The U.S. Supreme Court initiates a challenge concerning nuclear waste storage.
A contentious debate about the proposal for storing nuclear waste in Texas and New Mexico is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The judges have chosen to examine a judgment by an appellate court that condemned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for overstepping its federal powers when permitting a private organization to store nuclear waste at a West Texas landfill for four decades. The results of this case could potentially influence comparable schemes in New Mexico as well.
The authorities of both states are firmly against these undertakings. Two major issues require the Supreme Court's consideration in this case. Initially, the NRC argues that these states waived their right to challenge the planned permit issuances due to their refusal to engage in the commission's internal proceedings.
Moreover, the Supreme Court needs to establish whether federal legislation even allows the NRC to provide licenses for nuclear waste storage. The conservative-led state of Texas and environmental organizations, an unlikely coalition, pointed to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling, which maintained that Congress should define clear guidelines when delegating decision-making authority on issues of national importance to an agency.
From the viewpoint of the lower court that ruled against the commission, the handling of U.S. nuclear waste falls within those matters that Congress should tackle directly.
At present, approximately 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel, some dating back to the 1980s, are kept in current and former transitional storage facilities in the U.S., with the volume increasing by over 1,800 metric tons annually. Ideally, this waste should be permanently housed beneath the ground, but searches for a fitting location have proven unsuccessful so far.
The Supreme Court will scrutinize whether the state governments waived their right to challenge the NRC's permit issuances, as per the NRC's argument, in the ongoing court case concerning nuclear waste storage at a West Texas landfill. This debate in the Court could also determine if federal legislation grants the NRC the authority to provide licenses for nuclear waste storage, as contended by Texas and environmental groups.
