Dear HCN,
The deal that Idaho’s
Gov. Batt worked out with the DOE is a bad deal for Idaho and a bad
deal for the rest of the West (HCN, 11/13/95). The pressure that
Gov. Batt claimed to be feeling was coming mainly from Idaho’s
congressional delegation and, I suspect, from his political
funders. Without the deal, Idaho could have possibly been forced to
accept 24 shipments this year. The governor gave permission for 40
years’ worth of waste shipments.
What about the
guarantee that the spent fuel will leave Idaho in 2035? What the
agreement says is that if the spent fuel is not removed by this
date the government is subject to a $60,000/day fine, subject to
Congress appropriating money for this purpose. At a press
conference on the day of the signing, a high-level DOE official was
asked what would happen to the waste in 40 years. He responded with
a laugh. It seems unlikely that nuclear waste will be more popular
in 40 years. What is more likely is that Congress, if it feels
guilty and decides to pay the fine at all, will consider Idaho, at
$24 million a year, a pretty cheap date.
I am not
much of a conspiracy fan. I’ve never seen a black helicopter and
the only marks on highway signs around here are the occasional
gunshot wound. I have, however, seen big stainless steel casks
sneaking around the West on trains in the middle of the night.
Unless we can convince Congress that shipping the stuff around the
country does not solve the problem, I suspect the West will be
seeing a lot more of these
casks.
David
Hensel
Victor,
Idaho
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Idaho is a cheap date.
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