H.J.R. 23

1

RESOLUTION ON PLACEMENT OF HIGH
2 LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE IN UTAH
3 1997 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Steve Barth
6 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE RECOGNIZING THE DANGEROUS
7 NATURE OF HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE; URGING THAT IF ANY NUCLEAR
8 WASTE IS TO BE STORED OR PLACED IN UTAH, THAT IT BE ONLY TEMPORARILY,
9 AND ONLY AT A LOCATION PREPARED TO HANDLE HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR
10 WASTE.
11 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
12 WHEREAS certain interests have been negotiating for the placement of a high level
13 nuclear waste storage facility in the State of Utah;
14 WHEREAS neither the Governor nor the Legislature has expressed any support for these
15 negotiations;
16 WHEREAS the State of Utah has not sought, and does not seek storage of high level
17 nuclear waste within the state;
18 WHEREAS any exposure to high level nuclear waste poses extreme hazards to health and
19 the environment;
20 WHEREAS locating any high level nuclear waste in this state would pose a risk of
21 exposure for the people and the environment of the state;
22 WHEREAS the half-life of high level nuclear waste is such that it remains a serious health
23 and environmental hazard into the unforeseeable future;
24 WHEREAS current state statutes require that no high level nuclear waste may be stored
25 in the State of Utah without the approval of both the Governor and the Legislature;
26 WHEREAS current state statutes also require that any facility proposing to store high level
27 nuclear waste in the state must also first receive approval from the Department of Environmental

1 Quality;
2 WHEREAS the Legislature believes that if such dangerous material as high level nuclear
3 waste were to be placed within the state, that it should be located at a site on land under the
4 jurisdiction of the state, and at a site prepared both environmentally and industrially to responsibly
5 manage this radioactive waste and thus protect the citizens and environment of the state; and
6 WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that it is in the best interests of the state that if any
7 high level nuclear waste is stored or placed in this state, that terms of the agreement should require
8 that the high level nuclear waste be stored within the State of Utah only for a clearly stated and
9 predetermined temporary period of time:
10 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges any parties
11 considering placement of high level nuclear waste in Utah to recognize the stated preference of the
12 Legislature that any storage or placement of high level nuclear waste within the state be placed
13 within the Tooele County Hazardous Industries Zone as it is currently configured, which is an area
14 currently dedicated to the safe management of waste that poses a hazard to the public.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges any parties contracting
16 for the storage of high level nuclear waste within this state to recognize the stated preference of
17 the Legislature that any storage of this radioactive waste within the state be for a clearly
18 predetermined temporary period of time, and in a monitored retrievable storage facility sited and
19 constructed in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local standards.
20 BE IT THEREFORE FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to the
21 Governor of the State of Utah, the Congressional Delegation of the State of Utah, the federal
22 Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Commissioners of the County of Tooele.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-28-97 11:17 AM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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