BOISE, Idaho – A nuclear waste showdown between Idaho and the Department of Energy (DOE) has reached a new level.

The DOE has informed the state that if it does not accept a small amount of spent fuel from two commercial plants soon, it will be sent somewhere for research – and that research is seen as an economic boon for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has said the waste can't be delivered until 900,000 gallons of liquid radioactive waste already at INL is cleaned up. Kelsey Nunez, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, adds there are other implications to be considered if Idaho takes the spent fuel.

"There's 20 tons of this spent nuclear fuel at the North Anna power plant just waiting to go somewhere," she says. "If the research is done here, it's pretty likely the rest of the waste will come here too."

The North Anna plant is located in Virginia.

According to Nunez, there is currently no place for the waste to go after it is used for research, which she says is another reason Idaho should say "no." There also are arguments to support accepting the commercial waste, including that the contractor for cleanup and the research contractor are two different companies – so they shouldn't be tied together.

Nunez says the 1995 Settlement Agreement happened because of the federal government's legacy of "literally dumping all kinds" of nuclear waste in Idaho, putting land and water at risk. The practice angered Idahoans, and since there's still no place for high-level waste to go for long-term storage, Nunez says Idahoans should demand accountability.

"We don't think it's appropriate to bring commercial spent nuclear fuel in, whether it's for research or not," she says.

Nunez adds that progress on cleanup has been made at INL, but delays have occurred for safety reasons.


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Environmental groups are voicing concerns about plans to build the nation's first small modular reactors at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan.

Holtec International said it aims to revive Palisades later this year, after it was decommissioned in 2022, and in five years, install the nation's first small modular reactors. Critics warned the reactors would still produce radioactive waste without long-term disposal solutions and pose accident risks like leaks and meltdowns.

Michael Keegan, research director for the grassroots group Don't Waste Michigan, said about 80 companies are competing to market their small modular reactors, which he argued are not really small nuclear reactors.

"A colleague of mine refers to them as 'small mythical reactors' because they don't exist," Keegan asserted. "They're 'PowerPoint' reactors. It's hyperbole, and they're all chasing Department of Energy money. We're talking billions of dollars."

A $1.5 billion U.S. Department of Energy loan backs the Palisades plant revival, as part of a push to extend the life of aging nuclear reactors to produce low-carbon energy.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has formed a panel to oversee the Palisades' restart for safety compliance. The plant is expected to eventually generate 800 megawatts and power 800,000 homes. Keegan noted anyone who wants to challenge the project must do so under the Administrative Procedures Act.

"We have to go through their administrative law judges," Keegan explained. "We have to go through all those processes, be denied, make an appeal to the NRC commission, be denied, before we can go to a federal court. And we're prepared to do that."

Holtec released a statement, saying in part, its restart project includes "thorough inspections, testing, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to prepare the plant for a return to long-term operation."


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Interest in nuclear energy as a solution to "dirty" sources of power is growing, including a proposal in the Northwest. However, some critics say it could divert attention from more practical renewable energy solutions.

Amazon has signed an agreement with X-energy to build new nuclear technology, known as small modular reactors, to meet the company's growing energy needs. The aim is to build the reactors at the Hanford nuclear site along the Columbia River.

Kelly Campbell, policy director for Columbia Riverkeeper, said companies are looking into nuclear because they want it to be a "magic bullet" for climate change.

"It's a distraction," Campbell asserted. "It's a shiny object that you can say, 'Look over here! We're going to do 'clean' nuclear power.' But it's going to take 15 years at least to build these things, and meanwhile there's still part of the problem of trying to get more energy supply for the data centers and AI needs."

While small modular reactors are seen as an innovative way to provide nuclear energy without having to build large power plants, none has been built in the United States or approved by the federal government. An Oregon-based company called NuScale, at the forefront of small modular reactor design, had its only customer back out last year because of repeated delays in the project.

Campbell pointed out the location of the project Amazon and X-energy are moving forward with is also a concern.

"It's right on the Columbia River and if there's an emergency, if there's an accident with any of these nuclear facilities at Hanford, it would affect all of them," Campbell emphasized. "You may end up in a situation where you're not able to get in and do the things that you need to do in order to protect people from radiation."

After Amazon and Google expressed interest in nuclear to fuel their growing energy needs, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would invest $900 million in this technology.

Campbell is convinced the money would be better spent on proven technology, like wind and solar.

"When we start spending it on nuclear, which people have called 'the most expensive way to boil water,' then that's an opportunity cost that we're losing, in terms of spending that on things we know will work and are safer, quicker to build and cheaper," Campbell contended.

A 2,000-mile bus trip has not deterred representatives from Southwest tribes from traveling to Washington, D.C., this week to support expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The law provides health screenings and financial aid for people sickened by testing of nuclear weapons in the 1940s.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, is traveling with members from the Laguna and Acoma Pueblos and the Navajo Nation. She noted expansion of the law is supported in the Senate but Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., the Speaker of the House, has blocked a House vote.

"It's very disappointing that somebody who has so much power can simply say something like, 'It's going to cost too much,' and that works," Cordova asserted. "It's obscene."

Expansion of the bill would, for the first time, benefit thousands of New Mexicans from the area surrounding the Trinity Test Site. It would also include people from Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Missouri, Colorado and Guam.

Cordova's father died of cancer believed related to radiation exposure. After surviving cancer herself, she has made expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act her life's mission by testifying before Congress and leading numerous meetings across the state.

"You're always amongst nothing but widows -- widows raising children and grandchildren -- the men have died," Cordova pointed out. "I mean, when you bury enough people that you love, you realize that there's not a whole lot else they can take from you."

She believes expansion of the law would provide justice for people irreparably harmed by nuclear radiation.

"Our children now have the genetics and our children are now being diagnosed all the time," Cordova observed. "This isn't going to go away for us anytime soon. And so, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose from fighting this fight."


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