The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally terminated its consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and other agencies regarding the protection of historic sites potentially impacted by a proposed spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Skull Valley, Utah.
The decision is expected to lead to the issue of a licence to Private Fuel Storage (PFS) in short order following the September conclusion of the NRC review into the issue.
In a letter to ACHP chairman John Nau, NRC chairman Nils Diaz notified the ACHP of the NRC’s determination to issue a materials licence to PFS. Accordingly, the agency has provided PFS a draft of the licence. After that review is complete, the NRC will issue the final licence.
PFS, a consortium of utility companies, plans to store up to 44,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants in dry casks on land leased from the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians.
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