b'P ROVING THE P RINCIPLEThe court had told the Navy that while When the discussions were over, the waste storage or to consider alterna-the EIS was being prepared, it could Navy was allowed to ship nineteen (of tives; its proposed action program wasnot ship its fuel into the Site. The Navy sixty-four) containers of fuel to Idaho, vague. In November, the Navy asked ifneeded to defuel its ships, wished to plus any others certified to be needed Idaho would allow eight more contain-send the fuel to Idaho, and didnt want for national security. DOE agreed to ers. Andrus refused. 25to wait for the years it might take accelerate the items on Idahos workbefore a final EIS was published. The list and to make grants supporting the But Andrus was about to leave the IdahoNavy decided to negotiate with diversification of the economy in east- Statehouse, and the Navys request fellGovernor Andrus, hoping to ease the ern Idaho. The IDO staff, already into the lap of Phil Batt, the new gover-rcourts injunction before the EIS was embarked on its massive EIS, was no . Batt allowed the additional contain-completed. Soon the Secretary of the given milestone dates and had to com- ers. He told protesting Idaho citizens heNavy himself, John H. Dalton, was plete the study on an aggressively was convinced that a court or Congresstrading letters with Andrus about what accelerated schedule. The Navy and would decide that the Navy shipmentsthey might agree upon. DOE agreed not to appeal the judges were a matter of national security. 26 injunction on further shipments or hisAndrus had a list of items to place on decision requiring DOE to examine the The Final EIS was published in Ap ilrthe negotiation table. The Snake River agencys spent nuclear fuel program in 1995 and its subsequent Record ofAlliance had recently brought to an EIS. With Idahos assent, the judge Decision in June. The Record ofAndruss attention a technical study amended the order and allowed the Decision identified which of the alterna-that had questioned the reliability of the nineteen shipments. 24 tives developed in the EIS that DOEChem Plants 1950s-built storage basin intended to implement. It indicated that(Building CPP-603) in an earthquake. When DOE published for public review the INEL could receive nearly 2,000Therefore, Andrus insisted that spent and comment the Draft EIS in June shipments of (Navy and other) spentfuel being stored in this building be 1994, the governors office was not nuclear fuel and additional shipments ofmoved to safer quarters. In general, happy with the document. It was not TRU waste, but mentioned no require-spent fuel should be stored above- comprehensive, said Idaho, and it failed ment that the material ever leave Idaho.ground and dry, not below ground in to evaluate the cumulative impacts of Batt decided to try to fulfill Idahos long-pools of water. Also, DOE should speedup the calcining of sodium-bearing liq-uid waste sitting in the aging storagetanks at the Chem Plant. Aside from thefreedom to ship reactor cores to Idaho,the Navy wanted Andrus to help per-suade the environmental community toaccept whatever agreement they made.Lets all be heroes, wrote Dalton. 23At 7:00 a.m. on April 27, 1999, the first truckload oftransuranic waste leaves the Radioactive WasteManagement Complex for WIPP. Buildings inbackground store waste above ground.INEEL99-237-1-272 4 2'