The New Mexico’s state Senate Conservation Committee did not debate as scheduled this week on a proposed bill that would create a statewide “radioactive waste consultation task force.”
The committee adjourned Thursday without discussing the proposed legislation, SB 82. The committee is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, a week after the measure first appeared on a docket for the panel’s consideration.
Proposed by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) on Jan. 19, SB 82 needs to pass muster with the Senate Conservation Committee, the full Senate and the New Mexico House of Representatives before it is eligible to be signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D).
If it became law, the bill would create a task force consisting of the state secretaries of energy, minerals, natural resources and other officials. The task force’s primary responsibility would be to negotiate with the federal government on the siting and licensing of proposed storage facilities for radioactive waste. The measure would also assess the possible effects of such sites on nearby communities, populations and property and coordinate state investigations into such effects.
The committee will meet again Tuesday morning. The upcoming session’s schedule has SB 82 listed as the last of five bills up for discussion.
Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working on its environmental impact statement for the proposed Holtec International consolidated interim storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. A similar report is also underway for Interim Storage Partners’ proposed site in Andrews, Texas. Neither state has warmly embraced the prospect of an interim waste disposal site within their borders. The federal environmental reviews, a gateway for licensing the sites, will take until this summer to complete, NRC has said.
At the national level, the Biden administration has yet to detail how nuclear energy fits into its climate plan — a policy agenda that could throw a spanner into the NRC’s approach to the proposed sites.
