Republican Governors Push Back On Trump Administration’s Nuclear Waste Demand

A pair of Republican governors are resisting a Trump administration condition that states hosting new federal nuclear campuses take in spent reactor fuel from elsewhere.

Republican Gov. Brad Little told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview published Friday that disposing of spent fuel over the state’s main aquifer is “a nonstarter.” Furthermore, Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey wrote on X on Sunday that his state “will not be a dumping ground for nuclear waste.”

West Virginia’s memorandum with the Department of Energy (DOE) calls for a legally binding host agreement by Wednesday, and either side can end the partnership if none is signed, WV MetroNews reported.

Little said the documents he signed do not obligate Idaho to host a campus or accept waste, and he does not expect a deal by the Sept. 30 date listed in the state’s memorandum, according to the Capital Sun.

Little and his administration are working directly with the DOE “to get answers to the many questions that remain before Idaho makes any commitment,” Emily Callihan, the governor’s communications director, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Governor Little will not move forward unless we are confident those protections are in place,” Callihan added.

“Negotiations are ongoing between the Department of Energy and the six states interested in potentially hosting a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus,” a spokesperson for the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy said in a statement to the DCNF.

A DOE official told the Capital Sun that accepting waste from other states is a requirement to host a campus.

“You would be disposing of nuclear fuel from other states as well,” the official added. (RELATED: Is Washington’s Nuclear Renaissance Just An Illusion?)