The federal government has selected five states, including Idaho, to potentially store the nation's growing stockpile of nuclear waste. While they may offer promises of jobs and revenue, the historical record reveals a dangerous pattern of broken promises, financial liabilities, and significant environmental and health risks.Idaho's sole-source aquifer is already contaminated. The Department of Energy has polluted this irreplaceable water supply through injection wells and other negligent waste storage practices. Given that radiation exposure is cumulative and Idaho already has a significant radioactive burden, we simply cannot afford another drop of risk to our drinking water, our farms, or our families. We live in the high desert; our water is life.

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The Question of Need:

The massive increase in water-hungry AI Data Centers has paralleled an aggressive push for non-existent “advanced nuclear reactors” and a place to dump radioactive waste. Developers tout the ability of new reactors to basically run themselves with little human oversight, and data centers, once constructed, have little need for on-site human workers. Temporary construction jobs would likely increase, but the promise of long-term jobs is extremely optimistic.

Massive Financial Burden on Idaho

The federal government cannot be counted on to fund this project. They have already failed to meet statutory obligations, resulting in massive liabilities. The Department of Energy's request details that state proposals must "prioritize private and state capital."

Future cleanup costs are astronomical. The U.S. faces a bill of over $200 billion to clean up legacy waste from weapons production.

Despite promises, state and local communities often get stuck holding the bag for hosting these facilities, with federal funding proving unreliable and insufficient.

The Unacceptable Danger of Reprocessing

The dangers of reprocessing cannot be ignored.

This expensive and dangerous process, which separates plutonium from waste, exposes workers and the public to high radiation doses and creates new streams of waste that are even more difficult to manage. Reprocessing caused some of the worst environmental catastrophes at sites like Hanford and West Valley. The U.S. has already tried commercial reprocessing, and it failed due to rising costs and proliferation concerns. The current administration is promoting "recycling" aka reprocessing as a solution, but this is a deadly, costly distraction.

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Idaho is being asked to take on a permanent, dangerous, and financially ruinous burden for the technocrat dream and a federal waste problem. We strongly urge you to oppose any plan to host nuclear waste in your district, and don’t be fooled by overly optimistic promises. Take action!