In response to NM US congressional delegation demands, NRC grants 60-day extension to Holtec CISF DEIS public comment period

See the letter sent by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman to the entire New Mexican U.S. congressional delegation, here.

Note this very carefully worded section from the letter:

"The NRC staff plans to hold a nationwide webinar and five public meetings in New Mexico during the public comment period to present the staff’s preliminary findings and receive public comments. As the COVID-19 public health emergency evolves, the NRC staff will continue to re-evaluate these plans for engaging the public, and will consider whether additional extensions to the comment period are warranted."

This NRC response took more than a month.

The NRC has not yet responded to a 50 NGO coalition letter dated March 25th. That letter demanded a 199-day public comment period, not to start until after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declare the coronavirus pandemic ended, and in-person public comment meetings again safe to hold. In addition, the letter demanded two-dozen public comment meetings, in a dozen states outside NM.

That would make this NRC Holtec CISF DEIS public comment proceeding equal to the DOE Yucca Mountain, Nevada dump DEIS public comment proceeding of two decades ago. The Yucca dump scheme targets Western Shoshone land.

The 50-group coalition's demand is reasonable. After all, Holtec would ship and store 2.5 times the high-level radioactive waste volume as would the Yucca dump (173,600 metric tons, versus 70,000). Thus, an equivalent proceeding -- in terms of public comment period duration, and number and geographic diversity of public comment meetings in Mobile Chernobyl transport risk hubs -- is very reasonable. Holtec's CISF should, actually, require 2.5 times the duration and meetings as did the Yucca dump.