New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is not backing down on her opposition to the approval by the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the building of a “temporary” nuclear waste storage facility – known as the Consolidated Interim Storage Facility – near the border of Lea and Eddy counties. Holtec International and the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) are partnering to construct the facility.
On Wednesday, November 16, Gov. Lujan Grisham sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to block the project “…for perceived threats to nearby residents and implications of environmental racism,” states an article posted at CurrentArgus.com.
Gov. Lujan Grisham told President Biden that the NRC “…ignored the state’s lack of consent in moving forward with the project and asked the President, [the Department of Energy] and NRC to suspend the licensing process,” states Adrian Hedden in his Carlsbad Current Argus piece.
The governor wrote to President Biden, “New Mexico has grave concerns for the risk this proposed storage site would pose to our citizens and communities, our first responders, our environment, and to New Mexico’s agriculture and natural resource industries.”
This most recent letter is not the first time Gov. Lujan Grisham has alerted a US President about her dismay in having the nuclear waste storage site located in New Mexico. She is on record for voicing her concerns to former US President Donald Trump, to US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and to the NRC.
Other Officials Oppose Project
Numerous state and national legislative members have also expressed their concerns about the Holtec Consolidated Interim Storage Facility. These lawmakers argue that New Mexico “…stands to become a sacrifice zone if more nuclear waste is shipped in from elsewhere,” states an Associated Press article published on Albuquerque’s radio AM870 website. These public officials criticize the federal government for its failure to find a permanent solution to the storage of nuclear waste.
Sen. Jeff Steinborn (Dem. – Dist. 36) said about the proposed site, “It’s being licensed as [a] temporary facility but there is no permanent repository even being planned. That’s the equivalent of throwing New Mexico over a cliff with no net.”
During this year’s session of the New Mexico legislature, Sen. Stienborn and Rep. Matthew McQueen (Dem. – Dist. 50) sponsored a bill prohibiting the “storage or disposal” of spent nuclear waste statewide. After three committee hearings and with no action taken, the bill was tabled on February 14.
Some contend that the bill did not move forward as a result of lobbying efforts by Holtec International. “Holtec is willing to spend some amount of money to lobby the legislature against it [prohibiting the project]” states Don Hancock, director of the Nuclear Waste Safety Program and administrator of the Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque.
Opposition to the Holtec project has additionally been voiced by Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Rep.). Gov. Abbott is on record as opposing the storage of nuclear waste anywhere in the southeastern New Mexico/ West Texas area. “Allowing the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste at sites near the largest producing oilfield in the world will compromise the safety of the region,” stated Gov. Abbott in a letter he wrote to former US President Donald Trump in 2020.
New Mexico’s US Sen. Martin Heinrich and newly re-elected Congressional District 1 Rep. Melanie Stansbury have also expressed strong opposition to the project. They have pointed out that although Holtec plans to build an “interim” nuclear waste storage facility, no plans are foreseen by the federal government for a “permanent” solution to the storage of spent nuclear waste.
“This leaves us extremely concerned that ‘interim’ storage sites with initial 40-year leases, like [the] one proposed for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing in New Mexico, will become the country’s de facto permanent nuclear waste storage facilities. We cannot accept that result,” state Sen Heinrich and Rep. Stansbury in a letter they authored to Energy Secretary Granholm.
Since taking office in 2019, New Mexico’s Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has expressed vehement opposition to Holtec’s HI-STORE CISF project. She said, “Holtec has ignored numerous safety concerns regarding the transportation of high-level nuclear waste through New Mexico communities, as well as failing to address questions about storing such waste in the middle of a highly active oil field. As Commissioner of Public Lands, I have a constitutional obligation to protect state trust land for future generations. This project comes with far too much risk and little to no reward.”
The Project
In 2015, Holtec International, a “diversified energy technology company” according to the organization’s website, partnered with the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) to construct HI-STORE CISF on a remote, approximate 1,000-acre site located between Hobbs and Carlsbad. The land, owned by the ELEA, is amidst Permian Basin oil fields and has railway access.
The area is uninhabited within an approximate 35 mile radius, a talking point designed to provide relief to those who harbor concerns of having nuclear waste stored close to their homes.
Since its inception Holtec and the ELEA have worked diligently to attain governmental approval and public support for the project. Their efforts have proved fruitful.
In July of this year, the NRC issued its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding the project and recommended the issuing of a license to proceed. About the final EIS Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb said, “Our community is pleased that the NRC has verified with the issuance of its Environmental Impact Statement that the HI-STORE CISF project is a safe project with no negative implications to our existing businesses or to the public. We look forward to working with Holtec as it moves forward in receiving the NRC license for a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility and the positive economic benefits it will bring to our area.”
In the same story Vice Chairman of the ELEA John Heaton said about the final EIS, “This is a great day for ELEA, the Holtec team and Southeastern New Mexico, as it is the beginning of the final steps leading to a license.” … “The project will diversify our economy, generate 350 jobs and potentially be a $3 billion investment in our area. Our area cannot stand still – we must continue to innovate and expand economic opportunities for our hard-working residents.”
Opinions vary amongst area residents as to whether the economic opportunities the project offers outweigh the safety and environmental concerns it poses. Locals are additionally discussing the impact the proposed nuclear waste storage facility might have on surrounding Permian Basin oil and gas operations critical to the well-being of Lea County folk. No one knows for certain whether the NRC will or will not actually approve the project. A final decision is not expected until February 2023.
