[NukeNet] Utah Nuke Waste Dump Site Not History

[Bill Smirnow]

  From below in this post:

 >THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
>However, this decision does not prohibit further
action by PFS.  It could decide to amend the EIS,
and >resubmit.  There may also be appeal options.

>Further, this decision does not preclude further
action by pro-nuclear Goshutes Leon Bear, Mary
Allen, >and other supporters of the PFS plan as
offering a venue for similar types of economic
development.

>With the current upheaval in tribal government,
(see articles posted at >
http://www.shundahai.org/skull_valley_info.htm )
the Skull Valley Goshute Band could be an even
more >inviting target for unscrupulous developers,
lobbyists, and lawyers looking to cash-in on
potentially >dangerous nuclear projects.  It may,
in fact, open up the possibility of Skull Valley
being selected as one >of the proposed pilot
nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, and of
getting federal funding to do so.

>We'll have to continue to watch this possibility
closely.  Reprocessing of nuclear fuel is
potentially much >worse than storage.

>Another potential threat to watch closely is that
a federal bill now moving through congress, which
>specifically excludes Utah as a regional interim
storage facility has not passed both houses of the
US >legislature.  There could be changes to
proposed legislation in committee, and this
Interior department >decision could influence
those changes.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <shundahai at shundahai.org>
To: <shundahaialert at lists.riseup.net>
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 7:45 PM
Subject: [shundahaialert] A victory for us all!
PFS is all but dead.



   Dear friends,

We are delighted to announce an exciting
development in the long struggle to stop the
Private Fuel Storage (PFS) high-level nuclear
waste project proposed for the Skull Valley
Goshute Reservation in Utah.

After a 9-year fight, the U.S. Interior Department
on Thursday rejected the lease for the nuclear
facility. This came in the form of a "one-two
punch" that may have finally put an end to a plan
to store 40,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste
on this unique reservation- about an hour's drive
from Salt Lake City, Utah.

At the outset, we want to sincerely thank everyone
who has participated in this struggle with us.
Countless Native and non-Native individuals and
organizations have assisted with everything from
contacting legislators, to participating in
licensing and technical hearings, to sponsoring
and hosting Goshutes and Shundahai Network
personnel at related educational events around the
country, to supporting and attending events on the
Reservation in support of Goshutes who have been
fighting endlessly to stop this nuclear dump.

This is a victory for all of us!

SUMMARY:
On Thursday, September 7th, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) each delivered a Record of Decision, opting
to take "no action" on the plan to store 40,000
tons of high-level nuclear waste on the Skull
Valley Goshute Reservation in Utah.  There is a
link on our main web page,
(http://www.shundahai.org/index.html ) that allows
you to read the entire document.

The BIA Record Of Decision focused on the
irregularity of their preliminary approval of the
PFS lease in 1997, noting that the BIA regional
office that originally agreed to a conditional
lease for the PFS dump did not have the purview to
make the approval.  It cites bureau policy at the
time that specifically disallowed such approvals.
It also notes the unenforceability of the lease
because if there are violations, how can you evict
such an expensive and dangerous tenant?  It also
discussed security issues such as difficulties
with law enforcement, including lack of
jurisdiction of Tooele County and the long
distance from other BIA police services.

The BLM Record Of Decision focused on the fact
that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) made
no mention of the possible impacts of removing the
tens of thousands of tons of used nuclear fuel
from "temporary" storage in Skull Valley in
northern Utah, to permanent storage at Yucca
Mountain in southern Nevada. Specific concerns
included possible impacts on the state road
through Skull Valley and on its other uses. It
also notes the essential violation of the Pony
Express Resource Management Plan (RMP), where
waste could sit at the proposed Inter-modal
Transfer Facility for a period of time, thereby
constituting unauthorized nuclear storage-
expressly forbidden under the RMP.

Both decisions mentioned the recent San Luis
Obispo court decision regarding nuclear storage at
a site in southern California. This decision
required that the threat of terrorism must be
weighed in the EIS, which it wasn't. This impacted
the validity of the EIS, and thus the decision to
store waste in Skull Valley.  Both decisions cited
misgivings about the loss of nuclear storage as an
economic development opportunity for the Goshute
Band, but noted that the land is eligible for
other uses.

Both the BIA and BLM decisions used formulaic
language in assessing four options that allowed
for variations in the siting of a high-level
nuclear storage facility, including transportation
methods, and considered an alternate site in
Wyoming.  Ultimately the Interior Department chose
option 4, the "no action" option, which rejects
all other options.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
However, this decision does not prohibit further
action by PFS.  It could decide to amend the EIS,
and resubmit.  There may also be appeal options.

Further, this decision does not preclude further
action by pro-nuclear Goshutes Leon Bear, Mary
Allen, and other supporters of the PFS plan as
offering a venue for similar types of economic
development.

With the current upheaval in tribal government,
(see articles posted at
http://www.shundahai.org/skull_valley_info.htm )
the Skull Valley Goshute Band could be an even
more inviting target for unscrupulous developers,
lobbyists, and lawyers looking to cash-in on
potentially dangerous nuclear projects.  It may,
in fact, open up the possibility of Skull Valley
being selected as one of the proposed pilot
nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, and of
getting federal funding to do so.

We'll have to continue to watch this possibility
closely.  Reprocessing of nuclear fuel is
potentially much worse than storage.

Another potential threat to watch closely is that
a federal bill now moving through congress, which
specifically excludes Utah as a regional interim
storage facility has not passed both houses of the
US legislature.  There could be changes to
proposed legislation in committee, and this
Interior department decision could influence those
changes.

THIS IS A VICTORY FOR ALL OF US!
We thank those of you who submitted comments to
the BLM urging them to reject the request
submitted by PFS for the required 30+ mile
right-of-way, which would have shipped 40,000 tons
of used nuclear fuel south from the Union Pacific
trans-continental rail-line to the Goshute
Reservation.

We also sincerely appreciate all the support
Shundahai Network has received throughout this
process. It has been a long and difficult road,
and Thursday's decision is a victory for all of
us!

We will continue to keep you posted with further
developments, and ask that you continue to keep
the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes in your thoughts
and prayers.

Sincerely,

The Board and Staff of Shundahai Network
Shundahai Network
www.shundahai.org
P.O. Box 1115
Salt Lake City, UT 84110
Phone- 801.533.0128
Fax- 801.533.0129
shundahai at shundahai.org

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Shundahai is a Newe (Western Shoshone) word
meaning "Peace and Harmony with all Creation"