The Department of Energy said this week that it had selected four companies – AECOM, ENERCON, TerranearPMC and RE/SPEC to begin working on the possibility of conducting a deep borehole field test that would explore the use of boreholes for long term nuclear waste storage.
The Energy Department said that AECOM would examine the possibility of conducting a borehole test in Texas, while ENERCON and TerranearPMC would do the same in New Mexico, while RE/SPEC would do the same in South Dakota.
“Ultimately, only one site will be chosen for the field test,” the agency said, noting that deep boreholes “are narrow, vertical holes drilled deep in the earth, in this case to a depth of approximately three miles below the earth's surface.”
The field test's primary mission is to collect data on the types of rocks, chemistry of the water, the depths of both rock and water, the temperature of the rocks and other geological data. The purpose: “To see if nuclear waste disposal is feasible in this kind of geology.” The DOE called this “a unique opportunity” for data collection that may lead to further geological research.
However, the DOE said it was “particularly interested” in testing a site for nuclear waste storage, although the test is not to involve the use of any nuclear waste at this time, or ever. “No nuclear waste will be involved … “nor will the Department use any selected site for the actual storage or disposal of waste in the future,” the notice reads.
In a seeming turnaround of purpose, the Department noted that the data collected “could also have applications for other drilling projects, such as those used for geothermal energy production.”
Coming up against community opposition, the DOE canceled a previous assignment for a borehole test in Spink County, South Dakota and in Rugby, North Dakota. This time, the DOE says, it will confront opposition with better communication. “It was clear that insufficient communication and outreach created the negative impression of (that) project,” the department said.
Based on this experience, said the DOE, the new project is with the acknowledgment that “public engagement and support for this project is paramount.” Part of the message is “to make completely clear” that no nuclear waste is involved in this data collection project, the agency stressed.