IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (CBS2) — According to a recent news release, the State of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Energy agreed to a targeted waiver of the 1995 Settlement Agreement. The agreement establishes milestones to remove legacy waste at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site while allowing nuclear energy research and development.
The waiver will enable research on a high-burnup nuclear fuel cask from a commercial nuclear power plant. This research will provide data supporting licensing for the storage of spent fuel at 54 nuclear power plants in 28 states.
“The collaborative effort between the State of Idaho, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory showcases our commitment to advancing nuclear energy research while upholding the goals of the 1995 Settlement Agreement,” says Governor Little. “We are proud to support innovation in nuclear energy that will support national security and energy independence into the future.”
The release says this research will help sustain the current U.S. nuclear reactor fleet, which produces nearly 20 percent of the nation’s electricity and reinforces Idaho’s role in supporting the U.S. nuclear industry.
The waiver permits INL to safely manage small amounts of spent nuclear fuel from domestic university reactors. The release says that, without this waiver, some universities risk shutting down their research reactors due to regulatory limits on spent fuel storage.