Huntsman vetoes bill on disposal of nuclear waste

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Tuesday night vetoed the so-called "Envirocare" bill that strips a governor's unilateral power to block hazardous waste disposal facilities, including those that handle radioactive materials.

The veto, the first of several threatened by Huntsman, may spark an override vote today — the final day of the 2006 Legislature. The decision had lawmakers scrambling to see if there were enough votes to meet the two-thirds necessary for an override.

The governor vetoed the bill after returning from Washington, D.C. He released a copy of the letter sent to legislative leaders that called his decision consistent with his pledge "to resist efforts to turn Utah into our nation's radioactive waste dumping ground."

The letter said that, "By enabling the Legislature to override the governor's refusal to approve a radioactive, solid nonhazardous or hazardous waste facility, this bill would incrementally weaken the governor's authority to protect Utah's image and environment, as well as the health and safety of its 2.5 million residents."

The purpose of SB70 was to give the Legislature the power to override, by a two-thirds vote in both houses, a decision by a governor to halt changes in a disposal operation or the creation of a new landfill.

However, the bill did not include decisions made by a governor on high-level nuclear waste, such as the spent fuel rods that Private Fuel Storage wants to store in Skull Valley, Tooele County.

The bill earned its nickname because it was seen by critics as an effort to help the former Envirocare, now named EnergySolutions. Huntsman announced earlier this year he would not approve an expansion of the company's Tooele County landfill.

SB70 passed with enough votes, 22-6, in the Senate to override a veto but not with the two-thirds majority needed to reverse the governor's action in the House. There, the bill was approved 47-27, three votes shy of being so-called veto-proof.

Still, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, thought lawmakers might give it a try. Stephenson has said he sponsored the bill to give the Legislature the same override authority it has on virtually all other matters.

"Now, the Legislature gets to decide how strongly it feels about retaining its constitutional prerogative to override the veto of the governor," Stephenson said, adding he would "be counting votes . . . to see if all of the votes stay firm."

An override vote would start in the Senate, since that's where the bill originated. The Senate GOP majority was set to make the decision this morning whether to take the vote during a closed-door caucus.