Thursday, September 9, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 7 into law. This law bans high-level nuclear waste from entering Texas. It also prohibits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or the TCEQ) from issuing state permits for constructing facilities in Texas for HLW storage.
Environmental groups, oil and gas companies, and politicians in Texas have found themselves agreeing that interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in far West Texas is a terrible idea for several reasons. Despite HB 7 now becoming law in Texas (immediately since a majority of lawmakers approved the bill), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still in the process of reviewing Interim Storage Partners’ application. The licensing decision is said to be announced on Monday, September 13.
Local residents and the Andrews County Commissioners Court oppose the licensing of the facilities and continue fighting the federal government and the private company in charge of this plan, Interim Storage Partners.