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July 27, 2010

Utah Congressional Delegation Blasts Judge’s Decision on ‘Nuke’ Waste Storage on Goshute Reservation

WASHINGTON, DC – Members of Utah’s congressional delegation today blasted a federal judge’s ruling to overturn the Interior Department’s decision not to allow the storage of nuclear waste on the Goshute Indian Reservation.

Late Monday, U.S. District Judge David Ebel of Denver ordered the Interior Department to re-evaluate its decision to stop Private Fuel Storage (PFS) from storing spent nuclear fuel on the Goshutes’ Skull Valley Reservation in Utah’s west desert.

Utah delegation members are united in opposing the judge’s ruling.

Sen. Orrin Hatch said: “The court decision, as bad as it is, doesn’t change anything on the ground. We have already laid down a gauntlet of obstacles to any company that would think of building this facility, and we will continue to man the barricades and put up new ones at every opportunity. That’s why every member company of PFS but one has already backed away, in writing, from this plan. This legal wrangling is basically a lawyer-employment plan funded by the last holdout member of PFS. The plain simple fact is that we will never allow this facility to be built.”

Sen. Bob Bennett said: “One thing is certain regarding this ruling—the entire Utah delegation will remain united in opposition to ever having high level nuclear waste in Skull Valley. We have spent a great deal of time and energy in successfully blocking this effort and I remain confident in the ability of the delegation to do so again, if necessary.”

Rep. Jim Matheson said: “Utah has said a resounding no to having the most lethal nuclear waste on earth stored in our state. We have fought and won battles against this ill-conceived proposal before and we will do what is necessary to oppose this now.”

Rep. Rob Bishop said: “This was basically a procedural decision - not a decision on the merits of the Goshute site being suitable for high-level waste, and thankfully this one judge’s decision doesn’t automatically clear the way for this project. The court, even in its flawed decision, didn’t get into the matter of whether this was a smart or safe idea because it isn’t. Putting this facility next to a bombing range doesn’t make sense now, and it never will, and one judge can’t change that. I’ve always said this was a long-term fight and as long as the license existed we needed to be vigilant. As we’ve done in the past, with things like the Cedar Mountain Wilderness, we will continue to use every legislative and political tool we have to oppose this ill-advised scheme.”

Rep. Jason Chaffetz said: “We need to do everything we can to make sure this type of nuclear waste never makes it to Utah. This is highly volatile and dangerous material, and I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t end up in our own backyard.”

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