CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Holtec International executive said Monday that the company is reviewing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s communication with Waste Control Specialists to make sure Holtec’s eventual application to operate a consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico does not lack the additional information WCS is now relaying to the regulator.
Holtec Vice President of Corporate Business Development Joy Russell, speaking at Nuclear Energy Insider’s Nuclear Decommissioning and Used Fuel Strategy Summit here, explained her company’s decision to extend the application timeline twice. Holtec is now eyeing a submission date in March.
“As the WCS people can attest to, it’s a long, arduous process, and when they received their (requests for supplemental information from NRC), we took the time,” Russell said “We’re evaluating those (requests for supplemental information). It would be very foolish of us to put our application in and get the same (requests). So we look at it as a – this a marathon, this isn’t a sprint. The end goal is to get a license. The initial goal is to submit an application that doesn’t get rejected, that the NRC finds to be suitable, then to obviously get a license.”
Waste Control Specialists submitted its own application for an interim storage facility in West Texas in April. The NRC in July determined that the company’s 3,000-page application lacked some technical details required for the regulator to conduct a full license review, and requested additional information. WCS anticipates submitting the final round of responses in October, though President and CEO Rod Baltzer, who also appeared in Charlotte, said that timeline might be extended.
“We expect them to do a thorough, complete review,” Baltzer said. “They’ve asked for a lot of information through that process. I think both of us want this to happen in a timely manner. There has been a lot of interest, congressional hearings and other things. (Energy Secretary Ernest) Moniz has asked about some of these specific projects, as well. So I think both of us just want a quality application that’s very timely, and that’s exactly what’s expected.”
WCS plans to build the 40,000-metric-ton-capacity facility, with a 40-year NRC license, above ground near the New Mexico border, while Holtec hopes to build a 70,000-metric-ton capacity facility near Carlsbad.
