After the state lost its effort to block the commission from giving PFS its license, it filed a case appealing the license in federal court but legislative options also remained.

Before he left office, Hansen had initiated a bill that would create a federal Wilderness Area to protect the Utah Test and Training Range used by Hill Air Force Base but also blocked PFS from building a rail line designed to ship waste to the Goshute site.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, resurrected the idea and introduced a slightly different but similar bill.

Congress eventually approved the Defense Authorization bill with Bishop's provision, causing the delegation and the state to declare a big victory in the PFS fight.

But the victory did not come easy. As House and Senate negotiators finished up the final version of the Defense Authorization bill there was an almost hour-by-hour change as to whether it would include a Bishop provision until all those involved ultimately agreed to let it pass.

Julius Hobson, an adjunct associate professor of political management at George Washington University, said it is not unusual for a state to hire a lobbyist for some extra help on an issue and that it should be viewed no differently than a company hiring a lobbyist.

"The delegation is stretched over a number of issues," Hobson said. "They have their committee assignments and a huge number of constituents."

He said a lobbyist can concentrate on one single issue and go at it "full-force."

"It's like a rifle shot," Hobson said. "Others do it and you would be remiss if you didn't. (Hiring a lobbyist) is part of doing everything you can possibly do on an issue, a 'leaving no stone unturned.' "

Nuclear waste continues to be a hot topic this session and a compromise between similar storage provisions in the House and Senate energy and water spending bill may not be worked out until the 11th hour this year as well. The Senate bill contains $10 million to start a federal temporary storage program until Yucca opens. The Senate bill specifically disqualifies Utah from getting a federal site because Private Fuel Storage already has a license to store waste in Skull Valley. But the bill does not prohibit companies from using PFS instead of a government waste facility. The Senate has not yet taken up the bill.

The House passed its version of the energy and water spending bill, which contained $30 million for the temporary storage of nuclear waste, saying the government could consider private sites as well as federal facilities to store it.

Action on the Senate bill is not likely to take place until after the November election and lobbyists on both sides are the issues will be watching the debate closely.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com