Idaho
Why did so much of WIPP’s 479 nuclear waste shipments in 2023 come from Idaho?
More New Mexico Cold War waste should be sent to WIPP, officials say
Hundreds of shipments of nuclear waste were buried at a facility near Carlsbad in 2024, and the federal government was poised to send even more waste to the site in 2024.
For that work, the Department of Energy’s contractor Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) earned about $11.5 million or about 89% of its available $13 million fee between Feb. 4, 2023 when SIMCO took over the contract and the end of the last federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2023.
DOE records show 479 shipments of transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste were received at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, from federal labs and other nuclear facilities around the U.S.
More: Cable snaps inside utility shaft at WIPP, pausing work for now
TRU waste is made of clothing materials, equipment and other debris irradiated during nuclear activities, and it is buried in a salt deposit at WIPP about 2,000 feet underground.
The DOE said in 2023 it worked to increase shipments to 17 per week, and hold that level in the coming years.
Most of the waste, about 79%, came from Idaho National Laboratory in the form of 377 waste shipments.
More: Cold War nuclear waste is prioritized at Carlsbad-area repository. How much is there?
The next-highest shipment load came from Los Alamos National Laboratory at 50 shipments last year, followed by the Savannah River Site in South Carolina with 27 shipments.
That means about 90% of the waste sent to WIPP in southeast New Mexico came from outside the state.
Last year, amid negotiations for WIPP’s next 10-year operations permit with the New Mexico Environment Department, NMED sought to set aside space at WIPP for Los Alamos waste to ensure that facility saw adequate benefit from the repository New Mexico hosts.
More: Here’s what New Mexico will get out of the $883 billion federal defense bill
DOE officials countered that no backlog of waste ready for shipment and disposal at WIPP was left at Los Alamos, which frequently averaged up to two weekly shipments throughout 2023.
And that could increase in the coming years as Los Alamos, along with Savannah River, was where the DOE planned to increase the production of plutonium pits – triggers for nuclear warheads – by 2030.
But that would be newly generated waste different from the existing or “legacy waste” leftover from the Cold War which WIPP was originally intended for, said Don Hancock with the Southwest Research and Information Center.
More: More than 400 shipments of nuclear waste came to Carlsbad-area repository in 2023
He argued only four shipments of such legacy waste were sent from Los Alamos since the new permit took effect late last year.
“That’s pretty pathetic. I would say so far they’re going poorly in that regard,” Hancock said of prioritizing Los Alamos waste. Virtually all of the shipments have been from Idaho and Savannah River.”
This year, the DOE was required by the NMED permit to submit a plan to define “legacy waste” by November and Hancock said that report could show that WIPP planned to dispose of more waste than it can legally hold.
More: Final testing underway at $486M air system for nuclear waste site near Carlsbad
“There’s this question of what gets priority,” he said. “The state and a lot of people think legacy waste needs to be prioritized.”
At the same time, the DOE is required via the same permit to submit an update on potential progress in finding a new repository outside of New Mexico, a report Hancock predicted would show the federal government is not pursuing such a project.
“The state is going in that direction. That’s going to be a tough one for them to handle,” he said of the requirement. “They’re going to have to say everything will fit in WIPP.”
More: A nuclear reactor in Carlsbad? City officials call for project at federal waste repository
Thus, the two reports due in November could contradict each other, Hancock said.
“They’re going to be hard-pressed to have two contradictory reports,” he said.
But for now, the DOE appeared to prioritize waste from Idaho National Laboratory for disposal at WIPP, and Hancock said that could continue in the next fiscal year based on the current structure of bonuses earned by SIMCO.
More: Oil & gas industry joins fight against nuclear waste site proposed in southeast New Mexico
That structure sees SIMCO earn $5,500 per waste shipment received and emplaced at WIPP, up to 520 shipments, according to the WIPP Performance Evaluation Management Plan (PEMP) reviewed by the Carlsbad Current-Argus.
It also provides another $7,000 per Los Alamos shipment received, up to 40 such shipments from that site.
Hancock contended SIMCO was likely to hit the Los Alamos cap, then take waste “wherever it can get it” to the 520-shipment cap, to maximize the bonus payments.
“I would argue the bonus structure for this next fiscal year does not prioritize Los Alamos,” he said.
More: Feds tout progress in cleaning up nuclear waste at Los Alamos using Carlsbad-area site
Shipments from Idaho were recently accelerated, as the laboratory sought to move waste away from that facility because many of the shipping containers were reaching the age limit allowable to be sent with “overpacking” or adding an additional protective drum around the shipment, according to the lab’s November report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Earlier last fall, shipments from Idaho were reduced from 12 per week to seven due to budgetary restrictions, read the report, but were restored in mid-November.
“They’re hurrying to get as many waste drums out of there as they can to avoid overpacking,” Hancock said.
The DOE also faces numerous deadlines to get waste out of Idaho per a 1995 settlement agreement with the state and federal government.
Mark Bollinger, manager of the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office said he believed WIPP met and exceeded its waste disposal goals in 2023, particularly at Los Alamos.
“WIPP’s mission to safely receive and dispose of waste shipments is instrumental to cleanup efforts at Los Alamos and other waste-generating sites, and we safely exceeded our goal at WIPP in 2023,” he said in a December statement.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
BOISE, Idaho (Idaho Capital Sun) — Day use access fees at all Idaho state parks will be waived for Idaho residents on July 4 as part of a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, Gov. Brad Little announced Friday, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun.
“As we prepare to mark 250 years of American independence, there is no better way to celebrate than by getting outside with our loved ones and enjoying the freedoms and natural treasures that define our great nation,” Little said Friday. “Idaho’s state parks showcase the very best of our state, and we are proud to welcome families, friends and visitors to explore them free of charge during this special occasion.”
While day use fees for Idaho residents will be waived, normal camping and reservation fees will apply, officials said.
Idaho has 28 state parks, which offer a variety of recreational and outdoor activities including hiking, horseback riding, skiing, bird watching, rock climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, bicycling and more.
State officials with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation are in the process of unveiling improvements and enhancements at several state parks, including Lucky Peak State Park outside of Boise, which recently opened a new dog beach and accessible kayak launch on the Boise River.
Other state parks include Bruneau Dunes State Park and Observatory, Harriman State Park, Bear Lake State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve, which is a national reserve and state park that attracts climbers from all over the world to its dramatic granite rock spires.
Little said the July 4 fee waiver is a part of a larger effort to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being signed in 1776.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
Inside The Arrest of 3 Venezuelan Fraudsters
What on earth was happening in Eagle this week?
Gallery Credit: Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
It’s Not Hard To See Why This Idaho Police Photoshoot Is Going Viral
The Jerome Police Department is going viral thanks to Twin Falls photographer, Layton Henderson. Once you see the hilarious photos, you’ll see why!
Gallery Credit: Chris Cardenas
A powerful search engine that organizes and provides access to vast information on the internet.
-
Miami, FL57 seconds agoYour 2026 Miami Dolphins Draft Picks Expectations
-
Boston, MA7 minutes agoTexas A&M SS Boston Kellner suffers orbital bone fracture
-
Denver, CO13 minutes agoPedestrian fatally hit by Frontier airplane departing Denver for Los Angeles, flight canceled after
-
Seattle, WA19 minutes agoSeattle beer garden employee found fatally shot inside business
-
San Diego, CA25 minutes agoDel Mar enacts new attendance rules for board, commission, committee members
-
Milwaukee, WI31 minutes agoMilwaukee Brewers Flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski Has Historic Night Against Yankees – World Baseball Network
-
Atlanta, GA37 minutes agoA look back at the Atlanta Hawks Draft Lottery Results: Some Luck and a Few Misses
-
Minneapolis, MN43 minutes agoINTERVIEW: Doors Open Minneapolis