The construction of Interim Storage Partners’ consolidated interim storage facility won’t pose a threat to indigenous peoples’ historical sites, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.
In a letter to the Comanche Nation chair William Nelson, dated Jan. 26, the Commission said that the proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in Andrews, Texas will have “low impact” on historical or archaeological sites in the area.
Seven federally recognized indigenous tribes, including the Comanche Nation, have “past religious or cultural ties” to the land on which the facility would be built, the letter said.
According to the letter, the Commission spoke with the Comanche Nation several times concerning Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) license application. Most recently, the agency sent a letter to the Comanche Nation Historic Preservation office in 2019, following up on a previous correspondence in 2017.
On both occasions, the agency invited the Comanche Nation to consult on the proposed site, the commision said.
In a June 17 response to the NRC, Comanche Nation Historic Preservation Office technician Theodore Villicana informed the commission that there were “no properties” of historical value on the land where the ISP facility would be built. He also asked to be updated on the project.
Villicana declined to comment on NRC’s determination this week, telling RadWaste Monitor Thursday evening that he had not yet seen the Tuesday letter from the commission.
ISP’s interim storage site is one of two currently seeking federal licensing. That proposed facility in Texas, and another backed by Holtec International in New Mexico, are undergoing environmental reviews at the commission — a process that will take months to complete.
