EnergySolutions to conduct limited discovery in appeal

The Utah Radiation Control Board in its meeting Friday granted EnergySolutions a chance to conduct limited discovery in an appeal of its operating license by Charles Judd, former president of Envirocare, the predecessor of EnergySolutions.

Judd and EnergySolutions' legal counsel Craig Galli sparred over how in-depth that discovery should be. Galli assured the board that he is not going on a fishing expedition by wanting to question Judd's legal standing in challenging EnergySolutions' current license.

Judd, who has a business that leases containers to transport radioactive waste, said he has been trying to get answers for years on questions about EnergySolutions' storage and transportation practices, safety issues at their Clive site and whether the company is paying enough taxes to the state. He said the state has forced him into filing an appeal of EnergySolutions' license in order to get those questions answered.

Stephen Nelson, vice chairman of the board, expressed frustration at not getting answers from the state to questions shared by the board about EnergySolutions. I just wonder out loud if we could have avoided this, he said about what is turning into protracted legal proceedings over EnergySolutions' license in front of the board.