It’s no secret that Wyoming’s coal industry is flailing. The most recent example came earlier this month when two coal mines near Gillette filed for bankruptcy and abruptly shut down. Roughly 700 workers lost their jobs. As the state reckons with this pain, Wyoming is considering a billion-dollar opportunity involving the storage of materials from a different kind of energy: nuclear. The Wyoming Legislature narrowly OKed a request by the minerals committee to study this option. Reporter Angus Thuermer Jr. covered this in one of his recent stories for WyoFile. Thuermer began by noting the lack of transparency surrounding the vote.
Above: A map of storage sites for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Wyoming could become another marker on the map as lawmakers consider a plan to store spent nuclear fuel in the state. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
