February 17, 2006

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Guv Vows a Veto to Retain Say Over Waste
SB70 passes: The bill would let lawmakers OK facilities he opposes
By Judy Fahys
Salt Lake Tribune
February 16, 2006

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he will veto a bill - passed by the Legislature on Wednesday - weakening his role in approving new and expanded waste sites, including nuclear facilities.
   

"He feels the siting of waste facilities is a multi-generational decision," said spokesman Mike Mower. "It's an issue that involves the health and safety of all Utahns, as well as one that impacts the image of the state."
   

SB70 passed the House, 47-27, or three votes shy of the number needed to override a veto. So, Huntsman's declaration, plus the Legislature's tight vote, sets the stage in the session's final two weeks for pitched battle. The bill already has passed the Senate with a veto-proof 22-6 vote.
   

While most lawmakers call SB70 an opportunity to right the balance-of-power, many of their constituents see it simply as a vehicle to bring more radioactive and hazardous waste into the state.
   

Off Capitol Hill, opposition has steadily grown against the bill. The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL) has rallied citizen opposition. The League of Women Voters has urged members to express their objections to lawmakers.
   

They were joined this week by the Alliance for Unity, a high-profile coalition of religious, civic and business leaders. The Alliance stopped short of opposing SB70, but made it clear that the rigorous approval process now in place should stay in place.
   

"They don't want Utah to serve as a dumping ground for the rest of the nation," said Alexander Morrison, a retired leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Alliance's executive director. "Not only are we on the side of the angels, but on the side of the majority of Utahns."
   

SB70 changes the process for approving commercial waste sites - including garbage, hazardous and radioactive disposal - which now requires approval by local officials, the state Division of Radiation Control, the Legislature and the governor. The bill would eliminate the need for consensus and give lawmakers the opportunity to override the governor if he vetoes a site.
   

Only garbage sites have been approved since lawmakers established the process in 1990. And the original measure's goal back then, to close the gates to new hazardous facilities in Utah, has been accomplished - four sites were grandfathered and no new ones have been approved since the process was put into place.
   

SB70 sponsor Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said he got the idea for the bill when he heard Huntsman announce in November that he would not approve plans by Envirocare of Utah to double the size of its square-mile hazardous and radioactive waste site in Tooele County. (Since the bill was first introduced, it has been amended so it wouldn't apply to the pending expansion, now under the company name EnergySolutions.)
   

Stephenson said the Legislature should have the right to override a veto, as they have with most statutes. He called it the "restoration of our constitutional authority."
   

But former governors have opposed the bill, noting that the Legislature has no say in other licensing decisions.
   

One proposed change would have given lawmakers an override vote over high-level nuclear sites, too.
   

"If we were to leave that out," said Rep. David Hogue, R-Riverton, "we'd only be doing half our job."
   

SB70 supporters balked at altering the bill. If there had been a change, lawmakers might not have had time to override an expected governor's veto before the legislative session's March 1 end.
   

Stephenson said he hoped Huntsman would act on SB70 soon, so lawmakers can respond. If Huntsman takes all 10 days allowed to veto the bill, lawmakers would be faced with taking the override vote on the session's final two days - by far the busiest of the session.
   

"The votes could shift in either direction," said Stephenson, referring to the bill's veto-proof majority in the Senate and veto-vulnerable tally in the House. "I have done everything I can" to lobby for it.
   

The governor's spokesman indicated Huntsman will press his case.
   

"We will continue to work closely with legislators and the public to voice our very real concerns with this legislation."
   

fahys@sltrib.com