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SALT LAKE CITY -- EnergySolutions says a landmark agreement made two years ago with the state of Utah no longer applies. Now the company is being accused of going back on its word.
The company's president, Val Christensen, says the deal made with Gov. Jon Huntsman in 2007 is "unnecessary." He tells the Salt Lake Tribune it became that way when the U.S. District Court for Utah ruled the Northwest Compact, and thus Utah, had no jurisdiction over EnergySolutions' facility in the Tooele County town of Clive.
Watchdogs and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, say that kind of rhetoric runs counter to EnergySolutions' commitment.
The 2007 agreement basically stipulated that EnergySolutions would not expand the landfill currently accepting radioactive waste and would actually reduce the amount of waste the state will accept. It reaffirmed the company would not accept Class B & Class C waste. In return, Huntsman agreed not to ask the Northwest Compact to enact a disposal cap at the facility.
EnergySolutions has not announced any plans to expand. But the company told Congress last fall it could satisfy worldwide demand for 120 years if it doubled the Clive site's current size.
The court ruling on the Northwest Compact is being appealed.
