Nuclear Waste Move To New Mexico Put On Hold
Public input on the storage of radioactive waste from Washington state in New Mexico will be held, effectively halting the transfer process indefinitely. Officials want more time to consider the proposal before saying "yes" or "no" to it.
In Washington state, radioactive waste is leaking from storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation into the ground. Officials there want to get rid of it. The preferred dumping spot? The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant at Carlsbad in southern New Mexico.
Advocates of storing the waste in Carlsbad say the plan will provide jobs, while opponents say they don't want the hazardous materials to be brought in.
At the heart of the matter is the need for a permit to transport and store the waste at the facility. The Department of Energy wants it to happen, but the New Mexico Environment Department's Jim Winchester says more public input is needed.
"Secretary-designate Ryan Flynn of the Environment Department thought that was very important," Winchester said. "He saw the comments that came in and they were a wide range of feelings and opinions on this, and he wants those to be considered in the process moving forward."
Winchester says by opening up the process for comments, a final decision on whether or not to allow Washington's radioactive waste through the state could take up to a year.
