Oct 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Thomas Burr and Judy Fahys The
Salt Lake Tribune
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today said it's postponing any decision
now on whether EnergySolutions can import low-level radioactive waste from
Italy and dispose some of it in Tooele County.
The NRC said it would hold the license request by the Salt Lake City-based
EnergySolutions "in abeyance" until a federal judge rules whether a regional
nuclear waste organization, the Northwest Compact, has the legal authority
to block the disposal.
Jill Sigal, EnergySolution's senior vice president for government relations,
said the company was not expecting a ruling.
"We are not surprised by the commission's action today and we respect their
decision," Sigal said. "We maintain our view that our license application
meets the requirements for the NRC to grant the license."
The company has filed a federal suit seeking a declarative judgment on
whether the Northwest Compact has the power to block the waste from being
buried in EnergySolution's mile-square landfill for radioactive waste in
Tooele County.
Utah, a member of the Northwest Compact, and the regional group say that
foreign waste is not permitted under a contract it has had with
EnergySolutions since 1991. EnergySolutions maintains the Northwest Compact
cannot hold back shipments.
EnergySolutions applied a year ago to import 20,000 tons of low-level waste
from Italy, process most of it in Tennessee and then move 1,600 tons to Utah
for disposal.
tburr@sltrib.com, fahys@sltrib.com
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