Texas nuclear waste storage permit invalidated by US appeals court

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

August 25, 2023 9:27 PM EDT

Aug 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday canceled a license granted by a federal agency to a company to build a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in western Texas, which the Republican-led state has argued would be dangerous to build in one of the nation's largest oil basins.

A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacked the authority under federal law to issue permits for private, temporary nuclear waste storage sites. The license, which was issued in 2021 to project developer Interim Storage Partners LLC, was challenged by Texas as well as west Texas oil and gas interests that opposed the facility.

U.S. Circuit Judge James Ho, writing for the court, agreed with Texas that the Atomic Energy Act does not give the agency the broad authority "to license a private, away-from-reactor storage facility for spent nuclear fuel."

Ho, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, said a license for that kind of a facility also conflicts with a U.S. law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which prioritizes permanent storage solutions and otherwise allows temporary storage of nuclear waste only at reactors themselves or at federal sites. Representatives for the NRC, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office and the developer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/texas-nuclear-waste-storage-permit-invalidated-by-us-appeals-court-2023-08-26/

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This story has all kinds of cognizant dissonance in it. Well at least in terms of the sudden "concern" about the environment (nuclear waste storage - albeit "temporary" ) - UNLESS it impinges on the mighty OIL fields.

[Think. Again.]

1. This is very important...

...we need to settle on the strongest and "most safe" storage regulations (radioactive materials can not be considered safe in themselves) if we can have any hope of eliminating the extremely UNsafe CO2 emissions.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. The intersection of deregulation and nimby

[BumRushDaShow]

3. That is as good a description of this as any I could come up with!

[Fullduplexxx]

5. Well thank you 😊

[Bayard]

4. I'm surprised

That Abbott doesn't want to strap it to the backs of migrants that make it through his river barrels before sending them back. Even the young kids should be able to carry a little bit, right?

[Traildogbob]

6. Get real!

He would send them to blue states with the radioactive waste. He would never waste the opportunity to kill libs right here in MurKKKa. The real enemy to freedom.
Besides, Cruz would not approve of contaminating his getaway spot during Texas disasters.

[Bayard]

9. I thought about that,

But they'd have to cross a lot of red states to get to NY or DC.

[Traildogbob]

10. Yes

But these terrorist NEVER have concern for collateral damage. They would nuke a NASCAR event if Hunter was attending just to own us libs. Kind of like their Covid response when they said let the old folks die, they had a good run, we need economy “looking” strong for elections.
But if Texans keep electing these fools just to eliminate regulations, hard to have sympathy. We are about to see some real hell with Fukushima dumping Nuke waste water in the ocean.
Slightly over 50 percent of carbon sequestration and oxygen is generated in the earths water ways through photosynthetic phytoplankton. So why not eliminate that from the equation. Kill the water and burn the planet. “Smoke on The Water” the likes of which the world has never seen. Dying Forests, replaced with concrete to have more Walmarts and Dollar stores, not a winning solution.
Houston (Texas), we have a problem. A big one. It’s the GQP and oligarchs that don’t give a damn about the big blue sphere. It’s turning brown and black.
But what the hell, it’s football season. Go team!!! Time to party and wear our favorite jersey.

[Martin68]

7. Safe, long-term waste dispose is the biggest obstacle to universal acceptance of nuclear power.

[SouthernDem4ever]

8. That's probably due to the fact it will never be safe

[Martin68]

11. I'm waiting for DU's hard core nuclear power supporters to chime in.

[Tikki]

12. Actually..NOBODY wants the Nuclear waste buried anywhere near them.

But Nuclear production makes Nuclear Waste.
That has been a reality for on near 80 years now.

To store and maintain waste and the inevitable clean up
from Nuclear production is incredibly expensive and your TAX dollars
pay for the most of it.

Tikki

[Igel]

13. Places like west Texas aren't a bad choice.

Really low population density.

But in this case the argument is straightforward--branches of government only have the authority they're explicitly granted or which is necessary to do what was explicitly granted; executive agencies only have the authority they're explicitly granted. Anything more is veering towards autocracy, whether what they want or try to do is something deemed good or something deemed bad.

"It's legal and Constitutional because I think it's necessary, whatever the law and Consitution may say" isn't acceptable in a democracy.