Tag Archives: politics

Green Jenni attended the hearing and has a post on this morning’s hearing on S.B. 70, the Envirocare bill that I posted on earlier today.

This evening HEAL Utah has sent out this letter:
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Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the hearing this morning at the Capitol on such short notice. The vote was close, but Senate Bill 70 passed out of the committee by a vote of 3-2 and will now move on to the Senate for a full vote.

As you know, SB 70 rewrites state law to make it easier for nuclear and hazardous waste dumps to expand or develop in Utah by taking away the need for gubernatorial approval. The bill effectively removes power from the Governor and gives it to Envirocare.

In an effort to remove the public from the process, this bill has been on a fast-track and will most likely be voted on THIS WEEK. We need a lot of help to defeat this legislation in the Senate. If you have any time at all this week, your involvement could stop an effort to make it easier for nuclear and toxic waste to be dumped in Utah. This is truly urgent. Can you help with any of the following?
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HEAL Utah has issued the statement below urging citizens to attend the hearing TODAY on S.B. 70 (Sen. Stephenson), which, if passed, would allow Envirocare to double the size of its radioactive waste dump. The hearing will be heard by the Senate Natural Resources Committee at 9am in room 015 of the West Wing (bottom floor of the new west wing addition to the capitol.
Citizens are also urged to email their representatives (Email addreses are listed towards the end of this post.).

As I posted a few days ago, it has been discovered that Sen. Stephenson is a registered lobbyist for the group Utah Taxpayers Association, which ironically includes amongst Envirocare its members.

Corporate interests continue to be the focus of some legislators, influenced heavily by the corporations themselves, at the expense of our environment and health and well-being of our citizens. Citizens need to send a strong message to our representatives that we are tired of Utah being used as a dumping ground, we are tired of our legislators not representing the desires of their consituents, we are tired of our legislators continually proposing bills that clearly represent conflicts of interest and we are tired of our lives and those of our children’s and beyond being sacrificed for greed and the interests of the elite few.

Message from HEAL:
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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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