Who is behind nuclear waste storage in Bar Nunn?
These are some of the organizations working to change Wyoming law to allow nuclear waste storage in the state.
Advance Casper
Casper Area Chamber of Commerce
Wyoming Business Council
Cheyenne-Laramie County Economic Development Joint Powers Board
Wyoming State Legislators in Support of Nuclear Waste in Wyoming
Here are the Wyoming state lawmakers most clearly tied—by sponsorship or public advocacy—to proposals that would enable Radiant’s Bar Nunn plan and/or allow spent-fuel storage by microreactor manufacturers in Wyoming:
- Sen. Ed Cooper (R–SD20) — Primary Senate sponsor of SF0186 “Advanced nuclear reactor manufacturers–fuel storage,” which would have let advanced-reactor manufacturers store spent fuel in Wyoming. (Wyoming Legislature)
- Sen. Jim Anderson (R–SD28, Natrona County) — Co-sponsor of SF0186 and chairing Minerals hearings where the manufacturer storage idea was advanced. (Wyoming Legislature, Cowboy State Daily)
- Sen. Gary Crum (R–SD10) — Co-sponsor of SF0186. (Wyoming Legislature)
- Sen. Ogden Driskill (R–SD1) — Co-sponsor of SF0186. (Wyoming Legislature)
- Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R–HD54) — House sponsor on SF0186 and a leading voice urging passage during the July 30, 2025 Minerals hearing (“We got to get this bill passed. We got to start today.”). (Wyoming Legislature, Cowboy State Daily)
- Rep. Cody Wylie (R–HD39) — House sponsor on SF0186. (Wyoming Legislature)
- Rep. Don (Donald E.) Burkhart Jr. (R–HD15, then-chair of the Joint Minerals Committee) — Drove the committee’s HB0016 “Used nuclear fuel storage—amendments” concept and publicly argued for opening the door to storage (and potential reprocessing) in Wyoming. (Oil City News)
In context of proposed legislation:
- The manufacturer-storage bill (SF0186) was introduced with the sponsors above but failed during the 2025 General Session; a similar draft was taken up again by the Joint Minerals Committee in Casper on July 30, 2025, then tabled on Aug. 1, 2025 after extensive public comment. (Cowboy State Daily, WyoFile)
- The committee’s broader HB0016 (commercial used-fuel storage amendments) was sponsored by the Joint Minerals, Business & Economic Development Interim Committee; coverage documents Chair Rep. Burkhart’s role in pushing that discussion forward. (Wyoming Legislature, Oil City News)
- Reporting explicitly links the manufacturer-storage push to accommodating Radiant’s proposed Bar Nunn microreactor manufacturing campus. (WyoFile)
Natrona-area lawmakers — current public positions
☢︎ Download a printable 1-pager HERE ☢︎
| Lawmaker | District / Chamber | Position summary | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sen. Jim Anderson | SD-28 (Casper) / Senate | Support for advancing a bill to allow manufacturers to store their own spent fuel; said he wants “five months to…change some minds in Wyoming to work this bill.” | Remarks as Minerals Committee co-chair after tabling the draft on July 31, 2025. (Oil City News, WyoFile) |
| Rep. Bill Allemand | HD-58 (Midwest/Bar Nunn) / House | Oppose to nuclear waste in WY; hosted Bar Nunn town hall and stated: “I’m not for nuclear waste in our backyard.” | July 25, 2025 town hall coverage. (Oil City News) |
| Rep. Kevin Campbell | HD-62 (Natrona/Converse) / House | Oppose to storage in WY; raised transport/safety concerns (“little hot generator…driving across America’s highways”) and criticized HB-16 as making WY a repository. | Same July 25, 2025 town hall. (Oil City News) |
| Rep. Tony Locke | HD-35 (Casper area) / House | Undecided / leaning skeptical; said in March he’s “learning,” later pressed for more research on spent-fuel safety. | Mar. 26, 2025 town hall report; July 30 context piece. (WyoFile, Oil City News) |
| Rep. Jayme Lein | HD-38 (Casper area) / House | No clear on-record stance found (2025 town-hall or testimony). | No explicit position located in 2025 reports; only general “varying perspectives” mentions. (307NetInfo) |
| Rep. Steve Harshman | HD-37 (Casper) / House | No clear on-record stance found specific to Radiant/storage in 2025 coverage. | Could not locate 2025 town-hall/testimony quotes tied to Radiant. |
| Rep. Art Washut | HD-36 (Casper) / House | No clear on-record stance found (2025). | No 2025 town-hall/testimony quotes located. |
| Rep. Elissa Campbell | HD-56 (Casper) / House | Signals openness to nuclear in social posts and praised Radiant’s engagement with residents; no explicit 2025 statement backing a storage carve-out. | July 11, 2025 post thanking Radiant for outreach; separate pro-nuclear safety infographic post. (Facebook, Facebook) |
| Rep. Julie Jarvis | HD-57 (Casper) / House | No clear on-record stance found (2025). | No 2025 quotes located. |
| Rep. J.R. Riggins | HD-59 (Evansville/Natrona) / House | No clear on-record stance; present at Minerals interim meeting (attendance recorded), but no public comments quoted. | LSO minutes list attendees; no quoted stance. (Wyoming Legislature) |
| Sen. Bill Landen | SD-27 (Casper) / Senate | No 2025 on-record stance found tied to Bar Nunn. (Historical note: supported a 2019 study of spent-fuel storage generally as a member of Management Council.) | 2019 WyoFile coverage of Management Council vote (historical context, not 2025 on Radiant). (WyoFile) |
| Sen. Bob Ide | SD-29 (Casper) / Senate | No clear on-record stance found (2025). | Appears at local meetings; no quoted position in 2025 sources. (Natrona County) |
| Sen. Charles Scott | SD-30 (Casper) / Senate | No clear on-record stance found (2025). | No 2025 quotes located. |
Statehouse figures championing the storage carve-out (not limited to Natrona)
These sponsors have been pushing or re-pushing the legal change that Radiant would need:
- SF0186 – “Advanced nuclear reactor manufacturers—fuel storage” (2025): primary sponsors Sens. Ed Cooper, Jim Anderson (Natrona), Gary Crum, Ogden Driskill; Reps. Lloyd Larsen and Cody Wylie. The bill would have allowed manufacturers to store their own spent fuel in Wyoming; it failed in 2025. (Wyoming Legislature, WyoFile)
- HB0016 – “Used nuclear fuel storage—amendments” (2025): Joint Minerals Committee bill to set up standards for used-fuel storage in Wyoming; it died in House Minerals in March 2025. (Wyoming Legislature, LegiScan)
Latest committee action: On July 31, 2025, the Joint Minerals Committee heard hours of public comment in Casper and tabled a re-drafted manufacturer-storage proposal, with Chairman Sen. Jim Anderson saying he aims to keep working it for the 2026 session. (Oil City News, WyoFile)
Sources & documentation
- Minerals Committee meeting (Casper, July 31, 2025) — bill tabled; quotes from Sen. Jim Anderson. (Oil City News, WyoFile)
- Bar Nunn town hall (July 25, 2025) — quotes from Rep. Bill Allemand and Rep. Kevin Campbell. (Oil City News)
- Tony Locke “learning”/no stance at Mar. 26, 2025 meeting; later push for more research noted in July coverage. (WyoFile, Oil City News)
- Elissa Campbell social posts (praising Radiant engagement; pro-nuclear safety infographic), July 2025. (Facebook, Facebook)
- SF0186 bill page (sponsors & scope). (Wyoming Legislature)
- HB0016 bill page/status (committee bill; died Mar. 3, 2025). (Wyoming Legislature, LegiScan)
- Historical context: 2019 Management Council vote to study spent-fuel storage (lists Sens. Landen and Speaker Harshman among supporters of the study, not the 2025 Radiant proposal). (WyoFile)
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.