5th Circuit Rules Nuclear Regulatory Commission “Has No Statutory Authority” to Issue License to Store High-Level Nuclear Waste in Permian Basin
MIDLAND, TEXAS – On August 25, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of the people of Texas by stating that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) “has no statutory authority” to issue a license to a private company to store much of the country’s high-level nuclear waste in the Permian Basin.
The ruling plainly states that “The Commission has no statutory authority to issue the license. The Atomic Energy Act doesn’t authorize the Commission to license a private, away-from-reactor storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. And issuing such a license contradicts Congressional policy expressed in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.”
Americans For Responsible Nuclear Waste praised the historic ruling:
“The ruling sides in favor of people and local communities who clearly rejected the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s effort to force high-level nuclear waste on their cities and towns – threatening their health and livelihoods. It flies in the face of logic that the NRC would try to store dangerous nuclear waste in a region filled with oil and natural gas that creates jobs and fuels our country.”
Background
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission previously granted a license to Interim Storage Partners to take ownership of the country’s high-level nuclear waste at decommissioning reactors and consolidate it at two above-ground storage facilities in a region known as The Permian Basin in Texas.
The State of Texas, along with many of the state’s cities and towns, have not consented to the storage. In fact, the Texas legislature passed a law, ultimately signed by the governor, to stop the storage plan.
Bizarrely, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a plan to store high-level nuclear waste in the Permian Basin – America’s most productive oil and natural gas region. Per day, the region produces 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 5.3 million barrels of oil. The nuclear waste could prove to be threatening to the nation’s energy supply and experts have also warned that the proposed storage area would become a highly visible target for potential terrorist acts.
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