Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
1/23/2015
Andrews County’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution this week voicing the local government’s support of building a high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility at Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas. The resolution marks a significant step forward for WCS’ ability to begin the process of building and licensing a consent-based interim storage facility, which is the Department of Energy’s preferred siting strategy. According to the resolution, WCS’ track record of public health and safety as well as the economic benefits from hosting such a facility gives the community a sense of comfort in moving forward. “Be it resolved and further ordered that the Commissioners Court of Andrews County, Texas, meeting in open session, believe that the construction and operation of a consolidated SNF and HLW interim storage facility in Andrews County (the “Facility”), licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and developed by WCS, will enhance the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Andrews County,” the resolution states.
The resolution also called on the State of Texas, all its agencies, officials and political subdivisions, and all members of the Texas congressional delegation “to work cooperatively with all relevant entities towards the creation of the Facility, including taking actions to evidence approval of the development of the facility” as well as “to assist Andrews County in securing all federal incentives that may be available.” Former Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Speaker of the House Joe Straus (R) both have voiced their support for looking at the potential of hosting an interim storage facility. Straus has asked state lawmakers to begin considering the logistics and economic impact of potentially hosting a high-level radioactive waste disposal site or interim storage facility, and Perry charged the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to prepare a report looking at the history of spent fuel disposal and lessons-learned from previous attempts.
WCS has been taking the pulse of the local community on potentially moving forward on a facility for the past year, which culminated in a public meeting last December where the company received an overwhelming positive response to the idea, WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said. According to McDonald, this resolution marks an official response to what the community has been telling the company. “This is a very encouraging development for Waste Control Specialists,” McDonald said. “Obviously, we have been in a lengthy dialogue with the community, and quite handily, the response has been extremely favorable. We are really grateful that the country commissioners adopted this formal resolution that puts on paper what we have heard in the community.” He added, “This will be a long, long process, with the licensing and the rest of it, and we’ve got to finalize a decision to move forward with this because it’s an expensive undertaking. But, this is an encouraging development.”
DOE Unable to Talk Formally with Potential Sites
A consent-based pilot consolidated storage facility is the preferred strategy of the Department of Energy to satisfy the nation’s spent fuel disposal needs, but due to language in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the Department cannot consider other sites beyond Yucca Mountain in Nevada without Congressional approval. In its Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request, the Department requested a reform that would enable it to move forward with its waste management strategy, but the Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations omnibus bill did not include any language to change the NWPA nor did allocate any funding for interim storage. DOE did not return calls for comment on the resolution this week.
According to WCS, they have not conducted formal talks with DOE over their wish to build an interim facility, but the company has kept the Department as well as state regulatory and legislative officials informed about their proposed plans. “I can only really speak to the state issue, and yes, we have had discussions and dialogue with the state legislature and state regulatory officials,” McDonald said. “Ever since this conversation formally began, we have been talking to people at the state level to let them know what the possibilities are, what we are considering, and what the community thinks.” He added on talks with DOE, “WCS does a lot of business with DOE, and [WCS President Rod Baltzer] is always in communication with them. I am confident he has been appraising them on what’s being discussed and what’s underway as far as our community outreach discussions. As far as formal talks go, I think that would be premature.”
