Latest news with #temporarystorage
Yahoo
4 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.
Al Arabiya
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Supreme Court Clears the Way for Temporary Nuclear Waste Storage in Texas and New Mexico
The Supreme Court on Wednesday restarted plans to temporarily store nuclear waste at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico even as the nation is at an impasse over a permanent solution. The justices by a 6–3 vote reversed a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the license granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to a private company for the facility in southwest Texas. The outcome should also reinvigorate plans for a similar facility in New Mexico roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away. The federal appeals court in New Orleans had ruled in favor of the opponents of the facilities. The licenses would allow the companies to operate the facilities for 40 years with the possibility of a 40-year renewal. The court's decision is not a final ruling in favor of the licenses, but it removes a major roadblock. Roughly 100,000 tons (90,000 metric tons) of spent fuel–some of it dating from the 1980s–is piling up at current and former nuclear plant sites nationwide and growing by more than 2,000 tons (1,800 metric tons) a year. The waste was meant to be kept there temporarily before being deposited deep underground. The NRC has said that the temporary storage sites are needed because existing nuclear plants are running out of room. The presence of the spent fuel also complicates plans to decommission some plants, the Justice Department said in court papers. Plans for a permanent underground storage facility at Yucca Mountain northwest of Las Vegas are stalled because of staunch opposition from most Nevada residents and officials. The NRC's appeal was filed by the Biden administration and maintained by the Trump administration. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, are leading bipartisan opposition to the facilities in their states. The NRC granted the Texas license to Interim Storage Partners, based in Andrews, Texas, for a facility that could take up to 5,500 tons (5,000 metric tons) of spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants and 231 million tons (210 million metric tons) of other radioactive waste. The facility would be built next to an existing dump site in Andrews County for low-level waste, such as protective clothing and other material that has been exposed to radioactivity. The Andrews County site is about 350 miles (560 kilometers) west of Dallas near the Texas–New Mexico state line. The New Mexico facility would be in Lea County in the southeastern part of the state near Carlsbad. The NRC gave a license for the site to Holtec International, based in Jupiter, Florida.
Associated Press
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Supreme Court clears the way for temporary nuclear waste storage in Texas and New Mexico
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday restarted plans to temporarily store nuclear waste at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico, even as the nation is at an impasse over a permanent solution. The justices, by a 6-3 vote, reversed a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the license granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to a private company for the facility in southwest Texas. The outcome should also reinvigorate plans for a similar facility in New Mexico roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away. The federal appeals court in New Orleans had ruled in favor of the opponents of the facilities. The licenses would allow the companies to operate the facilities for 40 years, with the possibility of a 40-year renewal. The court's decision is not a final ruling in favor of the licenses, but it removes a major roadblock. Roughly 100,000 tons (90,000 metric tons) of spent fuel, some of it dating from the 1980s, is piling up at current and former nuclear plant sites nationwide and growing by more than 2,000 tons (1,800 metric tons) a year. The waste was meant to be kept there temporarily before being deposited deep underground. The NRC has said that the temporary storage sites are needed because existing nuclear plants are running out of room. The presence of the spent fuel also complicates plans to decommission some plants, the Justice Department said in court papers. Plans for a permanent underground storage facility at Yucca Mountain, northwest of Las Vegas, are stalled because of staunch opposition from most Nevada residents and officials. The NRC's appeal was filed by the Biden administration and maintained by the Trump administration. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, are leading bipartisan opposition to the facilities in their states. The NRC granted the Texas license to Interim Storage Partners, based in Andrews, Texas, for a facility that could take up to 5,500 tons (5,000 metric tons) of spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants and 231 million tons (210 million metric tons) of other radioactive waste. The facility would be built next to an existing dump site in Andrews County for low-level waste such as protective clothing and other material that has been exposed to radioactivity. The Andrews County site is about 350 miles (560 kilometers) west of Dallas, near the Texas-New Mexico state line. The New Mexico facility would be in Lea County, in the southeastern part of the state near Carlsbad. The NRC gave a license for the site to Holtec International, based in Jupiter, Florida. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at
