nuclear-news

Thousands of potential jobs & billions of dollars may tempt Idaho into becoming America’s nuclear waste dump

By Roland Beres, Sep. 1, 2026, https://www.kmvt.com/2026/08/31/thousands-potential-jobs-billions-dollars-may-tempt-idaho-into-becoming-americas-nuclear-waste-dump/

BOISE, Idaho (KIVI) — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is choosing three states to receive all of the country’s high-level nuclear waste by year’s end.

Idaho is among five finalists pursuing what’s known as a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Center.

The center would be located in the eastern Idaho, and could bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the state.

Nuclear energy is often referred to as clean energy, because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gasses, but The World Nuclear Association says used nuclear fuel can remain radioactive and deadly for thousands of years.

“How much we talking about a few hundred pounds?” Idaho 6 senior reporter Roland Beres asked.

“We’re talking about 33 thousand tons,” Leigh Ford, Executive Director of the nuclear watchdog group the Snake River Alliance responded.

“Worst case scenario if it comes in. We have a whole bunch of nuclear waste, forever and our kids are going to have to figure out what to do with it,” Ford added.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1987 designated Nevada’s Yucca mountain as the nation’s permanent nuclear waste storage site. However, they fought tooth and nail to stop it and won. As a result, that high-level waste is being stored in temporary pools at nuclear power sites around the country.

Now, to attract state interest the DOE has shifted from mandating a host community to proposing economic incentives like billions in investments and job creation.

Although details are quite limited, that grabbed Idaho Governor Brad Little’s attention.

“We’re going to consume the spent fuel to create electricity,” Little told Idaho 6. ”We are not going to put any spent fuel or whatever it is over the Idaho aquifer. They know that.”

According to the State’s application with DOE, the Snake River aquifer underlies almost 11 thousand square miles.

September 5, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes