Another hot-waste site sought, might compete with Envirocare

Once his employee and now his rival, Charles Judd is taking a war over the radioactive waste market and putting it right at Khosrow Semnani's doorstep.

Judd, who was once president of Semnani's Envirocare, filed application with the state Division of Radiation Control to site a second radioactive waste repository in the desert west of Tooele.

In fact, it would be located within a mile of Envirocare, which is owned by Semnani and is the only private commercial dump for radioactive waste in the country.

Judd left Envirocare in January 2002 and filed suit against the company and Semnani for interfering in his attempts to start a different waste business in Grand County.

By January of this year, the "non-compete" agreement Judd had with Semnani had expired. Within a few short weeks, Judd was in state offices, application in hand.

"There's plenty of waste available," he said Friday.

Envirocare did not return phone calls late Friday, but Judd's proposal is already drawing heat even in its infancy.

Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Tooele, respectfully says, "no thanks."

"As much as I respect his business acumen, this is not the right time in trying to expand our role in handling waste," the senator said. "Tooele County has done more than its fair share."

Judd already is dangling carrots in front of legislators anxious to protect emaciated budgets.

Judd's proposal to locate a second facility for radioactive waste is accompanied by the notion Utah should implement a higher fee schedule assessed by the state on what gets dumped here.

He said his business would be prepared to pay fees of anywhere between $10 million and $15 million a year — money the state could spend how it sees fit.

"This would set up a fair and reasonable tax. That is one of the reasons we need a second facility — the state should be getting some fees out of it," Judd said.

In addition, Judd said he's not planning on taking the nastier "hot" stuff dubbed B and C waste that Envirocare is angling to get. He wants to keep it at the lowest levels of contamination possible.

That makes lawmakers like Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, feel more assured about the proposal because Holdaway wants a ban on B and C waste altogether in Utah.

He and Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake City, are running legislation this session to invoke the ban.