Batt Defends N-Waste Agreement Protesters, Supporters Greet Governor During Burley Visit

Gov. Phil Batt found some detractors and some supporters of his nuclear waste deal as he met with Burley residents.

A half-dozen sign-toting protesters were on hand Wednesday at the Burley Inn when the Republican governor addressed local civic leaders.

“If you find it necessary to shoot the messenger, I can’t say I’ll be happy. But I’ll hold my head high because I’m proud of what I’ve done,” Batt said, maintaining he forced the issue of finding a permanent national storage site for radioactive waste.

The governor said he protected Idaho by negotiating what he called a legally binding document that limits spent fuel shipments into the state and creates a scheme for removing most waste from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory during the next 40 years.

One of the protesters, Twin Falls podiatrist Dr. Peter Rickards, has launched a drive to recall Batt. Rickards also is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District.

Rickards asked Batt why the agreement did not address the issue of plutonium-contaminated waste buried at INEL prior to 1970.

Over 2 million cubic feet of that waste was buried in barrels and boxes at the site, and plutonium particles have been found 240 feet underground, Rickards said.

Batt said that the buried waste was covered instead by a 1991 agreement signed by former Gov. Cecil Andrus.