The Associated Press
SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson says he will not support a proposed nuclear fuel factory near Eunice until the federal government guarantees that no radioactive waste from the facility would remain in New Mexico.
His decision means the state will not act on a groundwater discharge permit that Louisiana Energy Services would need to operate the factory.
LES has proposed building the $1.2 billion uranium enrichment facility five miles east of Eunice to produce fuel for nuclear reactors.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which must license the factory, is considering LES's application.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has said a measure he sponsored would ensure that waste from the factory would be sent outside of New Mexico. He added the legislation to a massive spending bill approved by Congress.
"Senator Domenici had good intentions, but the language is inadequate and doesn't fix the problem," Richardson said Tuesday.
Richardson said he will withhold his support of the project until Congress passes other language that specifies the waste would be removed from New Mexico or until the federal commission issues LES an operating permit that contains binding language to that effect.
"What I am seeking is either very strong language in the license that precludes the waste being stored in New Mexico or very strong language in an appropriations bill next year," Richardson said.
He also said his office is talking to state Attorney General Patricia Madrid about a joint effort concerning the LES project. He declined to say what they are considering.
The state Environment Department and the attorney general's office have been rebuffed by the commission's licensing board in efforts to raise concerns about the factory, including the licensing process about waste disposal.
Domenici said Monday his staff was aware that Richardson would have concerns about the provision Congress has passed.
Domenici said he remains committed to working with Richardson to include language concerning waste disposal in the federal license for the factory.
Marshall Cohen, an LES spokesman, said Tuesday that the company remains confident that it will be able to satisfy Richardson's concerns.
The company believes that the language in Domenici's measure is a good first step, Cohen said.
LES has begun discussions with Richardson's staff about other language that could be included in the federal permit, Cohen said.
Richardson "has had his concerns for a while, and we understand that," Cohen said. "And we're looking for a combination of ways — the statutory language that was in the bill, plus the licensing language — and we'll work with his office very closely to do that."
Cohen said LES expects private industry would build a factory in the United States to process the depleted uranium to make it safe for disposal.
No such facility exists in the country today.
The U.S. Department of Energy has hundreds of thousands of tons of similar waste stockpiled at uranium-enrichment factories in Kentucky and Ohio.
The DOE plans to build its own waste-treatment factories to handle its backlog.
Ohio officials have opposed the prospect of taking waste from the proposed LES factory.
New Mexico Environment Secretary Ron Curry said Tuesday his office has received a groundwater discharge permit application from LES.
The permit application is not yet deemed complete, he said.
Curry said that before his office can consider processing the permit, it must know how long waste from the factory would remain on site.
That won't be clear until the federal licensing process is complete, he said.
Once the permit application is deemed complete, it would go through a public-hearing process, Curry said.
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