NRC Issues Final Environmental Study for Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Andrews, Texas
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 21-029 July 29, 2021
CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200
NRC Issues Final Environmental Study for Proposed Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Andrews, Texas
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final environmental impact statement on an application by Interim Storage Partners, LLC, to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas. After considering the environmental impacts of the proposed action, the NRC staff recommend granting the proposed license.
Interim Storage Partners is a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists, LLC, and Orano CIS, LLC, a subsidiary of Orano USA, LLC. If granted, the license would authorize ISP to construct a facility to store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent commercial nuclear fuel as well as Greater-Than-Class C waste for a period of 40 years. ISP plans to expand the facility to a total capacity of 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel. The facility would be built adjacent to the Waste Control Specialists low-level radioactive waste disposal site.
The NRC published a draft environmental impact statement on the project in May 2020. Agency staff held four public meetings by webinar to present the draft findings and receive public comments. To complete the final document, the staff received and evaluated approximately 2,500 unique comments submitted by nearly 10,600 members of the public.
The NRC will provide the final environmental impact statement to the Environmental Protection Agency for filing. Once the EPA publishes in the Federal Register a notice that it has received the document, the NRC must wait at least 30 days before issuing a licensing decision. When it announces its licensing decision, the NRC will also publish its final safety evaluation report detailing its technical review of the ISP application.
More information about the NRC staff’s review of the Interim Storage Partners application is available on the NRC website.
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