Permian Basin County Renews Opposition to Disposal of Higher-Level Nuclear Waste
While the county supports the existing low-level radioactive waste disposal site, the resolution renews opposition to permitting the disposal of higher-level waste.
FEB 26, 2024
A quarrel over nuclear waste disposal in the heart of the Permian Basin energy industry, Andrews County, is being renewed as local officials and landowners step up opposition to an effort to license an existing low-level disposal site for higher levels of radioactive waste.
At present, there are two radioactive disposal facilities in the Permian Basin: one in Lea County, New Mexico owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) known as the “WIPP site,” and a low-level disposal facility just across the state line in Texas managed by a private operator, Waste Control Specialists (WCS).
Last year, the DOE granted a license to another private operator, Holtec International, that allows the company to store high-level nuclear waste, largely from power plants, for 40 years at the WIPP site.
The decision drew strong opposition from the New Mexico State Legislature, as well as a bipartisan group of lawmakers who represent Texas and New Mexico.
The Texas Legislature has also passed measures to prevent the storage of high-level waste without the state’s consent. However, there is an open legal question regarding whether a federal permit preempts a state ban.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the State of Texas in the issue late last year in litigation brought by Gov. Greg Abbott to stop the federal licensure of higher-level waste, but the DOE has appealed the decision to the full appeals court and the question remains pending.
Now with WCS also petitioning for a license to store another classification of nuclear waste, known as Greater Than Class C (GTCC) waste, Andrews County landowners and oil and gas companies are pushing back, saying that isn’t what was promised to the community when the disposal site was created.
“Waste Control Specialists promised the people of Andrews that they would not exceed Class C radioactive waste. When the people became aware of WCS petitioning for a change in the regulations governing GTCC waste disposal and that the federal government was only considering one site, the WCS site, for shallow disposal of Greater than Class C waste, the citizens banded together and looked to their elected officials for a resolution,” attorney Monica Perales with the organization “Protect the Basin” told The Texan.