Bill that could block nuclear waste storage in southeast New Mexico headed to Senate Floor

A bill that could block a project to store spent nuclear fuel at a proposed facility in southeast New Mexico was passed by a second legislative committee and heading to the Senate Floor, despite support from local government leaders from around the potential site.

Senate Bill 53 went before the Senate Judiciary Committee for discussion Feb. 3 and was passed Monday a vote of 8-1.

Holtec International applied for a federal license in 2017 to build the facility that would act as an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel rods brought into the area via rail from nuclear power plants across the country.

It would represent a $3 billion investment in the local community, the company said, and Holtec was recruited by a consortium of government leaders in Carlsbad, Hobbs and Eddy and Lea counties known as the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance.

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Holtec also agreed to share 30 percent of the site’s revenue with ELEA if the project went into operation, in exchange for the Alliance’s support and promotion of the proposal.

While supporters argued Holtec’s project could bring needed economic diversification to the oil- and gas-dependent region, critics from around New Mexico and at the highest levels of state government were wary such a facility could bring with it a heightened risk of exposure to radioactivity during storage and also transportation of the waste.

Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-36) of Las Cruces, a frequent critic of nuclear activities in New Mexico, led the opposition during this year’s ongoing legislative session, introducing Senate Bill 53 which was passed by the Senate Conservation Committee Jan. 24 on a 6-1 vote.

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Holtec Chief Nuclear Officer Pierre Oneid argued the facility was proven safe as designed, citing an environmental analysis published in 2021 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that found the project would have minimal impact and recommended the license be issued.

The NRC expected a final decision by the end of 2023.

Oneid urged lawmakers to reject the bill. He was joined in opposition by representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute.

“I’m here to plead with you not to move this bill to the floor,” Oneid said before the committee. “The safety and security of transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel are without reproach.”

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He said the company received local support for its project through ELEA that should be adequate toward building the facility, along with support from former-Gov. Susana Martinez and her cabinet.

If put into operation, Oneid said the site would bring “billions of dollars” and 550 fulltime jobs to New Mexico, while the company pledged to bring manufacturing and research facilities to the state along with a training center.

“We first ensured the support of local cities and counties. That’s what we did first,” Oneid said. “The storage facility is the first step. It’s a down payment in economic development. The overall benefit to New Mexicans will far outlast the life of the proposed storage facility.”

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Bill would require New Mexico’s consent for nuclear waste sites

If passed, SB 53 would ban the storage or disposal of radioactive materials until the State of New Mexico officially consents to such a project, and until a permanent repository is in operation in the case of a temporary site like Holtec’s.

The bill would bar the State of New Mexico from issuing any permits, contracts, leases or licenses to such a site until its conditions are met.

While the federal government, by law, is given sole authority to regulate nuclear waste, New Mexico has rights to other aspects of such a facility like wastewater or utilities Holtec would need approvals for.

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SB 53 would also expand membership of New Mexico Radioactive Waste Consultation Task Force to include the State’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Department of Indian Affairs the New Mexico State Land Office.

It would adjust the task force’s oversight to include private facilities like Holtec, in addition to federal sites as specified in present state statutes.

Nuclear waste faces opposition from New Mexico leaders

Steinborn said the bill was needed policy to prevent the federal government from forcing the risks of high-level nuclear waste onto New Mexicans.

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He reasoned the Holtec facility could also threaten nearby industries in the southeast portion of the state like oil and gas or agriculture.

“We’re doing this to preserve the state’s economy, we’re doing this to preserve social justice attributes in the state,” he said. “Those are our main motivations.”

Steinborn argued the federal government should not have a right to place a nuclear waste facility in a state like New Mexico that he said does not consent to it.

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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and multiple members of her cabinet opposed the Holtec proposal during its licensing process, along with local governments around the state’s urban centers in Bernalillo, Dona Ana and Santa Fe counties.

That process would see at least 10,000 shipments of waste coming into New Mexico, Steinborn said, which all of it potentially passing through southeast New Mexico via a rail spur in Clovis.

This posed an unacceptable risk, he said, that the state must prevent, pointing to a recent program initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy to enact policy that would require state consent for nuclear facilities around the country.

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“We have a proposal right now to store the entire country’s nuclear waste in New Mexico,” Steinborn said before the Judiciary Committee. “This is really a relic of a broke federal law, and a loophole that would allow a few people to trigger something on not just the state, but in fact the entire nation without having a permanent repository in place.

“It’s definitely the tail wagging the dog.”

Committee member Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-15), who supported the bill, said the waste should be kept as close to where it is generated as possible until a permanent repository was built.

“The federal government’s got a real problem. Safest and closest would be the best policy of the federal government,” he said. “If you create it, you store it.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Bill to block nuclear waste in New Mexico heads to Senate Floor