The 890 square-mile Idaho National Laboratory Site (INL), located in southeastern Idaho, was first established in 1952 as the National Reactor Testing Station. The original mission of the INL site was to develop and test civilian and defense nuclear reactor technologies and manage spent nuclear fuel. Fifty-two reactors — most of them first of a kind — were built at the site, including the Navy’s first prototype nuclear propulsion plant. Of the 52 reactors, four remain in operation.
Employees supporting the spent nuclear fuel wet-to-dry project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site celebrate the last fuel elements removed from a water-filled basin within a building at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. Crews completed the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement milestone more than nine months ahead of schedule.
Idaho News
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Idaho Cleanup Project crews recently completed a significant achievement by successfully transferring 40 spent nuclear fuel baskets into safer, long term storage vaults. July 1, 2025.July 1, 2025
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A crew recently removed thousands of pounds of legacy radioactive waste from a hot cell, enabling the Idaho Cleanup Project to advance its environmental cleanup and boost efficiency. June 24, 2025.June 24, 2025
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Two decades ago, one contract encompassing the work of the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management and Nuclear Energy offices at the Idaho National Laboratory was split into two, one for each office. June 17, 2025.June 17, 2025
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Idaho Cleanup Project crews have completed demolition of the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse naval reactor prototype plant, safely using explosives to carry out this key milestone. June 3, 2025June 3, 2025
Nicholas Balsmeier currently serves as the acting manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project, responsible for the management and oversight of the treatment, storage, and disposition of a variety of radioactive and hazardous waste streams, removal and disposition of targeted buried waste, and the removal of DOE’s inventory of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste from Idaho.
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High-Level Budget Information
| FY22 Enacted (In the millions) | FY23 Request (In the millions) | FY23 Enacted (In the millions) | FY24 Request (in the millions) | FY24 Enacted (in the millions) | FY25 Request (in the millions) |
| $454 | $391 | $472 | $459 | $490 | $471 |
For more information on the Office of Environmental Management's budget process and performance check out the Budget & Performance page.