Supreme Court hears dispute over nuclear waste storage in Texas
The case focuses on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of a project to store spent nuclear fuel at a remote site in southwest Texas.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday wades into the decadeslong debate about where to put nuclear waste by hearing a dispute over the federal government's decision to approve a storage facility in Texas.
The nine justices will weigh whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission correctly allowed a company called Interim Storage Partners to store spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas, for up to 40 years.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had faulted the NRC for its 2021 decision, prompting the Biden administration to appeal. The Trump administration has now taken over the case and is defending the commission's authority to approve private nuclear waste storage sites.
State officials, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, are among those who have objected to the approval.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris, representing the Trump administration, said in court papers that Texas' legal argument, if adopted by the court, "threatens to deprive the commission of authority to license the private storage of spent nuclear fuel in any location."
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