Attorney general visits Pocatello to talk about nuclear waste

Idaho’s Attorney General Lawrence Wasden held a public meeting at city hall in Pocatello Thursday night.

He addressed the issue of stopping two 100-pound nuclear fuel shipments from coming to the Idaho National Laboratory.

According to a federal contract signed by the Department of Energy and the State of Idaho in 1995, called the BATT agreement, the DOE had conditions to uphold.

Wasden said the DOE hasn’t held up its end of the contract, so he feels he can’t either.

Two conditions were breached by the DOE as part of the 1995 settlement. One was the DOE was supposed to remove all Truwaste material from INL’s site. Second, it was supposed to clean up the gallons of waste on the site.

“The department of energy was supposed to have processed, solidified, 900,00 gallons of sodium-bearing high-level liquid waste, which sits in three stainless steel tanks above the East snake plain aquifer,” Wasden said. “They had until Dec. 31, 2012 to do so and they haven’t processed a single ounce.”

Now Wasden said preventing shipments of nuclear fuel from the DOE is all he has to ensure the 1995 contract is upheld.

“The agreement says I have one tool, and one tool only,” Wasden said. “It says I have a sole remedy to proclude these shipments from coming into the state. And so I’ve exercised the only tool I have.”

Wasden said the State of Idaho has held up their end of the contract, but the DOE has not held up its end. He said the contract is a two-way street and until the DOE meets its terms, he won’t agree to a waiver to allow shipments in.

Wasden’s goal in coming to Pocatello was to try and help the public understand a long and complex issue. He wanted the public to understand he supports the shipments coming in for research, he believes they should be here. But he has an obligation to his job to make sure the terms of the legal contract are met.

Wasden gave a presentation on the history of the issue and where negotiations currently stand. He also took questions from the public.

While some of the public came to get information, others came to show their support for Wasden’s decision to keep the shipments out.

Vicki Watson, a board member of the Snake River Alliance, said she supports Wasden’s decision and hopes he continues to show commitment to this issue.

“I’m really happy for his decision no to allow more waste to come in until what is there is cleaned up,” she said.

Tim Norton also supports Wasden’s decision.

“We have enough already there that we need to process before we add more to it,” he said.

Wasden said one of the biggest concerns people have had is the cost. The shipments and research are estimated to bring in about $10 million over the next 20 years. Wasden said that is a concern for him, but he has another thing to think about.

He said if the 900,000 gallons were to leak and get into the Snake River Aquifer, the economic impact and cost in damages would be far higher than the cost that would be brought in.

The 1995 agreement is available for the public to read.