Judges Weigh Nuclear Waste Ownership Question in License Dispute

Judges at the D.C. Circuit seemed skeptical of arguments that US nuclear regulators were wrong to issue a license to temporarily store spent nuclear reactor fuel in New Mexico based on uncertainty about who could own the fuel in the future.

A group of petitioners representing environmental organizations argued before the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Tuesday that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reference to a potential change in law doomed the license granted to Holtec International Corp.

The NRC granted the license in May 2023 to accept waste from private companies that currently own commercial spent ...