From Deseret News archives:
Huntsman, Bush meeting today
Huntsman will be in Washington for the National Governors Association meeting and is scheduled to meet with Bush today.
After the state lost a key battle Thursday to keep the Goshute Indian Reservation from obtaining a license to store 44,000 tons of waste on its land 45 miles west of Salt Lake City, Huntsman says he will exhaust every chance Utah has to keep the waste out.
He said if he can't convince Bush, "We will be back in the next two to three weeks to meet with the secretary of the Interior and others and fight this battle with every ounce of energy we can muster."
Huntsman noted the state could still appeal Thursday's decision from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Officials could also petition the Bureau of Land Management against approving the deal and possibly seek intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The latter option, he said, is "becoming increasingly viable."
Thursday's decision cleared the way for a utility consortium called Private Fuel Storage to get a license from the NRC to build and operate a storage site on Goshutes land. State officials have long opposed the plan, but the latest ruling is a significant setback.
The governor also says he will talk to Bush about his No Child Left Behind initiative, which Utah lawmakers call an intrusive and underfunded mandate.
The Utah House last week passed a bill and resolution hammering the law for reaching into state affairs.
