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State presents DOE RFI response on proposed nuclear life‑cycle campus for Tooele County
Summary
State energy officials described a response to the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Life Cycle Innovation Campus request for information, outlined what stages of the fuel cycle could be concentrated in the county, and answered local concerns about safety, jobs and outreach.
Emmy Lassovski, director of the Office of Energy Development and the governor’s energy adviser, told the Tooele County Council of Governments that the state submitted a public response to the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Life Cycle Innovation Campus RFI and has received encouraging early feedback.
Lassovski said DOE indicated a decision window of “between two weeks and June,” and that the state sought to make its RFI materials public to ensure transparency. She described the nuclear life cycle from uranium mining and milling through conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication, reactor operations, interim on‑site storage and potential fuel recycling. She cited the White Mesa Mill in Blanding as the only operating conventional uranium mill in the U.S. mentioned during the presentation.
The state team said the RFI envisions concentrating many parts of the life cycle “after milling” on a single campus to create economies of scale and streamline Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing where possible. Lassovski said the campus concept could include supportive industries and infrastructure — from fabrication and enrichment work to accompanying private companies, data centers and on‑site power generation such as small modular reactors — but that long‑term disposition would likely need to be on federal land and that final site configuration depends on DOE direction.
Local officials asked for details about location and outreach after several southern communities said they learned about the proposal through social media. Lassovski said the polygon shown in the briefing represents an initial study area that includes SIT (state institutional trust) land, federal parcels and private land, and stressed it is not a final site. She pledged broader outreach and repeated that the state’s participation would be conditional on meeting strict safety standards and providing clear benefits to county residents.
On jobs, Lassovski said DOE’s high‑level estimate for full buildout was “roughly in the neighborhood of 10,000” positions over time and cited an example average annual wage of about $119,000 at an enrichment facility she visited. She cautioned the council the jobs would come over a long buildout period and that infrastructure, housing and workforce planning will be required.
The session included technical questions about enrichment, fuel fabrication and potential campus scale; presenters repeatedly emphasized the project is at an early stage and that the state’s role is to develop a durable, community‑backed proposal to present to DOE.
The state team concluded by offering ongoing support for community education, saying they will provide speakers and materials to help local leaders answer residents’ questions. Lassovski said: “If you can’t meet the safety test, don’t talk to me. And if it’s not good for our people, we’re out.”
Next steps: staff and state officials said they will continue site characterization, expand outreach to under‑engaged towns in the county, and await DOE’s next action on the RFI.
