January 23, 2006

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Legislators Would be Able to Overturn a Veto on Envirocare
Legistature 2006: Bill would weaken guv's power to block N-waste
By Judy Fahys
Salt Lake Tribune
January 19, 2006

A showdown is shaping up between lawmakers and the governor over radioactive waste in Utah's west desert.
   

A bill that emerged Wednesday would make it possible for Envirocare of Utah to double in size over the objections of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
   

SB70, sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson, would allow lawmakers to override Huntsman's veto with a two-thirds vote. Under a 16-year-old law, no expansion can me made without explicit approval of the governor.
   

Huntsman, predictably, opposes the measure.
   

"The governor needs a strong hand when it comes to looking out for the safety of all Utahns," said spokesman Mike Mower.
   

But Stephenson, a Draper Republican, insists his bill is not "a reaction to anything." Describing current law as giving the executive branch "super authority," he said the bill would "address an imbalance in political power."
   

"It's just a balance of power issue to me," he said.
   

Outside his role as part-time lawmaker, Stephenson is president and registered lobbyist of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit business group of which Envirocare is a member.
   

Meanwhile, House Speaker Greg Curtis and Sen. Curt Bramble are among Capitol leaders who recently expressed doubts about the Legislature's ability to shrink Huntsman's authority over Envirocare expansion.
   

In November, Huntsman shocked company officials and some legislators by saying he would oppose the company's request to increase from 543 acres to 1,079 at its landfill site, about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.
   

Tim Barney, Envirocare's senior vice president, said his company has not decided whether to push forward with its expansion plans, given the governor's opposition.
   

"We are not lobbying for the bill," said Barney. "We're neutral on it. We certainly didn't ask him to run it."
   

While Envirocare may not have a position now, the company was deeply involved in the legislative discussions that set up the hazardous-waste approval law in 1990. At that time, several waste companies were elbowing one another for the opportunity to join Envirocare in the waste business.
   

Then-Gov. Norm Bangerter and the late Sen. Steve Rees grandfathered Envirocare and two other facilities that already had received licenses, then required all future applicants to receive approval from political leaders in addition to regulators. The governor and Legislature have never before been asked to approve a new or expanded facility under the law.
   

Envirocare's supporters in the Legislature already had legislation prepared in the fall to give final approval for the expansion. But Huntsman came out in opposition to Envirocare's plan.
   

Jason Groenewold, executive director of the advocacy group Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, HEAL, said lawmakers would be taking a dramatic and dangerous step in passing SB70. Unlike a tax bill, it could not be reversed if it does not work out the next year.
   

"This is a decision that Utah will live with not just for centuries, but for thousands of years to come," he said.
   

"This is about the Legislature taking power from the governor and giving it to Envirocare and anyone else who wants to dump nuclear or toxic waste in Utah."
   

fahys@sltrib.com

  
T ribune reporter Glen Warchol contributed to this report.