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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah Gov. John Huntsman has directed the state's environmental quality office to hold two public hearings on the proposed non-nuclear explosion planned for the Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas.
The 700-ton "Divine Strake" blast has raised concerns about the possible release of radioactive debris from Cold-War era nuclear tests at the site. The blast will send a 10,000-foot mushroom-shaped dust cloud over the Nevada desert.
Huntsman ordered the Utah hearings Friday, after complaints from public advocacy groups about the inadequacy of public meetings planned by the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
"What the governor has recognized is the public wants a chance to speak about this issue. They don't want to just submit written comments," said Utah Division of Environmental Quality Executive Director Dianne Nielson.
DTRA has meetings planned for Jan. 9 in Las Vegas, Jan. 10 in Salt Lake City and Jan. 11 in St. George, Utah. The meetings are designed to provide information but will only allow for written public comment and will not include a public discussion of issues.
Utah hearings are planned for Salt Lake City and St. George, although dates have not been set.
All public comment taken during the hearings will be transcribed and attached to written comment the governor plans to submit to DTRA and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Huntsman has not yet taken a public position on Divine Strake, Nielson said.
DEQ is conducting a technical review of the most recent environmental assessment from the government, Nielson said. Issued in December, the report acknowledges the existence of radioactive material in soils near the test site, but downplays the likelihood it would become "resuspended" and become a public health concern.
Divine Strake opponents, some known as "downwinders," dispute the statement and said similar promises were made during previous nuclear tests. "Downwinder" is a term used to describe residents from parts of Arizona, Nevada, Utah and other locations who lived downwind of weapons tests and later contracted cancers or other serious diseases.
"That's a difficult hurdle to get over," Nielson said. "It is certainly one that we take seriously, and we think federal agencies need to take seriously."
Vanessa Pierce, director of HEAL Utah, called DTRA's information sessions "propaganda events" and praised the governor for responding to concerns.
"Governor Huntsman has done for Utah what the federal government has failed to do. He's given Utahns a podium and a microphone and a forum to voice our concerns about the test."
Idaho's congressional delegation has also sent a letter to the government requesting hearings.
Divine Strake had been set for June 2006, but was delayed indefinitely after a lawsuit was filed to block it last spring.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
