skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Judge in Alien Enemies Act case chides DOJ lawyer over refusal to answer key questions about deportations; National Park layoffs impact AR economy; Experts say cuts to NOAA could impact MT fire, weather warnings; Alarming violence rates continue against Indigenous women.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump Administration fights a court order on deportation flights, as lawyers say the government is overreaching on expelling migrants, and NOAA cuts could spell trouble for those concerned about weather emergencies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Farmers worry promised federal reimbursements aren't coming while fears mount that the Trump administration's efforts to raise cash means the sale of public lands, and rural America's shortage of doctors has many physicians skipping retirement.

Spent Nuclear-Fuel Storage Facility Nixed by NM Legislature

play audio
Play

Monday, March 20, 2023   

Like Nevada, New Mexico has rejected a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.

Responding to the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission's plan to issue a license for a Holtec International facility in southeast New Mexico, the legislature passed Senate Bill 53 mostly along party lines, with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed.

The bill said no nuclear storage permits will be issued without support from state officials and not before the federal government has identified a permanent disposal site.

John Buchser, nuclear waste issues chair for the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, said a plan to safely transport nuclear waste via railroad from the east to a Western state has not been adequately studied.

"It's probably 10 years of research and then further decisions on, 'is that actually going to proceed?' And then dealing with the resistance of 'nobody really wants it,' " Buchser explained.

Nevada's Yucca Mountain was originally designated for the temporary nuclear waste repository, but strong state and regional opposition eventually killed the proposal. In New Mexico, city and county leaders from Carlsbad and Hobbs recruited Holtec to propose the nuclear-waste storage facility, and believe in its safety and promise to provide local jobs. The bill was signed by the governor hours after it passed.

Buchser hopes New Mexico's decision will put more pressure on Congress to create a permanent disposal site. He pointed out the problem of storing spent nuclear fuel is not unique to the United States, but some countries approach the problem differently.

"Finland is probably the best case, where they actually started with the premise, 'Let's talk to the people and ask them what they want to do with this?' " Buchser observed. "Instead of starting from the premise of the United States which seems to be, 'Let's define a site, and then we'll see what the public thinks about it.' "

A recent poll found 60% of New Mexico voters opposed the Holtec site, including 56% of those in southeast New Mexico. Those opposed to the "interim" storage site could become a substitute for permanent storage, with the radioactive waste possibly abandoned in New Mexico for a million years.

Disclosure: The Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, and Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Filmmaker Michael Nash aims to feature his acclaimed film "Climate Refugees" on postage stamps, a challenge he hopes is easier than sending it to the moon. Approval rests with the U.S. Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee. (Trimmel Gomes at Climate Correction Conference)

Environment

play sound

Last year, filmmaker Michael Nash achieved the extraordinary when his documentary "Climate Refugees" was sent to the moon as part of a Lunar Museum …


Environment

play sound

Two new national monuments in California are in jeopardy after the White House announced a plan to revoke them and then appeared to retreat. On …

Social Issues

play sound

Children's advocates are crying foul after House Republicans called for $12 billion in cuts to the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows high-…


Some prison medical services require copays from those incarcerated, which can be a significant burden given the extremely low wages paid for prison labor. (b201735/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

The Missouri Foundation for Health is partnering with The Marshall Project on the launch of a St. Louis nonprofit newsroom highlighting the legal …

Social Issues

play sound

The seven national parks in Arkansas have not been spared from job cuts by the federal government. Nationwide, 1,700 park employees have been let go …

Red flag warnings and fire weather watches are the two main types of fire alerts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association issues. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

One of many federal agencies facing cuts by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adm…

Social Issues

play sound

A year after the death of detainee Charles Leo Daniel, a 61-year-old Trinidadian migrant, legislators and human rights advocates continue pushing to …

Social Issues

play sound

Indigenous people have made great contributions to the state of Wisconsin yet the alarming rates of violence against them remains a public health cris…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021