Supreme Court clears way for temporary nuclear waste storage in Texas, New Mexico
Source: ABC News/AP
June 18, 2025, 10:08 AM
WASHINGTON -- 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.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/supreme-court-clears-temporary-nuclear-waste-storage-texas-122968934
Link to RULING (PDF) - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1300_b97c.pdf
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