Interim Storage Partners submits renewed NRC license application for used nuclear fuel consolidated interim storage facility in West Texas

Andrews, Texas – Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Orano USA and Waste Control Specialists, today announced the submission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a renewed license application to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel at the existing WCS site in Andrews County, Texas.

With this submission, ISP is formally asking the NRC to resume its review of a revised CISF license application originally submitted April 2016 and docketed by the NRC for review in January 2017 (Docket No. 72-1050).

The revised application reflects the organization of the joint venture along with new leadership, but remains unchanged in its original proposal to securely receive, store, and safely manage used nuclear fuel from shutdown U.S. nuclear reactors at a planned facility built on the existing 14,900-acre WCS low-level waste storage site.

In its application, ISP proposes an initial 40-year license to consolidate and store an eventual total of 40,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel, developed over eight flexible phases. The CISF will securely store the used nuclear fuel with the same proven storage technology and commitment to safety demonstrated by Orano and NAC International at storage installations currently in place and reliably operating at U.S. reactor sites across the United States.

“We are pleased to re-energize this application and begin addressing the industry’s increasing need for completing the decommissioning of shutdown nuclear energy facilities across the country,” said Jeff Isakson, ISP president. “This interim solution is a near-term action on the path of eventual permanent storage in a federal repository.”