Huntsman won't OK Envirocare expansion

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday he will not approve the proposed expansion of Envirocare — one of three steps essential for any expansion of the Tooele County nuclear waste disposal facility.

This apparently ends a half-year fight by Envirocare to double the size of its operations near the railroad siding called Clive.

Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News about his opposition during an interview Wednesday. The paper asked about allegations by the anti-nuclear group Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah or HEAL-Utah that Envirocare was seeking to buy access to the governor by hiring as Washington lobbyists two men with close ties to the governor.

Did that place pressure on the governor to approve the company's expansion plans?

"First of all, you have to assume I was going to sign some kind of expansion — which I won't do," Huntsman said.

He campaigned from the first on the position that he did not favor Utah ever being seen as some sort of dumping ground, he said.

"I've taken care of the mill tailings in Moab," the governor added. These are the radioactive wastes that the U.S. Department of Energy said it would move far from its present site near the Colorado River, a decision made after state officials argued strenuously for the move.

"I'm fighting every day, aggressively" to prevent highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods from being stored at the Private Fuel Storage plant proposed for Skull Valley, Tooele County, he said.

As for the Envirocare expansion, he added, "If it were to cross my desk today, I would not sign it."

Utah law requires three steps before Envirocare's plans could be authorized: approval by state regulators, by the Legislature and the governor. The company attempted to have the expansion brought before the Legislature in April's special session, but it did not make it on the list of subjects up for consideration.

Since then, it has been approved by regulators, challenged by HEAL-Utah, and then subjected to an appeal hearing because of HEAL's opposition. Some observers expected the Envirocare expansion to be on the schedule for the next legislative session.

"We're extremely disappointed," said Envirocare senior vice president Tim Barney regarding Huntsman's position.