Little’s challengers in Idaho gubernatorial race express concern over nuclear innovation campus deal

Democrat Terri Pickens, independent John Stegner and a Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name from Marvin Richardson to Pro-Life all said this week they have deep concerns about the agreement’s requirement to accept and store spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in Idaho. 

In July, Little and federal officials announced that Idaho is one of five states in the running to host a new nuclear lifecycle innovation campus. Little and the feds touted the potential financial investment and the new jobs the new campus would create in Idaho. But the deal requires the states that are selected to accept out-of-state shipments of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive nuclear waste for recycling and disposal, according to a memorandum of understanding Little signed with the Department of Energy last month.

Little, Pickens, Stegner, the Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name to Pro-Life and Libertarian Paul Sand will face off in the Nov. 3 general election. 

Little and Sand could not be reached for comment.

Democrat Terri Pickens says she would withdraw Idaho from consideration as a nuclear campus host site

Pickens, the Democrat, said there are three reasons she opposes the proposal and the memorandum of understanding Little signed. 

• She wants to protect the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, which she said is the backbone of Idaho, the state’s economy and the region’s agriculture industries. 
• She is concerned about the seismic activity and earthquake activity in eastern Idaho areas of Arco, Challis and Butte County surrounding Idaho National Laboratory. 
• She believes the MOU Little signed would violate a 1995 Settlement Agreement between Idaho and the federal government signed by former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, a Republican, that called for limiting and removing nuclear waste from Idaho. 

“I will withdraw that memorandum of understanding; it’s not legally binding,” Pickens said in an interview Tuesday. “I will take Idaho off the table as a consideration for the innovation campuses.”

Pickens, an attorney who grew up in Pocatello, said she remembers when former Gov. Cecil Andrus used the Idaho State Police in 1988 to block shipments of nuclear waste from coming into Idaho. 

“We made an agreement that Idaho is not a place for the waste because of the unique characteristics of our geology and the aquifer, and for them to just simply disregard it tells me that Brad Little is making side deals with the Trump administration without transparency and without any consideration for what the general public might think about this issue,” Pickens said. 

Independent John Stegner says Idaho should not be nation’s dumping ground for nuclear waste

Stegner, a former Idaho Supreme Court justice who is running for governor as an independent candidate, immediately pointed to the requirements to accept more nuclear waste in Idaho.

Idaho governor’s race: Pickens, Stegner say they are in it to win it

“The United States is currently storing more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel across the country,” Stegner said in a statement Tuesday. “By comparison, the 1995 Settlement Agreement limits Idaho to 55 metric tons of spent fuel over 40 years. What is being discussed for potential ‘national campuses’ is not an incremental change, it is a fundamentally different scale of activity.”

Stegner said Little has basically volunteered Idaho for “explosive growth in nuclear waste to solve a federal problem.”

“The reason we have that agreement in the first place is because of broken promises and broken commitments from the federal government,” Stegner said. “Idaho had to sue to keep from becoming the dumping ground for the country’s spent fuel, and the federal government is still behind on what it committed to us then. Brad Little has either forgotten that or he has more trust in the federal government than I do.”

Constitution Party candidate says he would seek to veto nuclear lifecycle innovation campus partnership

The Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name to Pro-Life said that he has a fundamental moral opposition to splitting atoms and opposes nuclear energy. 

“I am totally against all of it,” Pro-Life said in an interview Monday. “If I was governor, I would veto everything, just stall and do everything I could to prevent it from moving forward.”

“I don’t think we should say we are going to store the waste, even temporarily, for any reason,” Pro-Life added. “I don’t care how much money we’re going to get or how many jobs it’s going to bring or lose to eastern Idaho; I think it’s just about the dumbest thing we could ever do.”

What does Idaho Gov. Brad Little say about the nuclear campus?

While efforts to reach Little for this article were unsuccessful, he has spoken publicly about the nuclear lifecycle innovation campus several times. Overall, Little says bringing a new nuclear campus to Idaho would boost the state’s economy, establish Idaho as a leader in nuclear energy and technology and provide more access to energy. 

“Idaho is honored to have been selected as one of five initial contenders to further explore the development of Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses,” Little said in a July 28 statement. “For more than 70 years, Idaho has been at the forefront of nuclear innovation, and we are grateful to President (Donald) Trump, Secretary (Chris) Wright, and the U.S. Department of Energy for recognizing our unmatched expertise and legacy. We look forward to working with DOE to continue advancing every stage of the nuclear lifecycle, strengthening our nation’s energy security, creating good-paying jobs and ensuring Idaho remains the home of America’s nuclear renaissance.”

Little also promoted the nuclear lifecycle innovation campus in the spring, after replying to the federal government’s request for states to express interest in hosting one of the nuclear campuses.

“Idaho is prepared to continue our tradition of nuclear excellence and build on the

foundation that has already made our state great,”  Little said in a written statement issued March 31. “Nuclear power presents an opportunity for Idaho families to continue receiving affordable, clean energy far into the future, and I support the growth of Idaho’s nuclear industry. I hope the Department of Energy will recognize Idaho’s historic nuclear leadership and its strong candidacy for this initiative.”

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