The Trump administration is proposing to move away from using Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the nation's sole nuclear waste repository and instead partner with willing states to host radioactive material. This initiative is part of a larger plan to quadruple U.S. nuclear power by 2050, according to documents reviewed by Politico.
Under this proposed plan, participating states would host "nuclear campuses." These sites would include waste facilities, uranium enrichment operations, spent-fuel recycling, and fuel production. The Department of Energy (DOE) also stated that these sprawling sites could accommodate advanced reactors, power plants, and data centers.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright described these campuses as potential engines for economic growth, capable of attracting up to $50 billion in capital investment, generating $10 billion in state and local tax revenue, and creating nearly 25,000 jobs. "These campuses will be massive generators of economic growth, create thousands of high-paying jobs, and be crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance," Wright said.
Five states—Tennessee, Utah, Louisiana, Idaho, and Oklahoma—have expressed interest in hosting these nuclear waste facilities. The DOE selected these five states from 28 applications submitted by 26 states. The agency plans to pursue projects in up to three of the five finalists.
Utah has proposed a campus in Tooele County that could handle uranium enrichment, fuel production, spent-fuel reprocessing, and nuclear waste disposal. Environmental groups have raised concerns about its proximity to the Great Salt Lake. Tennessee is offering Oak Ridge, home to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex. Louisiana has identified several potential locations, while Oklahoma is still consulting interested communities. Idaho Governor Brad Little highlighted the state's extensive history in nuclear research and development.
This proposal comes as nearly 105,000 tons of nuclear waste have accumulated across the U.S., primarily from older reactors that provide about one-fifth of the nation's electricity. Yucca Mountain was designated as the sole permanent nuclear waste repository by Congress in 1987. Although an exploratory tunnel was excavated, the facility was never completed and has never received nuclear waste. The project was defunded during the Obama administration due to strong opposition from Nevada officials, residents, and tribal groups concerned about potential groundwater contamination, seismic activity, and the transportation of radioactive materials.
Despite remaining the only federally authorized permanent repository, Yucca Mountain cannot accept waste because its licensing process was never finalized. Implementing the current proposal would require Congress to amend the 1987 law that designates Yucca Mountain as the exclusive site for commercial nuclear waste disposal. The U.S. currently lacks commercial-scale facilities for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, although several companies have expressed interest in deploying such technology.
Edwin Lyman, a nuclear specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, commented that this approach seems to be an attempt to "package the unpalatable task of trying to find a radioactive waste disposal site...by packaging it with other activities that are more appealing." He added, "We believe there is not an alternative for safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel other than a mined geological repository."