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(KSL News) Radioactive-waste storage company EnergySolutions is going public, with a possible initial offering of up to $500 million in stock.
The company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. It says it plans to be listed under the symbol ES.
EnergySolutions was formed last year, and had a net income of $34 million on revenue of $427 million. Forty-four percent of the company's revenues came from its radioactive-waste dump in Utah's west desert. That operation has been threatened by both Governor Jon Huntsman and public-interest groups.
Huntsman threatened to use his veto power if EnergySolutions tried to double the size of its landfill. So the company dropped the request and Huntsman agreed to rescind his veto.
Still, the executive director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, or HEAL, says the company will never act in the public interest. HEAL Executive Director Vanessa Pierce said, "With EnergySolutions' public offering, an army of anonymous investors will have a financial incentive to force even more radioactive garbage on unwilling communities like ours. It's a dirty business."
In light of the deal between Governor Huntsman and EnergySolutions, HEAL dropped its lawsuit against the company.
HEAL filed suit after EnergySolutions was granted permission by the state to expand its landfill boundaries. But in light of an agreement between EnergySolutions and Governor Huntsman, the group dropped its suit.
HEAL is still concerned that the Governor's deal won't survive past his administration. EnergySolutions has asked state licensing officials to preserve its right to seek approval for future expansion.
