Texas elected officials are beginning the fight to stop the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Interim Storage Partners from moving the entire country’s spent nuclear fuel to Andrews County. This week Governor Greg Abbott and Congressman August Pfluger spoke out against the license issued by the NRC.
In September, Governor Abbott signed HB7 into law, a bill introduced by Rep. Brooks Landgraf to ban high-level nuclear waste in Texas. This ban also prevents TCEQ from issuing certain kinds of permits that a nuclear waste facility will need to complete construction.
The federal government issued their license to Interim Storage Partners despite local residents’ concern and majority disapproval of the project. Once a favored issue in Texas, now has become opposed by many. One small leak could contaminate the Permian Basin oil industry. SNF stays radioactive for hundreds of millions of years.