The parent company of Waste Control Specialists (WCS) on Tuesday suggested deep doubts about the likelihood of securing a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate an interim storage facility for spent reactor fuel.
Dallas-based WCS in April asked the federal agency to temporarily suspend review of the application for a facility designed to hold up to 40,000 metric tons of nuclear waste at the company’s storage complex in West Texas. At the time management cited the company’s financial challenges while it awaits buyout by Salt Lake City-based rival EnergySolutions, the increasing cost of the NRC license review, and failure to extend a cost-sharing deal with one of the partners in the spent fuel project.
In a 10-Q form filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding company Valhi Inc. said it had by March 31 capitalized $3.3 million toward obtaining the NRC license.
“We do not know if or when we would request the NRC to resume licensing review activities with regard to such proposed interim storage license,” the company said. “As a result, we expect to recognize an impairment charge in the second quarter of 2017 related to the write-off of interim storage license application costs previously capitalized, as we now believe it is no longer probable we would receive such license.”
Valhi’s waste management segment, which consists of WCS, recorded $600,000 in operating income for the quarter ended on March 31, far above the $10.8 million loss in the same period of 2016, on the back of a $16.3 million spike in net sales.
However, the attorney representing WCS in the federal antitrust lawsuit against the merger with EnergySolutions said in closing remarks at trial last week that the company has lost $130 million over five years and faces another $200 million in losses going forward, Law 360 reported.
Valhi said the sale should close in the third quarter of this year. “There can be no assurance, however, that the parties will be successful in contesting and resisting such antitrust action, that receipt of U.S. anti-trust approval will be obtained, that all closing conditions will be satisfied, or that any such sale of WCS would be completed,” according to the 10-Q.