Utah Escalates Nuclear Waste Fight

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Utah Escalates Nuclear Waste Fight

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Gov. Mike Leavitt created a special state 
office Thursday to try to block a proposal to bring 44,000 tons of 
high-level nuclear waste to Utah's desert. 

``I will deploy every tool I can,'' Leavitt said. ``We don't produce this 
waste. We shouldn't store it.'' 

Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of eight electric utilities, is 
seeking federal approval to store spent nuclear fuel rods in 
containers at the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, 45 miles 
southwest of Salt Lake City. 

Leavitt used an executive order and $50,000 in emergency funds to 
create the Office of High Level Nuclear Waste Opposition. Leavitt 
will ask the Legislature for $1 million per year to pay at least five 
attorneys to combat the storage plan in court. 

Sue Martin, a spokeswoman for Private Fuel Storage, said the 
consortium is following an established process for licensing the 
facility and that the state is a participant. She said the facility will 
be operated safely. 

``What the governor seems to want to do is short-circuit the 
process and try to replace the established process with politics 
and legal action,'' Martin said. 

While details of the lease between the Skull Valley Goshutes and 
PFS have not been released, the tribe is expected to make a hefty 
profit. 

Leavitt said he is considering new taxes, regulations and possibly 
even criminal measures to regulate the transportation and storage 
of nuclear waste under state law. 

Opponents worry the Skull Valley site could become a permanent 
storage site if a proposed site in Yucca Mountain, Nev., is blocked 
by that state's political leaders. 

Critics fear that storage casks could fail, water and air could be 
contaminated, property values could drop and cruise missiles or 
jets tested in the area could crash into the site. 

However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the site 
safe and the casks sturdy. The military said the chances a jet 
would crash into the casks are extremely low. 

The NRC's final decision on the site isn't expected until sometime 
in 2002. Three other federal agencies must then approve the 
proposal. 

On the Net: 

http://www.privatefuelstorage.com 

http://www.skullvalleygoshutes.org 

Governor: http://www.gov.state.ut.us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
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Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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