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Wednesday: Show your opposition to N.M. nuclear dump

Sierra Club attorneys and others objecting to the Holtec proposed nuclear-waste facility in southeast New Mexico will present oral arguments to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on Jan. 23. 

Please attend to raise your voice in opposition to this ill-considered radioactive-waste dump. The public may only be allowed to observe at the hearing, but our lawyer has asked for supporters to be there for his arguments to show opposition to the proposed “temporary” storage site between Carlsbad and Hobbs and the transportation by rail of thousands of tons of high-level nuclear waste from all the nation’s nuclear reactors to New Mexico.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments to determine which groups have standing and which objections will be accepted regarding Holtec’s proposal for the nuclear dump. 

Atomic Safety Board hearing

When: 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23 (may continue Jan. 24, but Sierra Club attorney Wally Taylor will make his arguments early Wednesday and has requested that as many people as possible attend.)

Where: State Bar of New Mexico Boardroom, 5121 Masthead St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

There will also be a press conference on Tuesday by community groups who have raised objections to the site.

Six parties are objecting to the license application submitted by Holtec International to store up to 173,600 metric tons of waste, more than double what exists in the United States today. The Halt Holtec Coalition asserts that consolidated “interim” facilities are illegal under federal law. New Mexicans are concerned that bringing in irradiated (“spent”) nuclear fuel for supposedly temporary storage would likely become permanent. Transport relies on unsafe, untested containers to be shipped on rails throughout the country.
Press conference
What: Halt Holtec Coalition Press Conference Opposing World’s Largest Radioactive Waste Dump
When: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22

Where: State Bar of New Mexico Boardroom, 5121 Masthead St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

Who: Representatives and attorneys from local, regional, and national groups, spanning public interest, environment, and environmental justice, will speak on objections to the proposal by Holtec International and New Mexico-based Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance for a “Consolidated Interim Storage Facility” between Carlsbad and Hobbs. The parties to the proceeding (and legal counsel) are:
  • Alliance for Environmental Strategies (Nancy Simmons, Albuquerque, NM);
  • Beyond Nuclear (Diane Curran, Washington, D.C.; Mindy Goldstein, Turner Environmental Law Clinic, Emory University, Atlanta, GA);
  • Sierra Club (Wally Taylor, Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign, Cedar Rapids, IA);
  • A seven-group coalition including Don’t Waste Michigan, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination (MI), Public Citizen (TX and DC), San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (CA), Nuclear Energy Information Service (IL), Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (NY), and Nuclear Issues Study Group (NM) (Terry Lodge, Toledo, OH).

Click here to donate to our efforts to stop New Mexico from becoming the nation’s nuclear-waste dump. 

Wednesday: Show your opposition to N.M. nuclear dump