Critics of Huntsman's earlier position praised his new stand on Wednesday.

"We're thrilled," said Vanessa Pierce, executive director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah. "He has remained a man of his word who has put the public interests above special interests."

Still, Pierce said, the battle may not be over.

"We need to see what happens at the May 8 compact meeting, and we need to see if EnergySolutions is going to abide by and respect this decision that reflects the will of the people and the governor, or if they're going to fight it," she said.

Roskelley, though, said that the governor "does not think it's good policy for this waste to come here so this should prevent that from happening."

The shipment has already been opposed by Rep. Jim Matheson, D- Utah, who has sponsored legislation along with other Congressmen, including one from Tennessee, that would ban the importation of nuclear waste unless it was originally produced in the U.S., except, for example, U.S. military waste generated abroad. Matheson said Wednesday, "I welcome Gov. Huntsman's decision to join this fight. It's not a partisan issue, but rather about doing what's right for Utah and for America. Rather than be in this predicament, where we have to act on a case-by-case basis, Congress should pass my bill and permanently solve the problem of importing foreign waste."

But Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has said he doesn't see this as a federal issue. Wednesday, his chief of staff, Scott Parker, said, "Rob has always said he will support whatever the S state decides to do."

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Contributing: Suzanne Struglinski

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com