ANDREWS, Texas — Waste Control Specialists has stated it will no longer seek to store high level nuclear waste in the Permian Basin without the approval of Governor Abbott.
When asked about how the process was going at an Environmental Regulation Hearing on March 8, a representative stated that while they had submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, they would not be proceeding without the consent of the State of Texas.
The nuclear waste storage has been a point of contention for the past few years, with community members, oil and gas companies and politicians like Brooks Landgraf speaking out against the site.
Gov. Abbott has not stated if he will give the go-ahead to WCS, however Abbott himself wrote a letter in October 2020 to President Trump opposing the storage.
In his letter, Abbott detailed his concerns that concentrating nuclear material in Texas would not provide the deep geologic isolation required for permanent storage to minimize the risk of accident, terrorism, or sabotage.
State Rep. Brooks Landgraf filed House Bill 2692 at the beginning of March to prohibit storage and disposal of high-level nuclear waste, though he stated he and his constituents were not opposed to low-level storage.
Protect the Basin, a local nonprofit dedicated to stopping the storage of nuclear waste, has also been outspoken against the proposal over the years.
