WASHINGTON, D.C. (KELO AM) The U.S. Department of Energy has decided to drop support for a project that wanted to dig deep holes in South Dakota for nuclear waste dump research.
Locations in Haakon and Spink Counties were considered for the Deep Borehole Field Test Project, but project officials faced strong local opposition at public meetings.
U.S. Representative Kristi Noem applauds the federal decision.
“Like many South Dakotans in Spink and Haakon counties, I was deeply concerned about doing testing in our backyard to determine whether deep boreholes could store nuclear waste,” says Noem, “I am grateful to the Trump administration for hearing the concerns raised by these communities and subsequently withdrawing consideration of this proposal.”
The bore holes would have been drilled three miles deep to determine the feasibility of storing radioactive waste way, way down there. There was never any plan to put waste in the test holes, but many South Dakotans were concerned about what might happen in the future.