The case examines whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the authority to grant a license to Interim Storage Partners Inc. to proceed with plans to construct a storage facility in West Texas. The NRC has also approved a license for a group that intends to build a similar project deep underground in southeastern New Mexico.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday debated how to dispose of the nation’s nuclear waste as Texas tried to convince the justices to block a storage site near the state’s border with New Mexico. Texas and a Texas-based oil and gas extraction organization argued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacked the authority to approve a site to store up to 5,