Appeals were filed Tuesday with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over which entities should be allowed to intervene legally in the federal licensing of a proposed site in western Texas for temporary storage of used fuel from commercial nuclear reactors.
On Aug. 23, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that only the Sierra Club has legal standing to intervene in the deliberations on the application from Interim Storage Partners — and that only one of 17 contentions were admissible. That issue is whether the license application insufficiently considered what impact the storage site might have on the habitats of the dune sagebrush and Texas hound lizards.
The board rejected petitions for adjudicatory hearings on the licensing from Beyond Nuclear, a coalition of environmental organizations led by Don’t Waste Michigan, and the regional oil and gas concerns Fasken Land & Minerals and the Permian Basin Land and Royalty Organization. All on Tuesday filed appeals to the NRC commissions of the board’s finding that they had either not proved standing to intervene or had not submitted admissible contentions.
The Fasken-PBLRO group appealed three contentions, including the assertion that the ISP emergency response plan does not adequately address protections against fires and explosions. The groups led by Don’t Waste Michigan appealed the finding that only one member, the Texas-based Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition, had standing to intervene and that none of the contentions were admissible. Beyond Nuclear argued the case for its sole contention – that the application would breach language in federal law that requires a permanent repository be available before the Energy Department can take title to spent nuclear fuel.
Meanwhile, ISP also filed an appeal to the NRC, arguing the atomic licensing legally erred in allowing the Sierra Club standing to intervene and in approving the contention.
Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists and Orano, wants by early in the 2020s to build and operate a facility in Andrews County with a maximum capacity of 40,000 metric tons of used fuel.
The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on Wednesday conducted an initial conference with ISP, NRC staff, and the Sierra Club on the adjudication of the environmental group’s contention.
