Minority Whip Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, said SB155 simply says that if EnergySolutions wants to use a dump truck in a different part of its compound, it doesn't need the approval of the governor and Legislator. That's because they are working within the area regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality, he said.

Patrick Cone, a former Summit County commissioner and a member of the state's Radiation Control Board, said the bill would result in "really no public oversight, no elected accountability, and nothing from the Legislature" about what happens on Section 32.

Tooele County's three commissioners were present to support the bill, and legislators said they were impressed by that.

Davis said the DEQ has responsibility to oversee all waste streams in Utah. "We also have a Radiation Control Board, more public oversight right there. Appointed officials," he said.

If red flags are raised through the permitting process, he added, it's up to the board to "run those red flags up" and take the concerns to the Legislature. "You have a responsibility to let us know what's going on."

Davis noted that the bill would not allow importation of any hotter waste than already disposed by EnergySolutions.

Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, said it doesn't scare him to have Class A waste at the site. "I think it's better that we go higher than move to a new site."

Bramble summarized, "The intent of this bill is to restore the (inadvertently eliminated) grandfathering clause and to offer clarity what the legislative intent has been."

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com