County joins foes of Divine Strake

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Commission on Monday issued a formal statement opposing the federal government's plan to conduct a non-nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Test Site.

"Legitimate concerns about Divine Strake have been raised," the statement reads. "To assure the safety and well-being of our citizenry, these concerns must be carefully studied and evaluated before a decision is made to proceed with the proposed detonation."

Washington County's three elected commissioners join Springdale and St. George in opposing the proposed underground explosion. Earlier this month, St. George Mayor Dan McArthur read a statement, supported by the City Council, that "strongly opposes" Divine Strake and any related testing at the Nevada Test Site.

"The city of St. George has a unique history due to its proximity to the Nevada nuclear-test site during the atomic age," according to the city's statement issued last Thursday. "Thousands of early deaths of those living in southern Utah and the surrounding areas have been attributed to nuclear testing during the 1950s and 1960s at the site. Many St. George residents and others have suffered incalculable loss as a result of radioactive-fallout exposure from the detonations at the site."

While the county commissioners expressed opposition to Divine Strake in their statement, their position also includes guarded support of the test if it proves to be necessary to safeguard American liberty and well-being, said Dean Cox, the county's public-affairs officer.

"This statement recognizes we have legitimate national safety concerns to consider and that it's conceivable that tests like these may need to be done in the future," said Cox. "The statement is not a blanket rejection or a blanket endorsement of such testing."

Cox said the commissioners would remain opposed to Divine Strake "until the federal government finishes a full and complete environmental-impact statement which clearly demonstrates the continued safety of our citizens."

The second of two public hearings scheduled by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to discuss Divine Strake will take place Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Utah State Capital, West Building, Room 135. Nearly 300 people attended a public hearing in St. George last week.

Huntsman already has expressed opposition to Divine Strake and is planning on attending Wednesday's hearing, according to the governor's staff. A transcript of the hearing will be included in Huntsman's comment letter to the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office opposing the experiment.

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