Utah-DOE 'Lifecycle Innovation Campus' pact cites Ward 250's 'successful permitting' and plans for out-of-state spent fuel

recordconfirmed

2026-07-27 · gov-030 · U.S. Department of Energy, State of Utah, Chris Wright, Spencer Cox, Valar Atomics

The memorandum of understanding signed on 27 July 2026 by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Gov. Spencer Cox to establish a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus (NLIC) in Utah (posted by OED; read from its scanned pages) names, as the 'Historical Foundation' of the partnership, 'the successful permitting, development, and testing of Valar Atomics' Ward 250' test reactor at the San Rafael lab. It calls for a later Host Agreement that 'shall address the acceptance and management of out-of-state used nuclear fuel', spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste and greater-than-class-C radioactive waste; says permanent disposal facilities at the campus would be NRC-licensed, with the state never the licensee; has DOE provide regulatory oversight and authorization under 10 CFR 830 for activities not licensed by the NRC or regulated by the state; says decisions on public disclosure under FOIA or GRAMA 'will be made following consultation between the Parties'; and lets either side end it if no Host Agreement is signed by 30 September 2026. It also commits both sides to 'robust community engagement and transparency' (3.1), runs for 30 years, and extends federal nuclear-accident indemnity (AEA section 170d) to the state, campus tenants and contractors. The MOU names no site; the governor's March 2026 release named Tooele County as the candidate host, and no record read through 2 October 2026 places the campus in Carbon or Emery County. Set beside the record: the permitting on file for Ward 250 is DOE's authorization (safe-001, safe-007) and the Emery County Commission's 2 September 2025 building-permit vote (gov-021); no state permit for it was found.

In plain termsIn July 2026 the Energy Secretary and Utah's governor signed a pact to build a large nuclear fuel-cycle campus in Utah, possibly including the handling of spent fuel and high-level waste shipped in from other states. They point to Valar's reactor as an example of the two governments' past successful collaboration, calling its permitting 'successful'. Copies of DOE's actual approval documents for the reactor were not found in public records. The campus's location is not set in the document; the candidate named in the governor's March 2026 release is Tooele County, not Carbon or Emery.

Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of Energy and the State of Utah Concerning the Establishment of a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus in the State of Utah (signed July 27, 2026) (U.S. Department of Energy and State of Utah (posted by Utah Office of Energy Development), 2026-07-27) primary government “the successful permitting, development, and testing of Valar Atomics’ Ward 250”
Utah and Tooele County explore response to U.S. Department of Energy opportunity for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus (Office of the Governor of Utah, 2026-03-27) primary government

verified 2026-10-02: Re-read all 8 pages of the NLIC MOU and re-read the governor's Tooele release in late September 2026; quote exact. Holds; added the transparency commitment, 30-year term and indemnity clause.

In tabs: Connections to Government, Safety Related Issues, Plans & Sites, Timeline