Nuclear fuel rests in peace near Fort St. Vrain

PLATTEVILLE — For nearly 20 years, spent nuclear fuel has been stored at a little-noticed concrete facility just north of the Fort St. Vrain Power Station northwest of Platteville.

Recently, the facility — called the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Facility — received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue storing the high-level radioactive waste for another 20 years.

The ISFSF, surrounded by barbed wire and guarded around the clock by teams of machine-gun-toting security guards, will continue to serve as a spent fuel storage site until Nov. 30, 2031, or until the United States comes to terms with the thorny…