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SALT LAKE CITY-- Today a federal judge heard arguments from all sides of a heated lawsuit that will determine if 1,600 tons of low-level nuclear waste can be stored in Utah.
The judge listened to hours of oral arguments this morning from EnergySolutions, the state of Utah and two western compacts, which oversee low-level nuclear waste. In the end, the judge decided to wait before handing down a decision that will have a huge impact on the state.
Leaving court today, attorneys and company representatives were tight-lipped.
Kristen Mitchell, with the Northwest Interstate Compact, said, "We're going to wait and see exactly what he has."
Mark Walker, spokesman for EnergySolutions, said, "At this time, I don't want to consider what the ruling will be until the judge makes his ruling."
That ruling will be about who has jurisdiction over an EnergySolutions facility in Clive, Utah. The company wants to store 1,600 tons of low-level nuclear waste from Italy there. So far they've been blocked by the Northwest Compact, a partnership between eight states that can say what low-level waste is allowed in their region and where it goes.
Mitchell said, "That was the whole reason the compacts existed in the first place, that Congress was allowing states to choose their destiny and decide how the land in the state should be used."
EnergySolutions declined to speak on camera today but issued a statement saying they believe the compact has no authority over the Clive facility because it's a private commercial operation.
If they are allowed to bring in the waste from Italy, the company is offering to share 50 percent of the revenue to be used to fund schools and charities in the state. They've been running commercials and putting lobbyists on Capitol Hill to push that point.
On the flip side is HEAL Utah, working against Energy Solutions. Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director of HEAL Utah, said, "I think if the judge rules in favor of EnergySolutions, we can expect to see foreign nuclear waste brought into the state against our wishes."
Attorneys for Rocky Mountain Compact were in court today. They're following the case closely and worry what a ruling in favor of EnergySolutions would mean for other compacts.
"It would mean we run the risk of having no facilities in the country accepting low-level waste, and low-level waste is generated everywhere so it would be a problem," Barbara Green with the Rocky Mountain Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact said.
The judge today says his decision will be based on exactly what authority Congress intended to give compacts when they were established. He said he'll issue the ruling as soon as possible but didn't give a timeline.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
