New Mexico AG Filed Lawsuit against Nuclear Regulatory Commission over Licensing Proceedings for Nuclear Waste Storage Facility

MARCH 29, 2021

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas filed a lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for exceeding its authority under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act by holding licensing proceedings for a proposed interim nuclear waste storage facility and “unjustifiably rely[ing] on the assumption and predetermination that a permanent repository will be built by 2048.” The complaint alleged that the NRC failed to conduct a robust National Environmental Policy Act analysis of the project, and that the NRC’s actions “place the substantial costs of emergency preparation and response, as well as the costs for infrastructure improvements, on the State, Tribes and local communities.” The facility would be located in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico, and has been proposed by Holtec International, whose decommissioning plans have been the subject of legal challenges by other state attorney general.