The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should formally rule this week on a challenge to one of the two proposed commercial interim storage sites for spent nuclear fuel awaiting federal licensing, according to a notice.
NRC’s commissioners will meet Wednesday to finalize their decision on Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd.’s motion to reopen the record on Holtec International’s proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in southeastern New Mexico, according to a Federal Register notice. The minerals holding company is appealing the commission’s earlier decision to toss several of its objections to the site’s licensing.
A decision from NRC won’t just close the book on Fasken’s challenge to the proposed site, but it will also allow a case against the commission filed in federal appeals court to move forward. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week combined the petitions of watchdog groups Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club, and granted the commission’s request to put that joint case on hold until they were done with Fasken’s agency-level complaint.
According to the docket, all of the parties involved have to file a status report with the court Thursday if the stay is still in effect. They’ll also have 30 days from the conclusion of agency proceedings to file new motions.
Fasken has been an active opponent of both the proposed Holtec CISF and its Waste Control Specialists counterpart in west Texas. In addition to the appeal that’s awaiting a formal decision this week, the commission is also reviewing the company’s separate challenge to the proposed Texas site.
Meanwhile, the proposed sites are awaiting environmental impact statements from the commission. The environmental reviews — prerequisites for licensing — won’t be done until the summer, the agency has said.
