Posts tagged: Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter called on the U.S. Department of Energy today to protect court-ordered cleanup work at the Idaho National Laboratory from sequestration cuts, saying, “Safety and the environment are non-negotiable terms for the State of Idaho.” Otter told the department, “INL is a significant asset and Idaho is prepared to exercise leadership to ensure the Lab remains the nation’s flagship nuclear research facility,” and added, “I strongly believe that in times of sustained reductions in discretionary spending, the federal government can and should consolidate its nuclear work in Idaho.” Click below for the governor's full news release.
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter announced today that his Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission has presented a “progress report” to the state and is seeking public comment. “I think this progress report clearly points out that the environmental cleanup envisioned by my predecessors has largely been realized while at the same time we’ve established INL as the nation’s preeminent nuclear research and development laboratory,” Otter said in a statement. “There’s been significant economic benefit to the entire state. As we sustain and even try to build on that in the future, the Commission is working to answer some tough questions and I applaud its effort to involve the public in that discussion before making final recommendations.”
Click below for Otter's full announcement and a list of FAQ's about the report. You can read the 52-page report here. Among its central questions: Should Idaho modify then-Gov. Phil Batt's 1995 nuclear waste settlement agreement to allow additional nuclear materials to be brought to INL for research or other purposes, to maintain its mission as the nation's lead nuclear energy laboratory? The report's preliminary recommendation: Yes, at least in the context of specific research and manufacturing proposals. The report calls for significant investments at INL to make it the place for “concentrating and consolidating the nation’s nuclear energy research capability.”
Spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise will be sent to eastern Idaho for study and storage, the Idaho Falls Post Register reports. The Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is being decommissioned after participating in every major conflict with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Its spent nuclear fuel is expected to arrive in Idaho in 2015; click below for a full report from the Post Register and the Associated Press.
Researchers at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a partnership between Idaho's three public research universities and the Idaho National Laboratory, have won three different U.S. Department of Energy grants worth a total of $5.3 million. The three are for solar energy, geothermal energy and energy efficiency, and include researchers from Boise State University, the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and the INL. CAES Director Bill Rogers said, “Winning these grants illustrates the power of collaboration and what the CAES partners can achieve by working together.” He added, “We are very proud of our researchers. Their hard work is really paying off.” You can read more about the three grants here.
An inspector general’s audit says the U.S. Department of Energy is spending an extra $25 million because it didn’t ship certain radioactive wastes from Hanford to Idaho for processing, in part because Hanford workers protested that the move would shift jobs to Idaho; click below to read the full story from reporter Annette Cary of the Tri-City Herald.
Betsy Z. Russell covers Idaho news from The Spokesman-Review's bureau in Boise.
Named best state-based political blog in Idaho for 2013 by The Fix
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