Company’s safety, security violations raise real concerns

BY LYNN MOORER / ENVIRONMENTAL ATTORNEY, LAS CRUCES
Published: SUNDAY, APRIL 23RD, 2023 AT 9:00AM

The record of Holtec International and its CEO Krishna Singh deserve scrutiny in light of Holtec’s efforts to site a spent nuclear fuel facility in Lea County.

Holtec’s nuclear safety record is tarnished by numerous violations. Many arise from the company’s repeated failure to obtain approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) prior to design changes.

Work was halted in 2018 at San Onofre nuclear plant in California when a loose piece of bolt was discovered in a storage canister Holtec manufactured. It had altered the design without permission midway through the fabrication process. Singh termed it “much ado about nothing.” The NRC disagreed, issuing two “safety significant” violations to Holtec.

Holtec management also fail to recognize risks regarding fuel transfer. Holtec personnel working at the San Onofre plant as contractors for Southern California Edison in 2018 did not recognize for almost an hour that a 50-plus-ton canister lowering into an 18-foot concrete silo within the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation – similar to that planned for Lea County – had gotten hung up on a metal flange. This constituted a “near-miss” event. The NRC issued two violations because of Holtec’s management failure, imposing a $116,000 civil penalty on Edison, the licensee.

Holtec’s safety violations also involve security. In 2021, the NRC identified three security-related violations at Holtec’s Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey, which yielded a $150,000 civil penalty for Holtec. In 2022, the NRC issued a $50,000 civil penalty to Holtec for security-related violations, again at Oyster Creek, this time related to its armorer’s deliberate falsification of records and failure to perform mandatory firearms maintenance.

Singh also has a record of providing false information to governmental authorities. In a 2014 application to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) for $260 million in tax breaks, Singh gave a false sworn statement, failing to disclose Holtec’s debarment for 60 days as a contractor by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 2010 for (funneling money) to a TVA manager. Holtec agreed to pay a $2 million administrative fee related to the debarment. Singh also falsely stated that Ohio and South Carolina had offered “robust” incentives to persuade Holtec to relocate to their states. In reality, Ohio had just stripped Holtec of tax credits for failing to create promised jobs in Orrville. When NJEDA placed a hold on the $260 million in tax breaks in response to Singh’s false sworn statement and began a criminal investigation, Holtec sued.

New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard has called out patently false claims by Singh to the NRC and New Mexicans about its control of the proposed nuclear site. For example, despite Singh’s claims, Holtec does not control the subsurface mineral rights to the site. The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, which plans to sell land to Holtec, only owns the surface estate.

Singh also has a history of racist comments and disrespect for local workers. In 2018, Singh complained he was having trouble retaining employees from Camden because the impoverished city lacked a culture of work. “They don’t show up to work,” Singh said of Camden workers. “They can’t stand getting up in the morning and coming to work every single day. They haven’t done it, and they didn’t see their parents do it. Of course, some of them get into drugs.” Singh’s comments led to protests and press conferences. In response, Singh issued a written apology which a Camden business recruiter characterized as “tone-deaf.” As of 2020, Holtec had hired only 28 Camden residents as workers in return for the $260 million tax breaks.