The Hazardous Materials Section of the Colorado State Patrol is the lead Colorado agency for planning for the eventual transportation of spent nuclear fuel from the Fort St. Vrain Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) to the Idaho National Laboratory. While the nationwide movement of commercial spent nuclear fuel will be predominantly done by rail, due to the weight of the loaded casks, transportation will be done by highway from Colorado to Idaho. The casks for the spent fuel are stored at the Idaho National Laboratory who are responsible for maintaining the casks' Nuclear Regulatory Commission certification ratings. There is a binding agreement between the State of Colorado and the US Dept. of Energy that the spent nuclear fuel will be removed by January 1, 2035.
The Colorado State Patrol serves as a partner to the US Dept. of Energy in ensuring the safe and uneventful transportation of the spent nuclear fuel out of Colorado to the Idaho National Laboratory. The Colorado State Patrol is and will continue to serve as the hazardous and nuclear materials routing authority, and will ensure that the tenets of the WIPP Program continue to serve as a model transportation system. This includes the transportation focal areas of advance notification, driver/vehicle compliance, independent inspections, bad weather and road conditions, safe parking, security, and emergency response.
Background:
Fort St. Vrain, an experimental high temperature gas cooled reactor was licensed to operate in 1973 in Platteville, CO. Public Service of Colorado stopped operation in 1989. The power plant was subsequently retrofitted to be run on natural gas. A detailed factsheet describes the Fort St. Vrain ISFSI in greater detail.
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