EnergySolutions suit is dropped

A deal inked earlier this month between Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and nuclear waste disposal company EnergySolutions has caused the hatchet to be buried in a legal action which was slated to go before the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday.

In a series of last-minute court filings, attorneys for both EnergySolutions and advocacy group Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) agreed to withdraw from a year-and-a-half legal fight. Oral arguments in the case were then stricken from the supreme court's calendar Tuesday morning.

HEAL Utah filed suit against EnergySolutions and the Utah Radiation Control Board after EnergySolutions applied for a permit to expand its nuclear waste storage boundaries and the state granted it.

Earlier this month, Huntsman announced an agreement had been reached with EnergySolutions in which the company would agree to keep its current boundary configuration, even though it had already been granted a permit by the state.

Diane Nielson, executive director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the agreement was a recognition that the governor wanted to reduce the volume of radioactive waste coming into the state.

On Monday, Nielson said EnergySolutions sent a letter to the Utah Division of Radiation Control asking to withdraw the license and go back to its original boundaries. Nielson said the state accepted the letter and granted the request on Monday. "We were pleased that EnergySolutions took this action," Nielson said.

In light of the move, HEAL agreed to drop its suit, but the group remains concerned that the governor's agreement will not survive past his administration. Already, EnergySolutions has asked in a letter to state licensing officials "to preserve the technical and public review that has been completed for this request to date."

Jason Groenewold with HEAL Utah says that is an indication EnergySolutions intends to come back in the future to seek expansion.

"Make no mistake, EnergySolutions will be back. The company has taken its expansion plans off the table for now, but their word is good only so long as Huntsman remains in the Governor's Mansionmansion," Groenewold said.

Greg Hopkins, senior vice president of communications for EnergySolutions, has said it is not unfair to say the company is preserving their right to seek future permit approval.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com