NIMBY FOR GOOD REASON
US sweetens pot to study siting for spent nuke fuel storage
An illustration depicts a planned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico as officials announce plans to pursue a project by Holtec International during a news conference in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 29, 2015. The U.S. government has long struggled to find a permanent solution for storing or disposing of spent nuclear fuel generated by the nation's commercial nuclear power plants, and opposition in the Southwestern U.S. is flaring up again as New Mexico lawmakers debated a bill that would ban construction of such a facility without state consent.
(AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Thu, January 26, 2023
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Thu, January 26, 2023
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government has long struggled to find a permanent solution for storing or disposing of spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, and opposition to such a site is flaring up again as New Mexico lawmakers debate banning a facility without state consent.
The state's prospective ban cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday with approval from a key committee. Supporters acknowledge that the bill has a long road ahead, but it does have the backing of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, the bill's sponsor, said momentum against New Mexico becoming a permanent dumping ground for the nation's nuclear waste — including spent fuel from commercial power plants — is growing and he's cautiously optimistic this is the year that the state takes a legislative stand.
Steinborn said consent should be mandatory and that the federal government should provide states with a significant financial incentive reflecting the risks associated with managing radioactive materials.
New Mexico and neighboring Texas have sued in federal court over two proposed multibillion-dollar interim storage facilities — one in southeastern New Mexico and the other in Andrews County, Texas.
“New Mexico has not been offered anything with this deal,” Steinborn said. “And even if we had, I don’t think any amount of money would convince me that it’s the right thing.”
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license for a facility in West Texas in 2021, and the agency plans to make a final decision as early as March on whether to grant a license for the planned storage complex in New Mexico. The two sites would be about 40 miles (64 kilometers) apart.
Environmental and nuclear watchdog groups have filed their own lawsuits, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday dismissed all objections opposing the Texas project.
Federal appellate courts elsewhere have yet to rule on the state of Texas' claims, which focus on whether federal nuclear regulators have authority to license such a facility, or on New Mexico's claims that regulators did not do enough to vet plans by Holtec International.
The New Jersey-based company is seeking a 40-year license to build what it has described as a state-of-the-art complex near Carlsbad, which already is home to the federal government’s only underground repository for Cold War-era waste generated by decades of nuclear research and bomb-making.
Ed Mayer, program director of the planned facility, told state lawmakers during a hearing earlier this week that Holtec has an unblemished safety record and the probability of a severe accident happening while the spent fuel is transported via train from sites around the U.S. would be 1 in 10 trillion. Even then, he said, no radiological material would be released because the casks holding the fuel are robust.
Southeastern New Mexico officials testified that building the complex would bring jobs and diversify the region's economy, which is fueled now by oil and gas development that spans the Permian Basin.
However, commissioners in New Mexico two most populous counties — Bernalillo and Dona Ana — adopted resolutions this week opposing the transportation of spent fuel across county lines and the construction of an interim storage facility in the state.
While not necessarily opposed to nuclear power, Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson said "the level of risk is too high and there’s a lack of information in terms of containing that risk.”
From the decommissioned nuclear plant near the San Onofre Beach in Southern California to plants that have powered communities on East Coast, spent fuel has been piling up for decades and elected officials in those communities want it shipped elsewhere.
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, a California Democrat, is among those who have sought federal funding to restart the U.S. Department of Energy's consent-based process for locating places where the fuel would be welcomed.
“One of my top priorities since my first day in office has been moving the nuclear waste at San Onofre away from the region as quickly and safely as possible,” Levin said in September.
The Biden administration sweetened the pot this month, putting up $26 million for communities interested in studying potential interim storage sites. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31.
Despite opposition from environmentalists, Biden and his top energy officials have pointed to nuclear power as essential to achieving their goals of producing carbon-free electricity over the next decade.
According to the DOE, nuclear reactors across the country produce more than 2,000 metric tons of radioactive waste a year, with most of it remaining on-site because there’s nowhere else to put it. The federal government is paying to house the fuel, and the cost is expected to stretch into the tens of billions over the next decade, according to a review by independent government auditors.
Steinborn said the state of New Mexico's willingness to entertain spent fuel storage will hinge on the federal government's ability to identify and fund a permanent solution.
“They just need to change their approach rather than just shove it down the state’s throat without any assurances,” he said.
The state's prospective ban cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday with approval from a key committee. Supporters acknowledge that the bill has a long road ahead, but it does have the backing of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, the bill's sponsor, said momentum against New Mexico becoming a permanent dumping ground for the nation's nuclear waste — including spent fuel from commercial power plants — is growing and he's cautiously optimistic this is the year that the state takes a legislative stand.
Steinborn said consent should be mandatory and that the federal government should provide states with a significant financial incentive reflecting the risks associated with managing radioactive materials.
New Mexico and neighboring Texas have sued in federal court over two proposed multibillion-dollar interim storage facilities — one in southeastern New Mexico and the other in Andrews County, Texas.
“New Mexico has not been offered anything with this deal,” Steinborn said. “And even if we had, I don’t think any amount of money would convince me that it’s the right thing.”
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license for a facility in West Texas in 2021, and the agency plans to make a final decision as early as March on whether to grant a license for the planned storage complex in New Mexico. The two sites would be about 40 miles (64 kilometers) apart.
Environmental and nuclear watchdog groups have filed their own lawsuits, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday dismissed all objections opposing the Texas project.
Federal appellate courts elsewhere have yet to rule on the state of Texas' claims, which focus on whether federal nuclear regulators have authority to license such a facility, or on New Mexico's claims that regulators did not do enough to vet plans by Holtec International.
The New Jersey-based company is seeking a 40-year license to build what it has described as a state-of-the-art complex near Carlsbad, which already is home to the federal government’s only underground repository for Cold War-era waste generated by decades of nuclear research and bomb-making.
Ed Mayer, program director of the planned facility, told state lawmakers during a hearing earlier this week that Holtec has an unblemished safety record and the probability of a severe accident happening while the spent fuel is transported via train from sites around the U.S. would be 1 in 10 trillion. Even then, he said, no radiological material would be released because the casks holding the fuel are robust.
Southeastern New Mexico officials testified that building the complex would bring jobs and diversify the region's economy, which is fueled now by oil and gas development that spans the Permian Basin.
However, commissioners in New Mexico two most populous counties — Bernalillo and Dona Ana — adopted resolutions this week opposing the transportation of spent fuel across county lines and the construction of an interim storage facility in the state.
While not necessarily opposed to nuclear power, Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson said "the level of risk is too high and there’s a lack of information in terms of containing that risk.”
From the decommissioned nuclear plant near the San Onofre Beach in Southern California to plants that have powered communities on East Coast, spent fuel has been piling up for decades and elected officials in those communities want it shipped elsewhere.
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, a California Democrat, is among those who have sought federal funding to restart the U.S. Department of Energy's consent-based process for locating places where the fuel would be welcomed.
“One of my top priorities since my first day in office has been moving the nuclear waste at San Onofre away from the region as quickly and safely as possible,” Levin said in September.
The Biden administration sweetened the pot this month, putting up $26 million for communities interested in studying potential interim storage sites. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31.
Despite opposition from environmentalists, Biden and his top energy officials have pointed to nuclear power as essential to achieving their goals of producing carbon-free electricity over the next decade.
According to the DOE, nuclear reactors across the country produce more than 2,000 metric tons of radioactive waste a year, with most of it remaining on-site because there’s nowhere else to put it. The federal government is paying to house the fuel, and the cost is expected to stretch into the tens of billions over the next decade, according to a review by independent government auditors.
Steinborn said the state of New Mexico's willingness to entertain spent fuel storage will hinge on the federal government's ability to identify and fund a permanent solution.
“They just need to change their approach rather than just shove it down the state’s throat without any assurances,” he said.
Storing nuclear waste in Permian Basin threatens energy security, environment
Tommy Taylor
Thu, January 26, 2023
If you live near the Permian Basin, you likely know the importance of the region to the economies and environments of New Mexico and Texas, and to the energy security of the United States, but it’s worth revisiting just how critical it is for our community and the country.
In short, the Permian Basin is responsible for delivering America’s energy independence. If it were a country, the Permian Basin would be the third largest oil producer in the world. The 5.3 million barrels of oil per day and approximately 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day that come from the Basin are essential to our nation’s economy and our energy security. The region holds an untapped potential of 92.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 299.7 trillion feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s enough natural gas to meet U.S. household demand for 60 years.
Despite all of this, there is an effort underway in Washington that threatens the future of the Permian Basin. From mostly behind closed doors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved two private companies – Holtec and Interim Storage Partners – to take ownership of spent nuclear fuel at decommissioning reactors all over the nation and consolidate it at two above-ground storage facilities that are located in America’s most productive oil field – the Permian Basin.
If this project ultimately comes to fruition, the Permian Basin won’t just be home to most of America’s energy resources, but it will also become the largest storage area of spent nuclear fuel in the world. According to Holtec, more than 2,100 shipments of spent nuclear fuel have been made in the U.S. in the past 60 plus years. That’s certainly a large amount, but to put this into perspective, Holtec’s proposed storage site in New Mexico is expected to hold over 170,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. The Interim Storage Partners’ site in Texas is already licensed and could ultimately hold 40,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. It is estimated that it would require up to ten times the number of shipments that have already taken place to move this toxic material to Texas and New Mexico and just as many shipments will be required down the road if a permanent storage solution is ever developed.
That means these two sites would store at or near the surface over 450 million pounds of highly radioactive material at their proposed capacity. A 60 year history of shipments of spent nuclear fuel dwarfs in comparison to what these two private companies have planned. A project of this scale has never happened before and never in area as economically and strategically valuable to our nation.
That’s why it defies logic to store spent nuclear fuel in the Permian Basin. Significant data shows that the Permian Basin does not even qualify to host the waste. For instance, the proximity of the deadly waste to aquifers and to old, abandoned wellbores that are subject to collapse disqualifies the storage sites. Seismic activity is regularly reported in the region, including a 5.3 earthquake this past December. That, alone, disqualifies the siting of nuclear waste storage. Additionally, government reports show that terrorist groups primarily focus on economic disruption. A security analyst recently reported that putting deadly nuclear waste alongside oil and gas would create a major target.
It gets worse. Holtec, the company leading the proposed storage site in New Mexico, was recently fined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for security and safety lapses at a nuclear power plant. Yet, this private company wants to be responsible for storing most of the nation’s high-level nuclear waste.
Mr. Taylor is the Director of Oil and Gas Development at Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Storing nuclear waste in Permian Basin threatens energy security, environment
Tommy Taylor
Thu, January 26, 2023
If you live near the Permian Basin, you likely know the importance of the region to the economies and environments of New Mexico and Texas, and to the energy security of the United States, but it’s worth revisiting just how critical it is for our community and the country.
In short, the Permian Basin is responsible for delivering America’s energy independence. If it were a country, the Permian Basin would be the third largest oil producer in the world. The 5.3 million barrels of oil per day and approximately 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day that come from the Basin are essential to our nation’s economy and our energy security. The region holds an untapped potential of 92.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 299.7 trillion feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s enough natural gas to meet U.S. household demand for 60 years.
Despite all of this, there is an effort underway in Washington that threatens the future of the Permian Basin. From mostly behind closed doors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved two private companies – Holtec and Interim Storage Partners – to take ownership of spent nuclear fuel at decommissioning reactors all over the nation and consolidate it at two above-ground storage facilities that are located in America’s most productive oil field – the Permian Basin.
If this project ultimately comes to fruition, the Permian Basin won’t just be home to most of America’s energy resources, but it will also become the largest storage area of spent nuclear fuel in the world. According to Holtec, more than 2,100 shipments of spent nuclear fuel have been made in the U.S. in the past 60 plus years. That’s certainly a large amount, but to put this into perspective, Holtec’s proposed storage site in New Mexico is expected to hold over 170,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. The Interim Storage Partners’ site in Texas is already licensed and could ultimately hold 40,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. It is estimated that it would require up to ten times the number of shipments that have already taken place to move this toxic material to Texas and New Mexico and just as many shipments will be required down the road if a permanent storage solution is ever developed.
That means these two sites would store at or near the surface over 450 million pounds of highly radioactive material at their proposed capacity. A 60 year history of shipments of spent nuclear fuel dwarfs in comparison to what these two private companies have planned. A project of this scale has never happened before and never in area as economically and strategically valuable to our nation.
That’s why it defies logic to store spent nuclear fuel in the Permian Basin. Significant data shows that the Permian Basin does not even qualify to host the waste. For instance, the proximity of the deadly waste to aquifers and to old, abandoned wellbores that are subject to collapse disqualifies the storage sites. Seismic activity is regularly reported in the region, including a 5.3 earthquake this past December. That, alone, disqualifies the siting of nuclear waste storage. Additionally, government reports show that terrorist groups primarily focus on economic disruption. A security analyst recently reported that putting deadly nuclear waste alongside oil and gas would create a major target.
It gets worse. Holtec, the company leading the proposed storage site in New Mexico, was recently fined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for security and safety lapses at a nuclear power plant. Yet, this private company wants to be responsible for storing most of the nation’s high-level nuclear waste.
Mr. Taylor is the Director of Oil and Gas Development at Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Storing nuclear waste in Permian Basin threatens energy security, environment
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