MIDLAND, Texas — There has been a lot of pushback at the state and local level on the topic of bringing high levels of nuclear waste to the Permian Basin. Now, there is also pushback at the federal level.
U.S. Representatives August Pfluger (TX) and Teresa Leger Fernández (NM), and Senators Ted Cruz (TX) and Martin Heinrich (NM) introduced a bill that would help the Permian Basin when it comes to spent nuclear fuel storage.
The bill would "prevent temporary nuclear storage from being built and transported in Texas and elsewhere, funded by fees intended for permanent storage," according to Cruz.
A lot of people want to find a permanent place for high levels of spent nuclear waste, just not in the Permian Basin.
"We have a lot of support and you know all of this is saying that the federal government is not going to fund a private entity to store this stuff, and we’ve always said it’s just an end around on the nuclear waste policy act," Tommy Taylor, director of oil and gas development at Fasken Oil and Ranch said.
August Pfluger is also someone pushing to find a permanent home for the high levels of nuclear waste.
"It is long overdue for the federal government to locate a permanent repository for our nation’s nuclear waste," Pfluger said. "We must send this dangerous material to a final resting place – not increase risk with an interim site."
Taylor believes that this bill could be the key to energy independence.
"If we’re really gonna be energy independent, we wouldn’t put this material here, and this bill is just one step in helping us to stop it and let our legislators look at this and go 'You know what? This is really a bad idea'," Taylor said.
Taylor said that the problem with having an interim storage site without having a long-term plan is that the interim site could turn into the permanent storage site.
"Whoever stores it needs to be bound by that law that says you can’t have an interim storage site until and unless you have a permanent repository approved and under construction, and so you know we don’t want this to become a de facto permanent repository," Taylor said.