Will a nuclear waste project move forward despite New Mexico's bill aiming to block it?

Federal and company officials said they plan to push forward with a plan to store nuclear waste in southeast New Mexico even after lawmakers passed a bill intended to block such a project during the legislative session that concluded Saturday.

The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the bill on a 35 to 28 vote, and it was signed by hours later by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a vocal opponent of the project proposed by Holtec International.

If licensed and completed, Holtec’s facility would temporarily store up to 100,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel rods brought in via rail from nuclear power plants around the country to the remote location near the border of Eddy and Lea counties.

More:Nuclear waste transportation fears lingering amid storage project in southeast New Mexico

But Senate Bill 53, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-36) would bar New Mexico agencies from issuing permits to such a facility without expressed state consent and unless a permanent repository is available.  

Amid the legislative effort in direct response to the company’s proposal for southeast New Mexico, spokesman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Dave McIntyre said the agency planned to issue a final decision on the license by May, and that the bill had no impact on its licensing process for the Holtec facility.

The NRC previously issued a final environmental analysis, predicting the facility would have minimal impact and recommending a license be issued.

More:Bill to block nuclear waste in southeast New Mexico heads to House Floor for final vote

Company says nuclear waste plan 'still viable' despite bill

Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien said the company believed the project was moving forward with continued support from local government leaders who argued it could help diversify the economy of the oil-dependent region.

The company was recruited by the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), a consortium of the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs and Eddy and Lea counties, which also provided the land and signed an agreement which would result in ELEA receiving a third of the facility’s revenue.

O’Brien said the project posed little risk despite concerns expressed by Steinborn, Lujan Grisham and other opponents that the project could expose New Mexicans to radiation both in the area around the facility and along the waste transportation routes.

More:Safety, longevity of nuclear waste disposal near Carlsbad debated amid permit renewal

“We are deeply disappointed that the House saw fit to pass SB 53. The HI-STORE project, a public-private partnership between Eddy Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) and Holtec, is a tremendous economic opportunity for Southeastern New Mexico,” he said in an email.

The federal government has the sole authority to regulate nuclear waste, O’Brien argued, meaning SB 53 was “pre-empted” by federal law, a point brought up frequently as the bill was debated in Santa Fe.

“With strong local support and the desire of ELEA to diversify its economy, passing a bill that is pre-empted by federal law and will be adjudicated accordingly in the courts, is a counterproductive action that inhibits the States growth in the area of clean energy,” O’Brien said.

More:Bill to block nuclear waste project in New Mexico gaining momentum in State House

He said the company believed the project was “still viable” with local support from ELEA, and was important to supporting “carbon-free” energy from the nuclear sector.

“We will continue to work with our partners, key stakeholders, and governmental officials to help provide an interim solution to the spent fuel management impasse in the United States and help us maintain the momentum for a greener, carbon-free future,” O’Brien said.

Southeast New Mexico leaders clash with lawmakers on nuclear waste

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said the city still expected the proposal to come to fruition.

More:Nuclear warhead development moves forward at federal lab in New Mexico

“However, we strongly believe that this project will triumph over the long haul,” Janway said in a statement. “As has been pointed out multiple times throughout this legislative session, we believe this bill will ultimately not hold up in court and will simply serve as a delaying process that is costly to the state.”

He said SB 53 “ignored years of study” and previous support of the project from lawmakers and past governors alike.

“It ignored the numerous occurrences of declared consent,” Janway said. “It ignored the vast economic benefits and economic diversity this project would bring to the state, as well as scientific enhancements.”

More:Pollution bills struggle in New Mexico legislature. Here's what passed and failed

But as SB 53 passed into law, Steinborn said it was essential policy for New Mexicans statewide to have a voice in decisions related to nuclear waste in their state.

He said without a permanent repository, the Holtec site could become de-facto “dumping ground” for high-level nuclear waste, continuing the state’s history of disproportionately taking on risks from nuclear activities, including uranium mining in the northern portion of the state and the U.S.’ first nuclear weapons tests at the Trinity Site near Alamogordo.

“Today was a great win for New Mexico and the country,” Steinborn said. “We protected our state from this short-sighted and long-term dangerous plan and in doing so, pushed the federal government toward what needs to be the real solution, which is a permanent repository.”

More:New contractor takes over nuclear waste disposal at site near Carlsbad under $3B contract

The bill was also supported by environmental groups throughout the session who opposed the project for perceived dangers to the environment and public health.

Camilla Feibelman, president of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club argued New Mexico benefited little from nuclear energy and thus should not be forced to accept risks associated with its waste.

“Communities that opted to host nuclear power plants got the energy, jobs and property taxes, but Holtec would allow them to export all the costs to the communities along the rail lines and to New Mexico,” she said.

“The federal government needs to follow its own law and identify and operate a permanent storage facility before making us the country's de facto nuclear-waste dump.”

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