CITIZENS GROUP READY TO FIGHT NUKE WASTE SITE

Salt Lake Tribune
Saturday, July 22, 2000
by Brent Israelsen

A bipartisan bevy of prominent Utahns is organizing to oppose a plan that would bring much of the nation's high-level nuclear waste to the state's western desert.

They call themselves the "Citizens Against Nuclear Waste in Utah," and they aim to foment public opposition to a spent nuclear fuel storage facility proposed for the Goshute Indian Reservation in Skull Valley, 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Gov. Mike Leavitt has fought the idea but recently conceded the state might not be able to stop it.

"We want to invite citizens of Utah to join us to stop radioactive waste from being stored on the Goshute Reservation," said Jim McConkie, a Salt Lake City attorney leading the effort. It has the support of former Gov. Norm Bangerter, a Republican, former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson, a Democrat, and others.

The invitation comes none too soon. The proposal to store up to 40,000 metric tons of nuclear waste on the reservation is the subject of a draft environmental impact statement recently released by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will hold two public hearings next week in Salt Lake City and Grantsville.

McConkie, the Democratic candidate for the state Senate seat being vacated by Scott Howell, D-Sandy, said the citizens group will educate the public about the dangers of the Goshute proposal and raise money to support a lawsuit already filed by opposition members within the tribe.

Another key goal of the group, McConkie said, is to help the Goshutes find a viable economic-development alternative to the waste storage idea.

The Goshutes have a lease agreement with Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a consortium of eight out-of-state electric utility companies looking for a place to dispose of spent-fuel rods from their nuclear power plants.

Leon Bear, chairman of the Goshute tribe, said he has had no discussions with Citizens Against Nuclear Waste in Utah but would welcome any alternative ideas for business development on his reservation, one of the most economically disadvantaged in the country.

"We're here to make sure our tribe survives. That's the bottom line.

We need an economic base to provide our tribal members with jobs and provide income so they can live," Bear said.

But few economic development ideas are likely to be as lucrative as the deal with PFS, which would pay the Goshutes tens of millions of dollars over the next 20 years. Exact financial terms of the deal have not been made public.

Bear, however, said the tribe could walk away from the PFS lease agreement.

"Nothing is written in stone nowadays, just like the [Indian] treaties with the U.S. government," Bear said.

McConkie's group plans to formally announce its formation on Tuesday at the state Capitol Rotunda. It will hold public meetings Wednesday in the Salt Lake City Council Chambers and Thursday at Westminster College. Also on Thursday, the group plans to march from the Salt Lake City-County Building to Little America Hotel for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's public hearing.

Besides Bangerter and Wilson, joining McConkie in organizing the citizens group are former U.S. Rep. Wayne Owens; former U.S. Attorney Brent Ward; former U.S. Sens. Jake Garn and Frank Moss; Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan; Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini; Murray Mayor Dan Snarr; former Utah Sen. Dave Jones; Utah Sen. Paula Julander; Utah Rep. Ralph Becker; Rabbi Frederick Wenger; Kathleen McConkie-Collinwood, Democratic candidate for Utah's 1st Congressional District; Salt Lake City attorneys Bradley Parker and Robert Bradley; retired Unisys executive Rocky Navarro; actress Anne Sward Hansen; and American Indians Henry Clayton and Alberta Mason.

"We're willing to lend our name to a good cause and help out," McConkie said. "This will give voice to the broad majority that is opposed to it. I haven't talked to anyone who wants radioactive waste that takes 10,000 years to [decompose] to be sitting 45 miles from Salt Lake City.

Although the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Friday issued a media advisory of the citizens group's activities, McConkie said, the group is not affiliated or financially supported by the state.

The state, however, is glad to have the help, said DEQ Director Dianne Nielson. DEQ and Leavitt's office have lost several key battles this year in their quest to stop the PFS-Goshute proposal.