Texas radioactive waste company eyes New Mexico site

A West Texas company that treats and disposes of radioactive waste may be ahead of southeastern New Mexico in landing a long-term storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.

The Waste Control Specialists signaled this month it wants a spent fuel storage facility at the company’s facility just five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico, the Hobbs News-Sun reports.

WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said the company is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin the environmental review of the site now, a process that could take at least 18 months. WCS sent a letter to the NRC this week asking that the process begin so stakeholder meetings with the public can be held.

The site could store the material for at least 40 years, depending on how the NRC licenses the facility.

The proposal comes as Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico are partnering with nuclear storage container manufacturer Holtec on another potential facility to present to the NRC.

The Eddy/Lea/Holtec partnership has not yet submitted its application for the 1,000-acre site located in Lea County near the Eddy County line west of Hobbs, New Mexico.

McDonald said there may be room for both. “I suspect there is and I suspect they (the NRC) would approve a second (site) if they approved one,” McDonald said.

Funding for a facility like WCS’s or the Eddy/Lea site would come from interest generated off the $1 billion disposal fund.