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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Supreme Court clears the way for nuclear waste storage in Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a ruling by a federal appeals court Thursday, clearing the way for plans to temporarily store nuclear waste at a facility in West Texas. The 6-3 vote came in the case, Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, where the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit sided with Texas and Fasken Oil and Ranch in their suit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prevent the temporary waste site from being built. The justices reversed the Fifth Circuit ruling. But the Court did not decide the underlying dispute about whether the NRC has the power to license private storage facilities for nuclear waste. While the Court's decision is not a final ruling in favor of the licenses, it clears a key hurdle for the waste storage plans. Texas argued that federal law requires nuclear waste to be stored on site at reactors in the absence of a permanent storage site. Interim Storage Partners, LLC, the company trying to build the storage site in West Texas, argues that the law cited by the state — the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — does nothing to forbid the creation of a temporary storage site. 'The Fifth Circuit held that the NWPA 'doesn't permit' the ISP license, ISP App. 30a, but cited no statutory provision that says that. Nor do respondents. There is none,' the ISP writes in its response. Currently, high-level nuclear waste generated from nuclear power plants is stored at the reactors themselves to avoid transporting the fuel. High-level nuclear waste is highly radioactive and dangerous fuel, which no longer has a fast enough fission process to be used to generate energy, but still poses a threat. Because no federal waste storage site has been built, the NRC hoped to create a temporary storage site in West Texas. Opponents to the site, including the state, said that it would likely become a permanent site with no existing alternative. According to the NRC's website, high-level waste only becomes harmless after being stored for thousands of years. The concern is not only over storage, but transportation. Transporting spent nuclear fuel requires strict oversight and protection. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the most radioactive material is transported in casks, which are containers that are designed to withstand collisions, being dropped onto a steel spike, burning in gasoline for 30 minutes and withstanding being submerged in water for eight hours. The state also expressed worries about the site's location near oil fields in West Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott submitted comments in the suit that said the nuclear waste site could inflict significant damage to the oil fields if an act of terrorism or an accident affected the site. Texas has strived to lead the nation in nuclear energy production, with plans for the construction of several new uranium mines in South Texas and power plants purchased by large tech companies, like Google and Amazon. Because nuclear power can produce energy without carbon emissions, it is a popular alternative to fossil fuel-heavy sources like coal. But after nuclear disasters abroad and in the U.S. at power plants, including the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, creation of new nuclear power plants has slowed significantly in the U.S. Meanwhile, foreign powers, like China and India, are ramping up production. Both the Biden and Trump administrations made efforts to bolster nuclear energy in the U.S. by building new reactors and restarting old ones. Recent executive orders by President Donald Trump take measures, including speeding up the licensing process through the Department of Energy, beginning construction on 10 new reactors by 2030 and creating reactors for artificial intelligence data centers and domestic military bases. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US Supreme Court sides with federal agency on nuclear waste facility license
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday against the state of Texas and oil industry interests in their challenge to Nuclear Regulatory Commission authority to license certain nuclear waste storage facilities. The 6-3 ruling, authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, reversed a lower court's decision declaring a license awarded by the NRC to a company called Interim Storage Partners to operate a nuclear waste storage in western Texas unlawful. The NRC is the federal agency that regulates nuclear energy in the United States. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners - a joint venture of France-based Orano and Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists - to build a nuclear waste storage facility in Andrews County in Texas, near the New Mexico border. The U.S. government and the company had appealed the decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the NRC lacked authority to issue the license based on a law called the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The appeal was brought under Democratic former President Joe Biden and was continued under Republican President Donald Trump. The government argued that Congress gave the NRC the authority to license temporary off-site nuclear waste storage facilities. The Interim Storage Partners license was challenged by Fasken Land and Minerals, a Texas-based oil and gas extraction organization, and the nonprofit Permian Basin Coalition of Land and Royalty Owners and Operators. Texas and New Mexico later joined the challenge, arguing the facility posed environmental risks to the states. The case brought by New Mexico subsequently was dismissed. "To qualify as a party to a licensing proceeding, the Atomic Energy Act requires that one either be a license applicant or have successfully intervened in the licensing proceeding," Kavanaugh wrote in the ruling. "In this case, however, Texas and Fasken are not license applicants, and they did not successfully intervene in the licensing proceeding. So neither was a party eligible to obtain judicial review in the 5th Circuit," he wrote. During March 5 arguments in the case, some of the Supreme Court's conservative justices seemed wary of the NRC's claim that the licensing arrangements at issue would be temporary. The license issued to Interim Storage Partners was set to last for 40 years, with the possibility of being renewed. A proposal to permanently store the nation's spent nuclear fuel at a federal facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been stalled following decades of opposition in that state. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has limited the authority of various federal agencies including the Environment Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission in various rulings in recent years. The court last year overturned its own 1984 precedent that had given deference to government agencies in interpreting laws they administer. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has moved to dismantle various agencies as part of his campaign to slash the federal workforce and remake the government.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Supreme Court to consider nuclear waste storage dispute
By Blake Brittain and John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is set on Wednesday to consider whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the authority to license nuclear waste storage facilities amid objections brought by the states of Texas and New Mexico as well as the oil industry. The U.S. government and a company that was awarded a license by the NRC, the federal agency that regulates nuclear energy in the United States, to operate a facility in western Texas have appealed a lower court's ruling declaring this storage arrangement unlawful. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, showed skepticism toward the authority of federal regulatory agencies in several major rulings during former President Joe Biden's administration. The NRC case is being argued at a time when President Donald Trump's administration has taken aim at various federal agencies in his campaign to downsize and overhaul the U.S. government and fire thousands of workers. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners to build a nuclear waste storage facility in Andrews County in Texas, near the New Mexico border. The NRC has issued such licenses to private companies since 1980. A proposal to permanently store the nation's spent nuclear fuel at a federal facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been stalled following decades of opposition in that state. The Interim Storage Partners license was challenged by Fasken Land and Minerals, a Texas-based oil and gas extraction organization, and the nonprofit Permian Basin Coalition of Land and Royalty Owners and Operators. Texas and New Mexico later joined the challenge, arguing the facility posed environmental risks to the states. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the NRC lacked authority to issue the license based on a law called the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Biden's administration appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and Trump's administration continued the appeal. Biden's Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a December brief that the 5th Circuit ruling would "entirely gut" the Atomic Energy Act because nuclear power plants cannot operate without creating spent fuel that must be stored somewhere. The Trump administration's acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the justices in February that the 5th Circuit decision could "deprive the commission of authority to license the private storage of spent nuclear fuel in any location" and "grind the operations of nuclear reactors to a halt." The U.S. government also argues that the plaintiffs lacked authority to bring the lawsuit because they failed to participate in the agency's adjudication process. Texas and New Mexico said the NRC had no authority to issue the license, and that Congress "has already legislated a solution to the nation's nuclear-waste problem: permanent storage in Yucca Mountain." A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.
Reuters
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US Supreme Court to consider nuclear waste storage dispute
WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is set on Wednesday to consider whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the authority to license nuclear waste storage facilities amid objections brought by the states of Texas and New Mexico as well as the oil industry. The U.S. government and a company that was awarded a license by the NRC, the federal agency that regulates nuclear energy in the United States, to operate a facility in western Texas have appealed a lower court's ruling declaring this storage arrangement unlawful. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, showed skepticism toward the authority of federal regulatory agencies in several major rulings during former President Joe Biden 's administration. The NRC case is being argued at a time when President Donald Trump 's administration has taken aim at various federal agencies in his campaign to downsize and overhaul the U.S. government and fire thousands of workers. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners to build a nuclear waste storage facility in Andrews County in Texas, near the New Mexico border. The NRC has issued such licenses to private companies since 1980. A proposal to permanently store the nation's spent nuclear fuel at a federal facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been stalled following decades of opposition in that state. The Interim Storage Partners license was challenged by Fasken Land and Minerals, a Texas-based oil and gas extraction organization, and the nonprofit Permian Basin Coalition of Land and Royalty Owners and Operators. Texas and New Mexico later joined the challenge, arguing the facility posed environmental risks to the states. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the NRC lacked authority to issue the license based on a law called the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Biden's administration appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and Trump's administration continued the appeal. Biden's Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a December brief that the 5th Circuit ruling would "entirely gut" the Atomic Energy Act because nuclear power plants cannot operate without creating spent fuel that must be stored somewhere. The Trump administration's acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the justices in February that the 5th Circuit decision could "deprive the commission of authority to license the private storage of spent nuclear fuel in any location" and "grind the operations of nuclear reactors to a halt." The U.S. government also argues that the plaintiffs lacked authority to bring the lawsuit because they failed to participate in the agency's adjudication process. Texas and New Mexico said the NRC had no authority to issue the license, and that Congress "has already legislated a solution to the nation's nuclear-waste problem: permanent storage in Yucca Mountain." A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.
