Decision delayed on importing nuclear waste

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday that it will hold off on deciding about EnergySolutions Inc.'s application to import low-level radioactive waste from Italy for disposal in Utah, saying a federal court case in Utah must finish first.

In its order, the commission said it would defer action — including hearings — on the pending application until a federal lawsuit brought by the company is resolved or EnergySolutions "outlines an alternative plan for disposal" of the imported waste.

EnergySolutions has applied for an NRC license to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste from closed nuclear plants in Italy for processing at an EnergySolutions facility in Tennessee. The company would dispose of part of the waste — about 1,600 tons of Class A radioactive waste — in Utah at a state-licensed facility in Clive, Tooele County. Any materials unable to be disposed of there would be exported back to Italy, although EnergySolutions has indicated it doesn't expect that would be necessary.

The eight-state Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management, of which Utah is a member, has ruled that EnergySolutions can accept domestic low-level waste from outside the compact area, but no foreign low-level waste, at the Clive facility.

In May, EnergySolutions filed a federal lawsuit against the compact, seeking a ruling that the compact has no regulatory authority over the Clive facility because it is not a regional disposal facility created by the compact.

"While both EnergySolutions and the state of Utah briefed this issue, the commission will not wade into the legal dispute between EnergySolutions and the Northwest Compact now before the federal district court in Utah," the commission said in its order Monday. "A commission decision on the extent of the Northwest Compact's exclusionary jurisdiction would not be binding on the courts."

"Basically, if the court were to issue a decision or the two sides were to reach a settlement, the next step for the NRC would then be to pick up the request for a hearing and decide, based on the situation at that time, whether they would grant a hearing, and after that, they could direct the staff to do one thing or another regarding the license application," NRC spokesman David McIntyre said Monday.

Jill Sigal, senior vice president of government relations for EnergySolutions, said the NRC's action is "another step in the process" and "a very prudent course of action."