Huntsman is of the mind that Utah ought to be supporting Nevada's opposition to storage of spent nuclear fuel, whether permanently at Yucca Mountain or temporarily at Skull Valley. Utah's House delegation supports that position to some degree, but it puts Huntsman at odds with Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who support the Yucca Mountain solution.

"The West is the fastest growing region in the United States, and it is in our interest to maintain the unparalleled quality of life here," Huntsman said.

But the ultimate decision on the PFS license, he added, may come down to the Department of Interior, which must still approve the lease between PFS and the Goshute tribe. The governor will meet with Secretary of Interior Gale Norton later today.

Huntsman, who is not optimistic the NRC will reject the PFS application, isn't buying Diaz's argument that above-ground storage at Skull Valley does not pose a threat to Utahns, pointing to a dissenting opinion in the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's 2-1 decision. The dissenting opinion, he noted, specifically cited the threats that Diaz dismissed.

Huntsman's efforts in Washington, D.C., coincide with ongoing efforts by the Utah congressional delegation to influence decision-makers who will decide whether PFS gets its license.

"Politics plays no role" in the NRC decision, Diaz insisted but added, "We will pay serious attention to the Congress. We appreciate comments from the congressional parties."

Without directly saying it, Diaz dropped several hints that he doesn't seem too worried about the PFS proposal. He repeatedly described his confidence the storage casks could withstand any type of attack or impact, he mentioned the remote Skull Valley location where any radiological releases would be contained far from population centers, and he expressed his intent that the decision would be based on the science of the proposal — something already examined in great detail and approved by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

He also echoed PFS's contention that Skull Valley would be temporary storage. "I do not see them as replacing a geological repository," he said.

Diaz, a nuclear engineer, said the NRC is in favor of a "geological repository," but he insisted that does not mean the commission is predisposed to approve Yucca Mountain as a permanent storage site, even though it is the only geological solution now on the table.

He also expressed support for continued on-site storage of spent fuel at nuclear power plants, but added that is only a temporary solution. Eventually the waste should be moved deep underground, he said.

As to Utah's concern that if the waste is shipped to Skull Valley it will stay there forever: "Not a plausible scenario," he said.

"We know that temporary becomes permanent," Huntsman responded, adding that a new national energy policy that encourages on-site storage and reprocessing of spent fuel is "in the interests of Utah."

"We still have a lot of fight left in us."

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com