From Deseret News archives:
Huntsman to press N-fight
He'll co-sponsor anti-dump measure at governors meet
The resolution, which won't be made public until it is voted on at the end of the three-day meeting Tuesday, asks the federal government to keep the states involved as storage sites are considered.
Huntsman is opposed to a temporary high-level nuclear storage facility on the Goshute Indian Reservation in Tooele County and is raising concerns about the safety of transporting waste as an argument against it.
The resolution stops short of endorsing an effort by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to force the facilities that generate nuclear waste to store it on site rather than transporting it to Utah or to the proposed Yucca Mountain site in Nevada.
Still, Huntsman was pleased with the progress.
"This really was an attempt to craft something that all the governors could get their arms around," Huntsman said shortly after arriving at this ski resort early Sunday evening. "Even if it's a first step, it's an important one."
He said President Bush, a former governor himself, will take notice of the resolution because it comes from the WGA. Huntsman should have a chance during the meeting to lobby U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who is scheduled to address the governors Tuesday.
Another resolution that Huntsman is co-sponsoring deals with economic competitiveness. He declined to provide details Sunday but said his co-sponsor will be a prominent Democrat — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Huntsman is attending the meeting without his top economic development adviser, Chris Roybal; and his chief of staff, Jason Chaffetz, had already returned to Salt Lake City after several days of staff meetings.
Huntsman missed Sunday's afternoon session on the Western economy and economic growth. Futurist Joel Kotkin told the three governors at the session that the West must build on its "fundamentally urban" tradition.
"You have this kind of 'Marlboro Man' image, but the West is very urbanized," Kotkin, a New Yorker who lives in Los Angeles, said. He said the region's cities must be nurtured, in part, through encouraging the sacred.
He said that meant "things that tie people spiritually to a place," including, but not limited to, churches. After the session, he told a reporter that Salt Lake City, home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a good example.
