming-nmed-head-a-commitment-to-go-big-on-environmental-issues/?mc_cid=c6288d5b57&mc_eid=797c9d1c41

3.     It’s Time to March Again!

In less than three weeks, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a pre-hearing about the standing and the sufficiency of the hearing requests from the Parties concerning Holtec International’s application for a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial high-level radioactive waste in southeast New Mexico.  The public hearing will begin at 9 am on Wednesday, January 23^rd, and, as necessary, on Thursday, January 24^th, in the sixth floor courtroom at the United States Historic Courthouse, located at 421 Gold Avenue, Southwest, in Albuquerque.  No opportunity for public comment will be provided.  https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/aslbp/

The Parties will argue they have standing and their intervention petitions allow them to participate in the NRC process about Holtec’s application for a 40-year license to store 8,680 metric tons of commercial spent nuclear fuel in a vertical configuration.  https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html

Holtec proposes 19 expansion phases over a 20-year period for a total of approximately 10,000 canisters, or about 100,000 metric tons.  About 80,000 metric tons of waste currently exists at nuclear reactor sites.  Holtec also proposes to bring all future waste.

The proposed site is located 15 miles north of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site, and half way between Carlsbad and Hobbs, along U.S. 180.

The Board will hear oral argument from the attorneys for the Parties.  The Board has established the following order:  counsel for Beyond Nuclear http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ ; counsel for the Sierra Club http://www.riograndesierraclub.org/holtec/ ;  counsel for Alliance for Environmental Strategies http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ ; counsel for seven groups:  Don’t Waste Michigan https://dwmi.homestead.com/ , Citizens’ Environmental Coalition http://cechouston.org/ , Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination http://www.caccmi.org/ , Nuclear Energy Information Service https://neis.org/ , Public Citizen, Inc. https://www.citizen.org/ , San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace https://mothersforpeace.org/ , and Albuquerque-based Nuclear Issues Study Group https://abqpeaceandjustice.org/index.php/about/pajola/item/266-nuclear-issue-study-group ; counsel for NAC International, Inc., a direct competitor of Holtec https://www.nacintl.com/ ; counsel for Fasken Land and Minerals, http://www.mineralholders.com/texas/midland/fasken-land-minerals/7257465 and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners; counsel for Holtec International https://holtecinternational.com/ ; and counsel for the NRC Staff.

Fasken Land and Minerals is a fracking driller with holdings close to the Holtec site.  The Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners formed in response to the consolidated interim storage facilities proposed by the privately owned Holtec, and nearby Waste Control Specialists, now known as Interim Storage Partners.  Fasken and the Royalty Owners filed a motion to dismiss based on the fact that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act does not recognize privately owned consolidated interim storage sites.

The Board will reserve time for comments from a representative from each of the following local government petitioners:  Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance http://www.eddyleaenergyalliance.com/ ; the City of Carlsbad http://www.cityofcarlsbadnm.com/ ; Lea County https://www.leacounty.net/ ; Eddy County https://www.co.eddy.nm.us/ ; and the City of Hobbs https://www.hobbsnm.org .

Please mark your calendars for this important hearing and support the interveners.

There are two privately held corporations applying for NRC licenses for consolidated interim storage facilities (CISF) for high-level commercial radioactive waste. 

1.  Holtec International in southeast New Mexico at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/search.html?q=holtec+in+adams&site=allSites#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=holtec%20in%20adams&gsc.page=1

2.  Interim Storage Partners (ISP) in west Texas, five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico at