US EditionSupreme Court rejects challenge to federal approval of nuclear waste storage site in Texas
TEXAS, JUN 18 – The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Texas and landowners cannot challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 40-year license for storing up to 40,000 metric tons of nuclear waste.
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Washington on Wednesday against Texas and oil industry interests challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's license for a nuclear waste storage site in Andrews County, Texas.
- The case arose after a 2021 decision by the 5th Circuit Court concluding that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not have the legal power to grant the license, leading Texas and a private firm to seek judicial review; however, their request was denied because they had not participated in the process earlier.
- The NRC had issued a 40-year license to Interim Storage Partners in 2021 to store up to 5,500 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods and 231 million tons of radioactive waste near the New Mexico border amid stalled permanent storage plans at Yucca Mountain.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion, explaining technical grounds for denying review, while Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented, arguing Texas and the company qualified as aggrieved parties due to environmental risks and prior comments.
- The ruling removes a key obstacle for temporary nuclear waste storage licenses and may revive plans for related facilities in Texas and New Mexico, addressing growing storage needs as existing plants near capacity.
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Additional opinions from Wednesday, June 18
On Wednesday, June 18, the Supreme Court also released the following opinions: — In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the court considered who has a right to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing decisions. Texas and a private company were seeking legal review of one of the commission’s licensing decisions from 2021 regarding the storage of spent nuclear fuel. In a 6-3 decision by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court held t…
Justices Back Temporary Texas Nuclear Waste Storage Site
(Bloomberg) — The US Supreme Court left intact a federal plan to store as much as 40,000 tons of highly radioactive waste at a temporary site in west Texas over the objections of local landowners and oil and gas operators.
Clearing the way for temporary nuclear waste storage in Texas and New Mexico
The Supreme Court on Wednesday restarted plans to temporarily store nuclear waste at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico, even as the nation is at an impasse over a permanent solution. The justices, by a 6-3 vote, reversed a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the license granted by the Nu...
Supreme Court nixes Texas' challenge of nuclear waste license
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