Radioactive waste issue still warm

A task force of lawmakers appears ready to dump once and for all Envirocare of Utah's plans to take hotter radioactive waste, but many of them want to wait another month of so before emptying the Dumpster.

The Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force, in its last year of a two-year study on waste issues, met Tuesday at the state Capitol to discuss whether the state should open its borders to shipments of "hotter" waste that would be disposed of at Envirocare's landfill in Tooele County.

Senate Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Tooele, was prepared to just say no, ending what has been a years-long debate. He suggested that the task force recommend to the 2005 Legislature not to allow Envirocare to take so-called "Class B and C wastes," which are primarily byproducts of decommissioned power plants and are thousands of times hotter in radioactivity than what is now at Envirocare.

If the task force turns thumbs down on Envirocare's plan, it would not necessarily kill it outright. It would mean that Envirocare would have to wait until 2006 to come back for the Legislature's approval.

But some lawmakers, although appearing to agree with Allen, hesitated. They wanted another month to think about it.

"I tried killing B and C, and it failed," said Allen, disappointed as he left the three-hour-long meeting. "Some of my colleagues want to drag it out."

Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, co-chairman of the task force, suggested waiting a month before taking a formal vote. In May, the task force is scheduled to tour a Barnwell, S.C., facility, one of only two facilities in the country that take Class B and C wastes (Hanford in Richland, Wash., is the other).

But Urquhart's reasons for waiting have more to do with ending the debate altogether, not just putting it off for another year.

"If this is an issue that remains open, let's discuss it further rather than punt it," he said.

State regulators have given approval to Envirocare for a license to take hotter B and C waste, a license that's set to expire in July 2006. But the company must also receive the Legislature and governor's blessing. The Legislature in 2002 decided to postpone action until a task force makes its recommendations in 2005.