Idaho Cleanup Project

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.

Idaho Cleanup Project Photo Gallery

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A crane lifting a large, metal, cylindrical object
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Idaho Cleanup Project crews completed a significant achievement by successfully transferring 40 spent nuclear fuel baskets into safer, long term storage vaults.
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Demolition taking place of a reactor building, fire and explosions occur at the bottom of the building
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Idaho Cleanup Project demolition crews use targeted explosive charges to bring down the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse reactor prototype plant building on May 31.
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A heard of elks in a field in Idaho with a white building in the background
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An elk herd congregates near an Idaho National Laboratory Site facility. Both elk and pronghorn antelope have used the INL Site as a sanctuary during the day while feeding on nearby private agricultural fields at night.
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An aerial view of a laboratory building
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U.S Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management cleanup progress at the Idaho National Laboratory Site, including at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, pictured, continues to benefit the laboratory.
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A yellow construction vehicle working to pull down an enclosure
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Idaho Cleanup Project demolition crews prepare to pull down a large, steel Accelerated Retrieval Project enclosure at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.
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An Idaho State Police officer inspects the Idaho Cleanup Project’s shipment of transuranic waste.
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An Idaho State Police officer inspects the Idaho Cleanup Project’s 7,500th shipment of transuranic waste before it departs Idaho for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.
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Aerial image of the Idaho CERCLA disposal facility.
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U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews completed excavation for a new disposal cell, background, and two evaporation ponds, foreground, as part of a major expansion project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility.
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A crane lifting a large, metal, cylindrical object
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Idaho Cleanup Project crews completed a significant achievement by successfully transferring 40 spent nuclear fuel baskets into safer, long term storage vaults.
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Idaho Cleanup Project crews completed a significant achievement by successfully transferring 40 spent nuclear fuel baskets into safer, long term storage vaults.

Idaho News

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Site Manager

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Nicholas Balsmeier, Site Manager

Nicholas Balsmeier became the manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) on June 1, 2025. He joined EM with over 20 years of experience with aerospace, nuclear maintenance, operations and oversight of environmental restoration activities.  

Before becoming the manager, he was with the ICP for more than 11 years as federal staff and five years as a contractor. He was formerly the Assistant Manager for Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center.

As the ICP manager he is 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 the Department of Energy's inventory of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste from Idaho.

Click here to view full bio.

High Level Budget Information

FY25 Request (in the millions) FY25 Enacted (in the millions) FY26 Request (in the millions) FY26 Enacted (in the millions) FY27 Request (in the millions)
$471 $493 $473 $505 $493

For more information on the Office of Environmental Management's budget process and performance check out the Budget & Performance page.

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