SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement on Wednesday after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it intends to issue a license to Holtec International for the construction and operation of an interim nuclear water storage facility in New Mexico:

“Despite my strong objections and concerns over public health, economic, scientific, natural resource and environmental justice – and those of tribal leaders, local governments, and the people of New Mexico – the NRC is effectively choosing profit over public interest.

“The NRC has unilaterally decided to house the nation’s spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico, despite the fact that our state has not one nuclear power plant within its borders. And while the NRC and Holtec International say that the proposal is ‘temporary,’ a 40-year license with the opportunity for renewal will threaten the health and safety of generations of New Mexicans.

“The state of New Mexico will not become a dumping ground for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel due to Congress’s failure to identify a permanent disposal solution for commercial nuclear waste. My message to the state Legislature is clear: deliver a proposal to my desk that protects New Mexico from becoming the de facto home of the country’s spent nuclear fuel and it will have my full support.”