The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a licence to Private Fuel Storage (PFS) to construct and operate an independent spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Skull Valley, Utah.
PFS, a consortium of nuclear power utilities, intends to construct the site on the Reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, about 75km southwest of Salt Lake City.
The facility is intended for temporary above-ground storage, in large cylindrical casks, of up to 44,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from US commercial nuclear power plants.
The licence is effective immediately but does not authorise immediate construction of the facility. PFS must arrange for adequate funding and obtain further regulatory approvals. The license is effective for a period of 20 years.