Utahns opposed to the siting of a high-level nuclear waste repository in Tooele County have gained a powerful ally, The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Over the weekend, the church made available this response to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's recent ruling that the Private Fuel Storage repository could be built in Skull Valley:

"We regret the decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to authorize the issuance of a license that would allow storage of radioactive waste in Skull Valley. Storage of nuclear waste in Utah is a matter of significant public interest that requires thorough scrutiny."

The statement was attributed to Dale Bills, spokesman for the church. No further elaboration about the matter was immediately available.

The repository, proposed for Goshute tribal land, would house 40,000 tons of highly-radioactive spent nuclear power plant fuel rods. The material would be in "temporary" storage for up to 40 years.

The latest action triggered comparisons with a previous debate related to nuclear issues in which the church played a role.

On May 5,1981, the First Presidency issued a statement opposing the deployment of the MX Missile system, under consideration for the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada. The Air Force project had been envisioned as a gigantic set of tracks and shelters, with missiles shuttled from place to place in a vast stretch of the state's western desert.

The 1981 statement deplored the nuclear arms race and expressed grave concern over the MX system's many missiles and nuclear warheads. "Such concentration, we are informed, may even invite attack under a first-strike strategy on the part of an aggressor," the statement said.

The construction project would have adverse impacts on sociological, ecological and water resource factors, added the statement, signed by the three members of the First Presidency.

As Cold War confrontations faded, the push for the MX system dissolved. But church opposition also has been credited as an important factor in the project's abandonment.

The latest statement bolsters the arguments of those fighting against the high-level nuclear repository.

Although the facility was approved last week by the NRC, it continues to face tremendous political opposition.

A 2002 Deseret News poll by Dan Jones & Associates found 79 percent of Utahns were opposed to the PFS project. Shipping of nuclear waste on railroad routes through the state was among the biggest concerns, but lately fears of a terrorist attack also have been in the forefront. Private Fuel Storage has said the facility would be a temporary one. But the government's planned permanent repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., has bogged down in political fights and debate concerning the validity of scientific studies, leading to increased concerns about the temporary nature of the Utah facility.

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com