New Mexico deserves recognition for stepping up where others have balked. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency granted approval for the U.S. Department of Energy’s plan to create two additional underground storage panels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the nation’s only permanent geological repository for transuranic nuclear material. This isn’t some radical overhaul—it’s the responsible expansion of a proven, scientifically sound facility.
Since opening in 1999, WIPP has safely and securely housed waste such as contaminated tools, clothing, and surplus plutonium from weapons production, buried more than 2,150 feet deep in ancient salt beds that naturally seal fissures over time. The new panels—each comprising seven rooms roughly the length of a football field—will compensate for capacity lost after a 2014 drum rupture that shuttered the site for over two years.
The EPA’s validation of DOE’s modeling—demonstrating that the new rooms meet long-term radiation safety thresholds—is a testament to the rigorous scientific planning behind WIPP. As EPA’s Abigale Tardif stated, the agency “is in general agreement with DOE’s approach and DOE’s interpretation” of safety models.
Critics have predictably cried “mission creep.” Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center grumbled that a “pilot plant” should not grow. But this is fundamentally flawed logic. WIPP’s measured expansion is not mission drift—it’s public duty. Not to mention that WIPP has a documented record of safety and environmental stewardship unmatched elsewhere.
It’s worth contrasting this with prior drama over Holtec International’s proposed “Consolidated Interim Storage Facility” in Southeast New Mexico, which was slated to store high‑level spent nuclear fuel—far more radioactive and hazardous than WIPP’s existing inventory. In 2023, the New Mexico Legislature passed Senate Bill 53, prohibiting state permits for Holtec’s site, effectively hamstringing the project.
The uproar over Holtec was largely performative. Legislators—under pressure from anti‑nuclear activists—effectively blocked a thoughtfully designed temporary storage proposal vetted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Holtec’s spokeswoman likened dismissing the NRC license as tantamount to disqualifying OSHA or the FAA for safety regulation—and she had a point.
Despite the holdup, Holtec scored a victory when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6–3 ruling, removed legal obstacles to private interim nuclear waste storage in Texas and New Mexico. That decision underscored the judiciary’s recognition of the need for safe interim solutions—even as New Mexico officials continued reflexively rejecting alternatives to Yucca Mountain status quo.
All told, New Mexico’s embrace of WIPP’s expansion meets a clear national need—responsible, science-based nuclear stewardship in a facility proven for decades. By contrast, the legislative theatrics targeting Holtec highlight how fear, not facts, often drives policy. Let’s celebrate WIPP’s success and support sane, scalable solutions for 21st-century nuclear waste management.
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