Have Temporary Nuclear Waste Dumps In Texas Become Permanent?

The Supreme Court voted to allow a nuclear waste dump in west Texas and the plan is to place it, pretty much, in El Paso's backyard.

Supposedly temporary nuclear waste dump sites were approved for use in the Permian Basin back in 2021. Even then, questions were raised about how "temporary" these waste dumps would be as they were designed to last decades.

Now new challenges to the dump sites have been officially rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States.

The west Texas sites were supposed to be a temporary solution until the planned, permanent waste storage site could be built in the Yucca Mountains of Nevada. That project was shot down by then POTUS Obama due to political and environmental concerns. Heavy on the political I think, it was probably an election year.

Current POTUS Trump has indicated a willingness to bring that plan back to the forefront but hasn't done anything yet so, we'll see.

Why Did The SCOTUS Rule On This?

This mess wound up before the Supreme Court again ... last time they stopped it, this time they like it ... because the government never followed through on a law passed in 1982 to build a permanent nuclear waste storage facility.

READ MORE: Toxic Slag Heaps In West El Paso May Have Use After All

They voted FOR it this time, 6-3, because, (they say), Texas and oil industry interests hadn't participated enough in the proceedings. The Supreme Court completely blew off making a decision on who has the authority to license the waste dump.

So, west Texas, right along the Texas- New Mexico border remains home to tons of irradiated crap that will not be anywhere near safe to handle or be around for thousands of years.