New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent a letter to President Donald Trump Tuesday expressing her opposition to a proposal to build a nuclear waste depot near Carlsbad and Hobbs.
The project, proposed through Holtec International, would see that spent nuclear fuel rods would be temporarily stored in the facility in a remote domain in southeastern New Mexico while a permanent depot is being developed.
The United States does not have a permanent depot of spent nuclear fuel, after a proposed allocation in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, blocked by state lawmakers and canceled through former President Barrack Obama.
Waste would be shipped from nuclear power generation sites across the country where spent fuel is recently stored in cooling ponds at the facility itself.
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Supporters of Holtec’s assignment argued that it would generate nuclear waste from densely populated spaces and giant bodies of water while building a permanent waste garage facility.
The approval procedure for Holtec’s assignment was underway before the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which recently issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) which concluded that the facility would have a minimal environmental effects structure and operation.
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Trump included investment for Yucca Mountain in recent budget requests to sign his acquisition, but the allocation remained inactive amid Holtec’s proposal.
In his letter, Lujan Grisham argued that the allocation posed an “unacceptable risk” to new Mexicans and to the southeast corner of the state, which is known as an economic engine of heavy oil and fuel and agricultural activity.
“The status quo of a transitional garage facility in this domain would be an economic failure,” Lujan Grisham wrote.
“Any disruption of agricultural or oil and fuel activities as a result of a real or perceived nuclear incident would be catastrophic for New Mexico, and any action taken to implement such an allocation may result in minimal investment in two of our largest industries in the state.”
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John Heaton, president of the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), a consortium of the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs and Eddy and Lea counties, cited NRC’s research that the facility would have little effect in the surrounding area and argued that it would not affect any other industry.
“The explanation for why we (southeastern New Mexico) are driving expansion in New Mexico is that we are in a position to interact in other safe businesses,” he said. “Other parts of the state are not. Surely there will be no effect on the oil and fuel industry.”
Heaton stated that barrels containing spent nuclear fuel rods would remain on the surface, above any oil and fuel drilling, and separated from extraction through a layer of 1,500 underground salts.
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“It has been definitely shown that there is no effect on the surface that may result from drilling or fracking. There is no clinical basis for his position,” Heaton said of Lujan Grisham. “It’s disappointing that the governor, while constantly referring to sticking to science with COVID’s problem, ignores science with this problem.”
Lujan Grisham cited opposition from leaders of the oil and fuel industry and agriculture, as through Native American organizations such as the All Pueblo Board of Governors.
The governor also highlighted opposition from communities across the country that would be along the waste transport routes as they head to New Mexico and the New Mexico land office itself.
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“The transport of spent nuclear fuel across the country and in New Mexico is complex and incredibly dangerous. The transport of spent nuclear fuel requires well-maintained infrastructure and highly specialized emergency reaction devices and a body of workers able to temporarily respond to an incident that occurred at the facility or on transit routes,” reads in the letter.
“Routes will have to be agreed, weight capacity limits for existing rail systems must be addressed, local lifeguards (emergency and medical) across the country and New Mexico must be trained, and infrastructure and the apparatus will have to be designed and deployed.”
But Heaton argued that if the allocation were secure, it would also create jobs in the region and provide $3 billion in capital investment in the region.
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“We think it’s a very, very safe project,” he said. “It brings many benefits. She (Lujan Grisham) says it will have a negative effect on minority teams. The only effect it will have on minority teams is to provide them with jobs.”
Although the facility was proposed as temporary, Lujan Grisham also feared it would be a permanent resting position for U.S. nuclear waste.
He stated that the site is not adequate either, as it is prone to sinking and other geological disturbances.
“Since there is no permanent warehouse for high-level waste in the United States and there is no plan to build one, any temporary garage facility “will be an indefinite garage facility, and new Mexicans, our resources and our economy are too high,” Lujan Grisham wrote.
In a statement through Holtec in reaction to Lujan Grisham’s letter, the company expressed hope that it would be able to reach an agreement with the state of New Mexico to address its concerns, saying that the facility would be safe and have little negative effects. in the surrounding environment. Community.
The company also highlighted agreements across the state for other nuclear facilities in southeastern New Mexico, such as the waste isolation pilot plant near Carlsbad and the Urenco enrichment plant near Eunice.
“Holtec International and our elEA spouse continue to look for opportunities to talk to the governor and his administration and are hopeful that a solution can be discovered while previous management has reached similar agreements with (Waste and URENCO,” Says Holtec.
“The allocation is important to national security and is well received by local governments in Lea and Eddy counties for the jobs and economic effect it will bring.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, [email protected] or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.