Texas Scorecard By Luca Cacciatore October 4, 2024
The eventual ruling could set a precedent for how federal agencies approve nuclear waste projects elsewhere.The United States Supreme Court will hear a case regarding a previously blocked attempt to store nuclear waste at facilities in West Texas.
On Friday, justices agreed to review an appellate court ruling that found the Nuclear Regulatory Commission exceeded its authority in permitting a private company—Interim Storage Partners—to store the waste at a dump in West Texas for 40 years.
The facility was initially slated to take up to 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants and 231 million tons of other radioactive waste, according to court documents.
While initially blocked by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2023, the NRC had requested the court revisit its decision. The three-judge panel subsequently rejected the plea on March 14, 2024.
Justices Edith H. Jones, James C. Ho, and Cory T. Wilson wrote in their rejection that they had identified two criteria for reviewing the NRC’s actions: whether the plaintiffs were aggrieved by the project and whether the NRC acted beyond its legal authority.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/federal/us-supreme-court-to-weigh-in-on-effort-to-store-nuclear-waste-in-west-texas/
