Holtec has proposed constructing a nuclear storage facility in southeastern New Mexico, but several legislators at a meeting between the company and lawmakers did not seem to be in favor of the idea.
Ed Mayer, program manager at Holtec, gave his presentation before lawmakers earlier this month, according to the New Mexico Political Report.
In his proposal, Mayer said the project would not affect oil and gas activity and that it would not threaten water resources.
State Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, supported the project, saying at the presentation that the project would solve a problem.
Brown seemed to be one of few who supported the measure.
"We’re dealing with something that our successors’ successors’ successors will be dealing with, with not much benefit to the state and a very significant upfront cost," State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, said at the presentation.
Mayer said the facility would not be a nuclear waste dump but would be a "highly engineered, safe and secure facility."
At the facility, high-level nuclear waste would be taken in from power plants across the country by railway.
The legislators aren't the first to oppose the project. Earlier this year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham voiced her opposition, calling it a risk to New Mexicans, according to the news agency.
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is also opposed to the project, saying the proposed site was not the right place for a high-level nuclear storage facility.
In a statement Richard released, she said there is no guarantee that nuclear waste could be safely transported through the state.
"There is no guarantee that there won’t be a hazardous interaction between the storage site and nearby oil, gas, and mining activities," sdhe said in the statement. "There is no guarantee that this site will truly be ‘interim’ and won’t become the permanent dumping ground for our nation’s nuclear waste."
Residents have also voiced opposition to the project, the news agency reported.
At a separate presentation, Sierra Club expressed concern with the project.
Patricia Cardone, a Sierra Club legislative issues volunteer, said the land would not be able to be used again for 100,000 to 1 million years.
"That means that land cannot be reused for any other purpose," she said in her presentation.
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