Thirty-seven tons of commercial nuclear waste are stored on the inland coast of Humboldt Bay, California, in an underground storage vault called the Humboldt Bay Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (HB ISFSI). Its location is vulnerable to three adjacent earthquake faults, encroaching sea level, potential tsunamis, and general erosion. Within 44 years, by 2065, Humboldt Bay is projected to experience 3.3 feet (1 meter) of sea-level rise, which will flood the low areas around the ISFSI during king tides, turning it into an island that will be increasingly vulnerable to wave erosion, sea level rise, and saltwater intrusion. Under these projected future conditions, the site will be difficult to access for waste management, in an emergency, and for relocation.

The 44 Feet Project is a forward-looking, transdisciplinary, collaborative research project based at Cal Poly Humboldt. It has brought together state agencies, utility representatives, scientists, tribes, Community Advisory Board members, and regular folk to support the responsible long-term management of the spent nuclear fuel on Humboldt Bay. 

The goals of the 44 Feet Project are to 1) fill in gaps in existing safety analysis to account for increased future risk of coastal and climate hazards to Humboldt Bay’s spent nuclear fuel site, 2) affirm the desire that community and tribal perspectives are included in future decision-making, and 3) promote the idea that trust, communication, and public awareness must rank equal to science in the responsible long-term management of at-risk spent nuclear fuel sites in a climate-changed world.