Fight over 'hot' waste may lose its sizzle

However, Charles Judd, former president of Envirocare and now the president of a competing waste disposal company called Cedar Mountain Environmental Inc. — whose site is adjacent to Envirocare's near Clive, Tooele County — told the Deseret Morning News earlier that he is considering seeking to dispose of the B and C waste.

If Envirocare were to withdraw its application, the chances are high that Cedar Mountain would seek its own permit.

The issue of B and C wastes barely surfaced Tuesday in a meeting of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Standing Committee, which endorsed SB24, the bill incorporating the task force recommendations.

Bramble, co-chair of the Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force, said the B and C issue was not part of this bill. That matter "was pushed off to be run separately," he said.

That bill, sponsored by Sen. Patrice Arent, D-Salt Lake City, "Prohibition Against Class B and C Low-level Radioactive Waste," has not yet been scheduled for committee review.

SB24 calls for the state's Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board to review and report to the Legislature on the adequacy of financial assurances that a commercial hazardous waste facility will be adequately funded for its closure and its safety after closure. That applies to non-radioactive waste as well as radioactive material.

It also requires taxing disposal of federal mixed waste, material with both radioactive and hazardous non-radioactive contamination. Until now that classification had been free of state tax.

Only two speakers testified before the taxation committee, which unanimously sent the bill to the Senate floor for debate.

While Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said his department supported the measure, Lowell Peterson, a former state legislator and present lobbyist for Clean Harbors Environmental Services, wondered how the "perpetual care" provision in the bill might affect his business. Clean Harbors operates a non-nuclear hazardous waste facility in Tooele County.

Bramble said a $400,000 fund was set up through which Envirocare would guarantee the future safety of its site. This was done with bipartisan support, and the figure was negotiated with Envirocare.

The bill would expand the law so other companies besides Envirocare were covered.

SB24 requires the DEQ to decide about future needs to protect residents after a facility closes, Bramble said. The task force wanted to make sure residents were not saddled with long-term costs after a facility closes, as happened with the Vitro and Atlas radioactive tailings.

Also, the department will check to see whether the Envirocare fee is inadequate or excessive for long-term needs.

"If Clean Harbors is doing its job, that shouldn't be a fear," Bramble said. He noted that visits to hazardous waste disposal sites had impressed lawmakers.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; bau@desnews.com