Redfield, SD (KELO-AM) Researchers want to drill a 3-mile deep, straight as an arrow, hole into Spink County, South Dakota near Redfield to find out if the technique could one day be used to store radioactive waste.
T.R. Massey, spokesman for Battelle, a resarch and development non-profit, wants to make it clear that nothing radioactive will be used during the drilling, and that even if it works, the South Dakota site would not be used to store nuclear waste.
"Because of the presence of water there, because of the state law prohibiting it, and because of the wishes of private landowners, this is not the spot where the eventual disposal will be," Massey tells KELO Radio.
Batelle tried to do this research in a remote county in North Dakota, but the locals wanted nothing to do with it. Massey says they learned from that experience that they must get the local people involved. Battelle will hold two open houses in the Redfield area, April 27 and 28 to explain what researchers want to do and to answer any questions.
The proposed deep drilling in South Dakota is part of a $80 million federaly funded project to see if radioactive waste can be stored miles down in granite rock formations. Battelle received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to do the tests.
The project requires permits from state and local government to move forward. Governor Dennis Daugaard has said that he supports the research.
Massey says that the goal is to drill the 3-mile hole so straight that you could drop a container in it and it would hit the bottom without touching the sides. He says the state-of-the-art drilling rig will be some 150 feet tall with a warning light on the top.
Battelle estimates that, if the project is approved, it will have a $10 million economic impact in South Dakota.