U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that Congress must approve legislation authorizing a second permanent nuclear waste disposal site before the Trump administration can advance its proposed nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
The Energy Department received applications from 26 states earlier this year and selected Louisiana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia as finalists, although West Virginia has since withdrawn amid local opposition.
The only federally approved permanent disposal site, Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, has never accepted nuclear waste, and funding for its development has been stalled since 2011. Wright said legislation must remove the requirement that permanent storage be tied exclusively to Yucca Mountain.
Louisiana’s proposal calls for using offshore underground salt domes for nuclear waste storage, subject to congressional and state legislative approval, while also establishing a hub for recycling uranium fuel rods and manufacturing components for next-generation reactors. Gov. Jeff Landry has promoted the state’s nuclear manufacturing potential as demand grows for small modular reactors, including to power energy-intensive facilities such as data centers.
Turner Industries announced plans in April to add 1,000 jobs at its New Iberia and Port Allen facilities to manufacture nuclear reactor components and piping. Federal campus selections are expected later this year or in early 2027, but the administration has not promised financial incentives or preferential permitting.
