U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Four Public Online Webinars (Aug. 20, 25, 26, & Sept. 2) for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

New Mexico groups are planning to use the following statement in protest of the webinar/call-in only process, before delivering the rest of their verbal comments; one group, NISG, plans to boycott the webinar/call-in sessions altogether, while still working to generate written comments by the Sept. 22nd deadline:

This statement may be read at the start of or in place of your public comments --

Protest Statement to the NRC at next Webinar Hearing

My name is _______________, I’m from_____________ and I’m making these comments under protest because we can’t verify that the NRC decision-makers are receiving them.

To be relevant, these hearings

• must be conducted in-person at site locations in New Mexico, as the NRC promised,
• must extend the comment period until after the Public Health Emergency has ended and it is safe to have mass gatherings,

There is no compelling reason - except to accommodate Holtec - for these meetings to be rushed during the pandemic. The NRC says that waste can be safely stored at the reactor sites for 120 years. There are no contracts with waste generators or railroads that Holtec must honor.  I oppose the Holtec plan, as do the Governor of New Mexico, the governors of 20 tribal nations, and the large majority of New Mexicans.

With these blind, on-line meetings it is apparent that you have no interest in understanding our concerns.  Every state in the nation has clearly said “no” to hosting a storage site for this waste.  The people of New Mexico also say “no.”

As announced by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC):

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Four Public Online Webinars for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct four additional public meetings via webinar soliciting comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s (Holtec) proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico.  The draft EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts of Holtec’s request to build and operate the proposed CISF. 

The public meeting webinars will be accessible to the public by navigating, on the day and time of the meeting, to the internet link below and entering the event number and password associated with the date of the webinar when prompted.  Telephone access will be required for the audio portion of the meetings and is available by dialing the telephone number and entering the passcode provided below.  The NRC staff will present the results of the draft environmental impact analysis and receive the public’s comments on the draft report.  The NRC invites members of the public to attend the public meeting webinars and to present oral comments on the draft EIS.

Tuesday, August 25th email from NRC NMSS DSFM (Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards Division of Spent Fuel Management):

*****Note: Corrected hyperlinks to NRC’s WebEx site*****

SUBJECT: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Conduct Public Online Webinars for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Holtec HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility – August 26, and September 2, 2020

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct additional public meetings via webinar soliciting comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s (Holtec) proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico.  The draft EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts of Holtec’s request to build and operate the proposed CISF. 

The public meeting webinars will be accessible to the public by navigating, on the day and time of the meeting, to the internet link below and entering the event number and password associated with the date of the webinar when prompted.  Telephone access will be required for the audio portion of the meetings and is available by dialing the telephone number and entering the passcode provided below.  The NRC staff will present the results of the draft environmental impact analysis and receive the public’s comments on the draft report.  The NRC invites members of the public to attend the public meeting webinars and to present oral comments on the draft EIS.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 – 4:00 pm MT (6:00 pm ET)

Webinar:

Event address: https://usnrc.webex.com/

Event number: 199 278 6216

Event password: HOLTEC

Telephone access:

Phone number: 888-566-6509

Passcode: 1904459

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 – 9:00 am MT (11:00 am ET)

Webinar:

Event address: https://usnrc.webex.com/

Event number: 199 183 5099

Event password: HOLTEC

Telephone access:

Phone number: 888-566-6509

Passcode: 1904459

The public may also submit written comments on the draft EIS before September 22, 2020.  Members of the public can provide comments by any of the following methods:

•  
  • E-mail to  Holtec-CISFEIS@nrc.gov
  • Online at  https://www.regulations.gov/ (search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0052) 
  • US Mail to the following address: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:  TWFN-7-A60M, ATTN:  Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

The draft EIS can be found on the NRC public webpage for the Holtec CISF license application at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html.  If you do not have internet access, contact the NRC Public Document Room at 800-397-4209 for assistance.  Questions regarding the draft EIS should be directed to Jill Caverly at 301-415-7674 or at Jill.Caverly@nrc.gov.