West Virginia has bowed out of a federal initiative that could have bought a nuclear energy hub.
West Virginia submitted a one-page, one paragraph letter to withdraw from consideration.
The withdrawal followed days of contentiousness over how the bid might include the handling of nuclear waste and was first reported by Steven Allen Adams of the Ogden Newspapers.
West Virginia had been one of six states being considered as finalists for the federal government’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses program, a designation for a range of nuclear energy activities from beginning to end.
The integrated hubs are designed to support the entire nuclear cycle, including fuel enrichment, advanced reactor deployment and used material reprocessing.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced at a Sept. 8 press conference that although West Virginia had not been named one of the first five finalists, persistence had paid off.
Besides West Virginia, the other finalists have included Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho. They continue to compete to be chosen.
“Well, West Virginia wasn’t originally part of that group, but we wanted to be, so we started working the phones,” Morrisey said earlier this month. “We started engaging more and more. We knew that nuclear was an important part of the strategy, and we went to work.”
Federal officials said the proposed innovation campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue and create nearly 25,000 jobs with an establishment of a campus.
“It’s another significant step forward. You know why? It means we are at the table with respect to attracting nuclear here to West Virginia, and we’re now well positioned to work with the DOE and the private sector toward a potential hosting agreement,” Morrisey said at the press conference earlier this month. “We’re at the table.”
But, because the campuses envision handling nuclear energy from beginning to end, spent fuel is a central aspect.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s call-out explicitly asked candidate states to detail how they would handle nuclear waste, used nuclear material and secondary waste streams. The DOE framed waste management as a core function.
West Virginia got in the door with a 48-page presentation submitted in April to the U.S. Department of Energy that laid out ideas for how the state might handle all of that, including the nuclear waste part. The state proposed a phased approach that begins with spent fuel recycling and interim storage before expanding into advanced reactor deployment and manufacturing.
“West Virginia has identified partially spent and spent nuclear fuel streams management as a near-term actionable strategic opportunity,” the state had told federal counterparts.
“West Virginia proposes anchoring the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus around advanced fuel recycling, materials recovery and responsible long-term nuclear materials stewardship.”
The nuclear waste aspect moved into the spotlight late last week when The Charleston Gazette-Mail published a story headlined, “WV touted ability to fast track permits, listed potential sites in nuclear campus bid.” The print headline was, “W.Va. offers to store nuclear waste.”
The story accurately reflected West Virginia’s first written response to the federal government and described some areas of the state with potential to be considered for a nuclear hub, including the former Hobet mine site in Boone County and parts of Jackson and Jefferson counties.
State officials cautioned that potential sites have not yet been fully vetted or geologically qualified.
The governor went on social media this Sunday afternoon to express his displeasure with the newspaper article and to say “West Virginia will not be a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Period.”
Morrisey’s post continued, “I have directed my Office of Energy to ensure that every site identified in our final Nuclear Campus application is considered only for nuclear generation or manufacturing — not as a dump.”
In a social media post intended to reconcile the State of West Virginia’s earlier written response to the U.S. Department of Energy with what the governor said this week, Morrisey administration spokesman Lars Dalseide said “Governor’s clear directive trumps bureaucrat letter. No nuclear waste. Once again, it couldn’t be more clear.”
Asked to clarify whether the governor had made this position official anywhere besides a social media post, Dalseide responded, “You have confirmation that the Governor will not allow any nuclear waste and will ensure that all bureaucratic actions and letters in the future reflect that fact. As the Governor’s spokesman, I am confirming this.”
The next step in the process was a legally binding Host Agreement to be executed by today, Sept. 30. If a Host Agreement is not signed by that date, either party has the right to terminate the partnership.
A memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month by the governor had several provisions indicating nuclear waste would have to be addressed in the Host Agreement. For example, “The Host Agreement shall address the acceptance and management of out-of-state used nuclear fuel, spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and greater than class C radioactive waste.”
The letter sent by the Morrisey administration today said West Virginia would be standing down from all that.
“While we are unable to execute the Hosting Agreement and commit fully to its requirements, West Virginia remains fully committed to supporting President Trump and Secretary Wright’s vision for a national nuclear renaissance,” wrote state energy office chief Nick Preservati.
“Please know that we stand ready and willing to support the DOE, its NLIC initiative and future NLIC recipients.”