The Skull Valley Band of Goshutes chairman offered money to tribal members if they would support a proposal to store nuclear waste on the reservation west of Salt Lake City, a dissident member says.
On several occasions during the past few years, Chairman Leon Bear offered tribal members "thousands of dollars" from out-of-state utilities if they would sign documents in support of the proposal, according to a sworn statement by Sammy Blackbear.The statement was filed this month in U.S. District Court as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by a Goshute opposition group led by Blackbear.
Danny Quintana, attorney for Bear and the tribe, called Blackbear's allegations "ridiculous," saying he couldn't make sense of what Blackbear was saying.
Quintana said, "I don't think he has the slightest clue as to what's going on."
The opposition group is attempting to obtain a copy of the tribe's agreement with Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of eight electric utilities that proposes to store radioactive waste on the reservation.
Blackbear also alleges Bear threatened to withhold the annual tribal dividend payments to some members unless they voted to retain him as tribal chairman.
"Leon Bear displayed the checks for such payments in front of the Tribal General Council and said in essence, 'Vote for me or you don't get this money,' " Blackbear stated.
Blackbear is one of more than a dozen Goshutes who oppose the waste-storage plan. They are being assisted in their legal fight with a $50,000 grant from Gov. Mike Leavitt's administration, which is fighting the proposed waste dump.
Utilities and the federal government have been trying for decades to find a permanent, centralized resting place for highly radioactive waste from commercial nuclear-power plants.
The Department of Energy is building a waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but it is not scheduled to be ready until 2010.
In 1997, PFS signed a lease agreement with the Goshute tribe leadership to store the waste temporarily on the Skull Valley reservation, about 50 miles west of Salt Lake City.
When Leavitt's office asked for a copy of the lease from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, numerous portions were blacked out. The state says it wants a copy of the entire lease to see whether there are adequate safety and cleanup provisions.
The BIA said the withheld portions, which include the amount of money PFS will pay the Goshutes, contain proprietary information that is exempt from release under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The state then sued the BIA in federal court to gain a full copy of the lease agreement. Blackbear's group filed a similar lawsuit that also sought to declare the lease void.
Duncan Steadman, an attorney for the opposition group, told U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball this week that his clients suspect the tribe was "ripped off" in the lease agreement and that the BIA did not do its job to protect the tribe.
Steven Roth, attorney for the BIA, said the public's interest to see the entire lease agreement is outweighed by the BIA's responsibility to prevent release of sensitive information that could compromise the tribe's ability to do business.
Kimball has taken the issues under advisement, ordering additional briefings from attorneys on the questions of whether the lease is valid.