Waste-veto measure squeaks past Senate committee

A Senate committee narrowly approved a bill Monday that would remove the governor's ability to unilaterally veto the siting or expansion of waste disposal facilities in Utah.

Critics of Envirocare, the low-level radioactive waste disposal company based in Tooele County, say the bill is intended to benefit that company.

But Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, sponsor of SB70, insisted that's not the case. Rather, it was prompted by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s announcement last November that he would not approve the Envirocare's doubling in size, he said. That caused Stephenson to consider addressing what he believes is an imbalance in the approval process.

The present law sets up three hoops for a company to jump through before it can site a new waste disposal facility or increase operations: regulatory approval, an OK by the Legislature and the governor's authorization.

In dealing with other legislation, Stephenson said, if the governor vetoes a measure, the Legislature can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in both chambers.

During a session of the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, Stephenson said with the present law, "We (legislators) essentially gave the office of the governor absolute power in the permitting process."

The same requirement does not apply with business licenses or professional licensing, he added. Suppose the Legislature reviewed every cosmetology license "and then the governor had to approve or disapprove it as well."

But Jason Groenewold, director of the anti-nuclear group Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, responded that these decisions aren't like getting a bad facial that can be redone. Radioactive material can affect the state for thousands of years, he said.

Groenewold said Stephenson is president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a group to which Envirocare contributes financially. "It just doesn't look right" that he sponsors a bill that could help Envirocare double its size, he said.

"I don't know of anyone with more integrity than Mr. Stephenson," responded Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi. "This man is not doing this because Envirocare asked him."

Stephenson denounced the "innuendo" linking Envirocare's membership in the taxpayers association to the bill. The company's dues are "less than one-half of 1 percent of our budget," he said.

"I wasn't conscious of that when I sponsored the bill," he said, noting his proposal is "the right thing to do" in restoring the Legislature's prerogatives.

Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, said it's hard to understand why high-level waste is not in the bill, if it's all about legislative prerogatives.

"It seems to me like this (present) process is working," he added.