Louisiana is being considered as the site for a "Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus," which is an effort to boost full nuclear fuel cycle operations in the U.S.
The campus would be through voluntary federal-state partnership and would carry out nuclear fuel production and reprocessing, as well as nuclear waste disposal.
Five states, Louisiana, Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho, are in the running for being the host site of the nuclear campus.
Each state submitted a document to the Department of Energy detailing strategies for developing and operating the nuclear campus, as well as proposed ways of managing used nuclear materials.
Louisiana's document details three key locations for nuclear operations, including Louisiana State University (LSU) Innovation Park in Baton Rouge providing specialized capabilities and facilities, a military installation in Northwest Louisiana for energy security and a research station at Port Fourchon to explore storing nuclear waste in salt domes.
The proposal outlines how research initiatives will explore how the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and salt domes can be used for storing nuclear waste. Such disposal sites would need approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
However, according to RS 30:2117, Louisiana state law prohibits the disposal of radioactive waste in salt domes. "No salt dome within the jurisdiction of the state of Louisiana shall be utilized as a temporary or permanent disposal site for radioactive waste or other radioactive material," reads the law.
The law also prohibits tests to determine the suitability of salt domes or other geologic structures in Louisiana for disposal of radioactive waste unless there is written approval from local parish government, the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality of the Louisiana Legislature.
Although, the legislation does stipulate that the federal government can nullify such regulations through executive or congressional action, with Louisiana still reserving the right to veto storing nuclear waste.
Presley Bo Tyler is the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team reporter for USA Today Network. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana 'nuclear lifecycle' campus would handle disposal of nuclear waste