Officials at the state and local levels from West Texas, in addition to local residents, have unified their position on the interim storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Permian Basin. Although this unified front exists, the federal government is continuing their review of Interim Storage Partners’ and Holtec International’s licensing applications.
Waste Control Specialists, the joint partner in the company Interim Storage Partners, currently operates a low-level nuclear waste disposal site in Andrews, Texas. Their application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asks for a 40 year license to store the nation’s HLW. Environmentalists, oil and gas companies, and Texas politicians oppose the plan.
State Representative Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) is one of the politicians involved over the years with this issue. His stance on WCS and high-level waste has varied, even over the last few months. During the 2021 Texas Legislative session, he introduced a bill that while marketed as a ban on HLW in Texas, was actually a “vendor bill”. Meaning the bill was written by Waste Control Specialists and would have saved the company millions of dollars that they currently pay to the state, as well as lower some of the regulations on their facility that are currently in place. Landgraf was reported to have received thousands in campaign donations from WCS’s PAC.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to finalize their Environmental Impact Statement within the next month and publish their findings. Protect the Basin will continue to fight this issue, regardless of the EIS.
