A coalition of four jurisdictions supporting development of a New Mexico storage facility for spent nuclear power plant fuel on Tuesday tentatively supported giving the public more time to comment on a key document from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stakeholders currently have until May 22 to provide input on the NRC draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for Holtec International’s planned consolidated interim storage facility in Lea County. In the March 10 draft, agency staff preliminary recommended approval of a federal license for the site.
New Mexico’s entire congressional delegation in March requested an extension of the comment period in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. A group of 50 advocacy organizations issued a similar plea later in the month.
“Asking for extensions and using any motive they are able to conceive to delay the EIS process is a normal, old, tired tactic,” John Heaton, chairman of the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, wrote in an April 8 letter to the NRC commissioners that was made public this week. Still, extending the public comment period for 60 to 120 days “seems reasonable” as long as the NRC does not foresee that slowing the overall licensing proceeding, he added.
The NRC, as of Wednesday, had not announced its decision on an extension.
The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance is comprised of the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs and Eddy and Lea counties, in southeastern New Mexico. It bought 1,000 acres of land on which the Holtec facility would be built.
The federal agency expects to finalize the environmental impact statement by next March, followed shortly later by a decision on a 40-year license for storage of up to 8,680 metric tons of spent fuel. With further NRC approvals, the facility could hold more than 170,000 metric tons of material for as long as 120 years.
In his letter, Heaton argued in favor of virtual public meetings on the draft EIS rather than live in-person sessions.
