Agreement struck to keep Navy nuclear fuel research at INL

POSTED: 14:00 MDT Wednesday, June 4, 2008

by IBR staff report

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Tags - Butch Otter, Idaho National Lab

U.S. Naval nuclear operations are set to stay at the Idaho National Laboratory beyond 2035, according to an agreement signed by state and U.S. Navy officials.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said in a release the deal re-commits Idaho to its almost 60-year-long support of the Navy’s nuclear fleet “while protecting Idaho from becoming a spent fuel repository by default.”

Along with the agreement, the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program plans to refurbish its facilities in the state, which are currently focused on “spent fuel examination and preparation for disposal in a repository outside Idaho,” according to a Wednesday release from the governor’s office.

Idaho’s relationship with the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program dates back to 1949, when the first nuclear submarine prototype was constructed at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho.

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