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Update from Mayor Dale Janway | March 15, 2023

mayor

Update 3-15-23
Carlsbad’s Beverly Allen has been appointed to the very important New Mexico State Land Trusts Advisory Board. Allen received unanimous approval in the Senate Rules Committee and was later confirmed by the full Senate. Prior to the hearing, Allen, who works for Chevron and previously worked as a staffer for Senator Udall, received strong bipartisan support in the form of endorsements. She did an excellent job fielding a number of questions from the Senate, and she will be a great member of this Board.
The Land Trusts Advisory Board assists the State Land Commissioner in the formulation of policies and programs. The board includes members of the agriculture industry, extractive industry and conservation groups, as well as at large memberships. Members serve six-year terms.
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New Mexico’s legislative session is winding down this week, and many residents are watching a large number of bills very closely. On Monday, a bill that would create a severe roadblock to the proposed HOLTEC project (interim storage of radioactive material) cleared the House Judiciary Committee and will now go on to the House Floor. I am strongly opposed to SB 53 and hope this bill does not pass.
Consent for the HOLTEC project was established many years ago, when the communities of Carlsbad, Hobbs, Eddy County and Lea County all passed resolutions in support. Support was also established at the federal level (through the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future), and at the state level, through both a state resolution and by then-Governor Martinez. In response to these declarations of consent, HOLTEC spent $80 million on its NRC application. This extensive application process concluded that the project (both the transportation and the storage) would be safe.
Many members of this community have devoted thousands of hours over the past decade working in support of this project, because we believe in the importance of diversifying our economy and bringing more high-paying jobs to Southeast New Mexico.
Opponents of the interim storage project repeatedly point out that the NRC estimated that there could be “13 transportation accidents” during the project’s decades long lifespan. However, none of these projected accidents included a radiological leak. Instead, these casks have been repeatedly shown to be able to withstand any sort of damage. All of the NRC’s extensive study concluded that the material would be safely transported and safely stored.
A very strong safety case has been established for this project, and we hope that the House floor will consider this when voting on this bill.

Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway

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