The clock is ticking on Utah's future.
Utahns have until May 8 to tell the Bureau of Land Management how they feel about Private Fuel Storage LLC's request for permission to construct a rail line to transport spent nuclear fuel to the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, or the alternative of building an intermodal transfer facility on BLM lands to ship the spent rods by heavy-haul trucks.
It's no secret how this newspaper's editorial board feels about the issue. Utah shouldn't be the waste disposal site for the rest of the nation. Worse, storing 4,000 casks of spent nuclear fuel above ground near the Utah Test and Training Range and near I-80 is problematic both in terms of safety and national security.
The proposal before the BLM should be a no-go. And Utahns need to tell the agency so.
But we strongly encourage Utahns to take their time to compose thoughtful comments. Regulations require the BLM to answer, among other questions, the following:
Is the project in the public interest?
Is PFS technically and financially capable to successfully pursue the project?
Is the project consistent with existing public land law?
Is the project consistent with BLM's management of public lands?
In our view, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding NO!
While it may be in the interest of out-of-state nuclear power plant operators to establish a "temporary" disposal site in Utah, that pales in comparison to the risks that would be assumed by the state both in the transport of the casks as well as their placement in Utah.
As for PFS's technical expertise and financial capabilities, both are great unknowns. This private storage facility would be the largest ever in the United States, according to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. In the post-9/11 world, the security demands would be intense. As for finances, a number of PFS partners have fallen away, although PFS officials say they believe they can secure other backers. That remains to be seen.
To the issues of whether the project is consistent with public land law or BLM's public lands management principles, again, no. The Skull Valley reservation is in the newly established Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area in Tooele County. This use is incompatible with the wilderness designation. Moreover, the Pony Express Resource Management Plan would bar construction of an intermodal transfer station. The language specifically states, "Public land will not be made available for inappropriate uses such as storage or use of hazardous materials. . . "
This is how we see it. And we strongly urge Utahns who do not believe their state should be viewed as a dumping ground, and who further believe this is a risk Utah is not willing to assume, to make their voice heard.
Make your voice heard: Contact the BLM
Write to:
Pam Schuller
Bureau of Land Management
2370 S. 2300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Fax: (801) 977-4397
E-mail: pam_schuller@blm.gov