The Opposition To a Texas Nuclear Waste Site Has Returned

In 2018, Interim Storage Partners LLC (ISP), a joint venture from Waste Control Specialists and Orano, are back in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s application process for storing the nation’s high-level nuclear waste. 

Critics, like Karen Hadden of SEED Coalition, is rallying Texas citizens in order to oppose the interim storage of high-level nuclear waste in West Texas by ISP. She says that the public has not been informed on what actually might happen if the project comes to fruition.

The NRC halted ISP’s application in 2017 but was restarted and deemed acceptable but needs additional documentation. The license, if approved by the NRC, will run for 40 years in Andrews County. Interim Storage Partners said the first phase of storage would involve 5,000 metric tons of greater than Class C waste. The storage facility would probably be complete and ready to go by April of 2022. 

The sister project by Holtec International in nearby New Mexico is also receiving concern from critics. Instead of focusing on interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, Hadden wishes the federal government would focus on finding a permanent deep geolgocial repository. 

Fasken Oil and Ranch Ltd. 's lawyer Monica Perales said that at a public hearing by ISP and the NRC, comments were made that insinuated that Andrews was “expendable”.  The word choice used by representatives of Interim Storage Partners showed that they care little about the local area and residents.

Interim Storage Partners LLC is seeking a license for a proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The project would be located in West Texas. Interim Storage Partners