WIPP Transportation Safety Program Initiative

Since the late 1980s, Western Governors have worked collaboratively with the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a comprehensive transportation safety program for shipments of radioactive materials to temporary and permanent storage sites, such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located near Carlsbad, New Mexico. By bringing an extraordinary level of care and attention to every detail of each shipment, Western Governors hoped to ensure their primary objective of “safe and uneventful” shipments would be met. This objective is reflected in several policy resolutions Western Governors have adopted over the years to help guide states during the planning and implementation phases of the transportation safety program's development.