Author: Keith Ridler, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho’s congressional delegation wants the U.S. Department of Energy to prepare spent nuclear fuel for trucking out of eastern Idaho ahead of a 2035 deadline.

The two Republican senators and two Republican representatives in the letter sent Wednesday said the department could be readying the spent fuel for placement in protective trucking containers.

A 1995 agreement following a series of federal lawsuits requires the Energy Department to remove most of the spent fuel and other nuclear waste from the site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory.

“We encourage the Department to initiate activities needed to begin loading of spent nuclear fuel into a multi-purpose canister (MPC) at the Idaho National Laboratory using existing facilities,” the lawmakers wrote.

Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Reps. Mike Crapo and Russ Fulcher each signed the document sent to Energy Department Secretary Dan Brouillette.

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