Urge NM Legislators to Pass the #HoltecBanBill 

We are expecting that as early as February 2023, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is likely to issue a license to Holtec International to build and operate an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste in Lea County, New Mexico, between Carlsbad and Hobbs. Holtec’s license application, submitted in 2017, requested approval to store up to 8,680 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel in 500 stainless steel canisters for a 40-year license term, with 10,000 canisters being stored over a 120 year period at full build-out.

In light of the pending license application approval, it is now more urgent than ever that we send a clear message that New Mexicans do not consent* to being a dumping ground for the nation’s high level nuclear waste.

Sen. Jeff Steinborn will be introducing a bill again in the 2023 NM Legislative Session that would prohibit the state from issuing permits for the construction or operation of a disposal facility for spent fuel or high-level waste unless a permanent repository is in operation. Holtec would be required to obtain state permits for industrial wastewater and construction even if it gets approval from the NRC; without those state permits, the facility would not be able to be built.

Here is a link to the current working version of the Ban Bill. It is the version of House Bill 127 amended and passed by the House Judiciary Committee during the 2022 New Mexico Legislative Session. 

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has stated that if the Legislature passes such a bill that she would sign it. “My message to the state Legislature is clear: deliver a proposal to my desk that protects New Mexico from becoming the de facto home of the country’s spent nuclear fuel and it will have my full support,” the governor said. 

Take Action: 

• Call your state Senator and Representative and urge them to support the Holtec Ban Bill. 

• To find out who your state Senator and Representatives are, and how to contact them, go to nmlegis.gov and click on Find My Legislator.

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Follow DNA on our social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) for updates on where the bill is during the session and how best you can provide support. We will be posting action alerts, asking for supporters to call Committee members, speak up during Committee hearings, and other ways of banning Holtec from bringing the nation’s most deadly radioactive waste to New Mexico.