Why are states involved if disposal of radioactive waste is a federal government responsibility?
Both the federal government and states share responsibility for making sure all transuranic waste shipments are safe and uneventful. In the late 1980s, Western states banded together to form a regional group, now known as the Western Governors’ Association WIPP Transportation Technical Advisory Group, to tackle planning and other transportation related issues. Working together and with the DOE, the Technical Advisory Group developed a comprehensive transportation program containing stringent shipping procedures that both Western states and the DOE agreed to follow during the entire campaign to ship transuranic waste to WIPP. The safety program that Western states and DOE put together is a model program that works.
