US regulators OK spent nuclear fuel facility in New Mexico

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. nuclear regulators on Tuesday said they licensed a multibillion-dollar complex in New Mexico to temporarily store tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants around the nation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was initially expected to issue a decision and a final safety report by the end of March, but was delayed by staffing constraints. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state’s congressional delegation oppose putting the storage complex in the state. They fear New Mexico will become the nation’s dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel because the federal government has no permanent solution for the waste piling up at commercial reactors around the country.