ANDREWS, Texas — In September 2021, the state of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Fasken Land and Minerals and the Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
On Friday, according to court documents sent to us from Monica Perales, an attorney for Fasken Oil and Ranch, judges agree with the State of Texas and the license has been vacated.
According to the judgement papers sent to us from Perales, the court said:
"Texas is correct. The Atomic Energy Act does not confer on the Commission the broad authority it claims to issue licenses for private parties to store spent nuclear fuel away-from-the-reactor. And the Nuclear Waste Policy Act establishes a comprehensive statutory scheme for dealing with nuclear waste generated from commercial nuclear power generation, thereby foreclosing the Commission’s claim of authority. Accordingly, we grant the petition for review and vacate the license."
In the concluding paragraph of the documents, the judges say "we grant the petitions for review, vacate the license, and deny the Commission’s motions to dismiss."
To see the full document, look below:
The lawsuit petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to review and vacate a license that allows for the construction and operation of an interim storage facility for high-level nuclear waste in Andrews.
The license, issued on Sept. 13, 2021, allows for a facility that would permit Interim Storage Partners to receive, possess, transfer and store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent fuel and 231.3 metric tons of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste for 40 years.
This storage would take place on property at the Waste Control Specialists low-level radioactive waste disposal site already functioning in Andrews.
House Bill 7, which bans the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Texas, was previously signed into law by Gov. Abbott. The bill was filed by State Representative Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa).
Landgraf confirmed the win and spoke to NewsWest 9 about the importance of the victory.
"This is a big win for the state of Texas, and a lot of people have been a part of this," Landgraf said. "I'm very proud to have played a role in getting the law passed. They gave our state a leg to stand on. So this is a significant victory, and I'm glad the court sided with the state of Texas. But this is also a big win for the people of the Permian Basin."
We will continue to update you as we learn more.