Tag Archives: envirocare

Envirocare and Stephenson: Conflict of Interest????

Posted on January 21, 2006 | Leave a comment

I thought something was fishy.

Sen. Howard Stephenson (R-Draper), who introduced the bill (S.B. 70) that would change state law to make it easier for Envirocare to double the size of its radioactive waste dump, is under fire by a lawyers group that has called for an ethics investigation on Stephenson.

The group, Trial-lawyers Representing Utah’s Environment (TRUE), would need 3 state senators to write letters requesting the inquiry before the Senate Ethics Committee could initiate an investigation.

According to the Salt Lake Tribuen article, Stephenson is president and registered lobbyist of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a group of which Envirocare is a member.
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Envirocare benefits from Legislation–voice your opposition at TODAY’S press conference

Posted on January 19, 2006 | Leave a comment

Envirocare owns a low-level toxic waste dump in Utah’s west desert. They have been trying for awhile to be approved to accept higher levels of waste. The health of Utah’s environment continues to be at risk for declining in quality.

This came in from HEAL Utah:

In the Utah state senate today, Sen. Howard Stephenson (R-Draper) introduced a bill (S.B. 70) that would change state law to make it easier for Envirocare to double the size of its radioactive waste dump. Current law requires a company like Envirocare to get regulatory, legislative, and gubernatorial approval before expanding. S.B. 70 would rewrite the law to allow the legislature to override the Governor’s veto.

This bill is very dangerous. The decision to expand or develop nuclear and toxic waste dumps cannot be undone. Once nuclear and toxic waste is brought into Utah, the effects on our health, environment, and state will last for hundreds to thousands of years. Gov. Huntsman, looking after the interests of all Utahns, has already said “N-O” to Envirocare’s expansion. Envirocare is now using their tremendous influence in the legislature to rewrite the law so they can bypass the governor and entrench Utah as the nation’s nuclear waste dump.
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The world’s Dumping Ground – Utah

Posted on October 28, 2005 | Leave a comment

Foreign Nuclear Waste Arrives in Utah….er, uh, I mean radioactive “ore”.

I reported in early October on the announcement that
Utah will be receiving 500 tons of toxins from Japan

It’s happening. Truckloads of radioactive ore from Japan began arriving this week at International Uranium Corp.’s mill in San Juan County, reports the
Salt Lake Tribune.

The state of Utah has no ban on radioactive material from foreign sources. It also does not have an oversight on the import of such material.

Semantics sometimes means the difference between what is and what isn’t permitted.

Meanwhile, in other “waste” news, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is expected to to determine whether Envirocare is allowed to continue disposing of depleted uranium waste — or even dig up the depleted uranium already there, reports the Deseret News. Envirocare has accepted DU previously and it could become the burial site for many thousands of tons of the material to be generated by a uranium enrichment facility that Louisiana Energy Services is proposing to build in New Mexico.

The NRC will have to determine whether or not the waste is classified as “A” or “C” waste. “A” is more dangerous than “C”.

Of course the NRC claims that whatever decision it makes will be “prudent” and “safe”.

The oxymoron is that no “waste” or the transportation of such is “safe”.

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Envirocare Hearing

Posted on October 19, 2005 | Leave a comment

Jason Groenwald sent an email describing today’s Envirocare Hearing on expanding Envirocare’s waste acceptance amounts. The legislature did table the expansion resolution.

Jason reports that “Governor Huntsman’s top executive at the Department of Environmental Quality, Dianne Nielson, voted to deny HEAL Utah standing in our legal appeal of the Envirocare expansion because she said doubling nuclear waste disposal capacity in Utah is not an issue of significant public importance. For anyone who wondered what kind of influence the Governor’s brother-in-law would have as one of the new financial investors in Envirocare, you now have the answer.”

The fight continues. To get involved, go to HEAL Utah

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