As soon as July of 2021, high-level nuclear waste could be headed to Andrews, Texas. Andrews County Commissioner Kerry Pack reached out to constituents via social media this past week in order to hear from more voices. Low-level nuclear waste is already stored in Andrews County, but high-level nuclear waste is an entirely different beast.
Pack says that residents’ opinions matter to the Court of Commissioners and they want to hear one last time from locals before the high-level nuclear waste makes its way to their doorstep. So far Pack has received a couple hundred calls, emails, and messages over social media that dissent to Waste Control Specialists and Orano’s joint venture: Interim Storage Partners.
When the federal government outlined a plan to establish interim storage facilities for nuclear waste in the United States, they included that communities that take the waste must consent to doing so. But the government failed to define consent. Therefore the county leaders were able to pass a resolution in favor of storing spent nuclear fuel in Andrews on behalf of the residents. They volunteered the county to become a dumping ground for the rest of the United States.
Mr. Pack does not give a cut off date for constituents to contact him, but the sooner, the better, as August is almost here, and July right around the corner.
