Government misses Idaho deadline again

primary lab for nuclear research.

One shipment has been canceled because of missed deadlines, an economic blow that officials say means the loss of millions of dollars a year to the area.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has refused to sign a waiver to the 1995 agreement allowing the shipments until receiving some kind of assurance that the 900,000 gallons of liquid waste stored underground at the 890-square-mile nuclear facility will be converted to solid form.

Talks between Wasden and Department of Energy officials broke down last year.

Natalie Clough, hazardous-waste compliance manager with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, said state officials expected the federal agency to submit a new timeline in August.

“We do know that DOE and their contractors have been working diligently to address multiple issues that have occurred,” Clough said. “However, we still expect compliance with the agreement that is in place.”

The 1995 agreement hammered out by former Gov. Phil Batt followed a federal lawsuit between Idaho and the Department of Energy settled in Idaho’s favor. That started when thenGov. Cecil Andrus became concerned the eastern Idaho federal facility was becoming a nuclear waste repository.

Andrus, who remains involved in the waste debate, said he was unsurprised by Friday’s announcement and remains concerned about nuclear waste stored above the Lake Eriesized Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, which provides water for the region.

Zimmerman said two main problems exist in converting the liquid waste. The first is that a barklike substance halfway between a liquid and solid has been forming during the conversion process and is causing problems.

The second is that a key component in the main processing vessel needs to be repaired or replaced. Zimmerman said either option could take up to three months.