The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, on March 27, 2024, issued a ruling vacating the license for the construction and operation of Holtec International’s consolidated interim storage site in New Mexico. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had approved the license in May 2023 to store up to 173,600 metric tonnes of irradiated reactor fuel and other highly radioactive waste. An August 2023 challenge to a similar Interim Storage Partners (ISP) dump in Texas also prevailed. The two dumps are only 40 miles apart, on either side of the New Mexico/Texas state line.
A six-group grassroots environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, and Sierra Club, brought their argument against ISP before a 3-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit and were ruled against in January 2023. The same coalition tried once more on March 5 and is awaiting a ruling. Petitioners contend that the Holtec license violates the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and other federal laws. Opening the Holtec facility would trigger unprecedented numbers of shipments of highly radioactive waste reactor fuel across the country. The court’s ruling in the case could prevent the shipments and set a precedent for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
— Excerpted from Beyond Nuclear, March 27, 2024
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