Earlier, he said, he was opposed to Cedar Mountain accepting B and C waste. The reason is that Envirocare was pursuing a permit to import that kind of waste, and he did not want to compete with the earlier facility on that, according to Judd.

"Just recently, they (Envirocare) changed their philosophy and said they would no longer pursue B and C waste," he said. Also, Tooele County refused to approve his facility because of problems in showing a need for another project doing the same thing as Envirocare.

Because of that, he said, Cedar Mountain changed its position and decided it might seek the higher classes of radioactive material.

The project requires a $3 million investment, Judd believes. State law allows the Department of Environmental Quality to charge up to $1 million for the expensive process of reviewing a nuclear waste disposal application.

Several investors have talked with him about the project and are "very interested in it," and Judd is putting in his own money too, he said.

He denied a suggestion that the move was an attempt to get leverage on Envirocare in a lawsuit it filed against him. "Envirocare sued me when I started this process," he said. The Radioactive Exchange says that suit involved an allegation by Envirocare that Judd was breaking a non-competition clause in his contract.

Sinclair said that while Cedar Mountain has received approval as an appropriate site, it is far from winning state approval.

The next step, "which is much more difficult process," is to seek a license, he said. "That's certainly a long process." Judd has not yet submitted his license application.

Judd would need approval from Tooele County, "and that has not happened to date. In fact, he's been rejected by the county for a conditional use permit."

If Cedar Mountain overcomes those roadblocks, it still requires permission both from the Legislature and the governor.

In light of the opposition to Envirocare's efforts, legislative approval could be extremely hard to get.

Before the gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. responded to a Deseret Morning News questionnaire, "I strongly oppose any hazardous or radioactive waste of a higher degree of toxicity allowed into Utah storage facilities." Since then, Huntsman was elected as Utah's next governor.

But Judd remains undaunted about the chances of importing B and C waste, should Cedar Mountain decide to pursue the permit.

"We won't be investing $3 million in something we don't think there's a chance," he said. "We do think there's a chance."

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com