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Nuclear waste could end up in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Backers of a plan to build a temporary storage facility in southern New Mexico to house spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants are making the rounds in Washington, D.C., in hopes of gaining more support for their proposal.

Holtec International and its partners announced last week that they were finally submitting their application for licensure to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Company officials planned to discuss the application during a news conference Wednesday.

Holtec is the second company to apply. Waste Control Specialists submitted plans in 2016 for a smaller facility in West Texas, not far from the New Mexico border.

The licensing process could take years, and it’s unclear how discussions of reviving the mothballed disposal site at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain could affect the proposals for temporary storage.

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