“The case pits the nuclear industry’s push for CISFs against the interests of fossil fuel companies which object to high-level radioactive waste dumped in their drilling/fracking areas, the state governments of Texas and New Mexico, which have passed laws prohibiting importation of nuclear waste to their states, and cities along the transport routes which object to it being shipped through their jurisdictions. Their amicus briefs in the case are posted here.”
For immediate release
MEDIA ALERT for Wednesday, March 5, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
WHAT? Wednesday morning, March 5, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Nuclear Regulatory Commission vs. Texas. At issue in the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the U.S.) proceeding is whether the NRC exceeded its authority when it approved licenses for proposed “consolidated interim storage facilities” for high-level radioactive waste including highly irradiated “spent” fuel from nuclear power plants. Two CISFs are planned for western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as Amended specifically prohibits private “interim” storage of federal spent nuclear fuel, and disallows the Department of Energy from taking title to the waste (which would be necessary for DOE to transport it to CISFs), unless and until a permanent geologic repository is licensed, built and opened to receive the waste. The law intended to prevent private “interim” storage of federal radwaste, which is much less robust than permanent storage, and would double the risk of accident or attack during transport, since consolidated “interim” storage necessitates moving the waste twice, once to the CISF and again to a permanent repository. The NRC approved recent CISF license applications despite the law, saying it anticipated Congress would change it in the future. But the federal Fifth Circuit court ruled that the NRC didn’t have that authority. If the Supreme Court strikes that ruling down, it could open the floodgates for thousands of shipments of spent fuel from nuclear power plants across the US, through many states, to CISFs in Texas and New Mexico.
The case pits the nuclear industry’s push for CISFs against the interests of fossil fuel companies which object to high-level radioactive waste dumped in their drilling/fracking areas, the state governments of Texas and New Mexico, which have passed laws prohibiting importation of nuclear waste to their states, and cities along the transport routes which object to it being shipped through their jurisdictions. Their amicus briefs in the case are posted here.
WHO? Attorneys for the NRC, Interim Storage Partners, LLC (the Texas CISF company), and for plaintiffs in the legal challenge to licensing CISFs will make their cases before the Supreme Court Justices. Participants in the legal challenge to CISFs include the State of Texas, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Beyond Nuclear, Sierra Club, and Don’t Waste Michigan, et al., a national environmental grassroots coalition of watchdog groups, and Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd., and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners, which advocate for ranching and mineral rights.
WHERE & WHEN? The SCOTUS oral arguments take place on Wednesday, March 5th at 10am Eastern time. To listen live, go to https://www.supremecourt.gov/ and click on the “live audio” icon. Later that day, SCOTUS will also post an audio recording and transcript of the oral arguments. In-person attendance is also an option, but journalists should arrive early to ensure their place. More information https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/oral_arguments.aspx
NOTE TO EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Participants in the lawsuits challenging CISFs, their attorneys, and other experts are available for comment and interviews. Fact sheets, and a short educational video, documenting the Environmental Justice burdens of CISFs, and risks of highly radioactive waste transport, and alternatives to this, are posted here. For more information, additional documentation, or to arrange an interview, please contact Stephen Kent, [email protected], 914-589-5988.