Governor Gary Herbert July 22, 2019

Utah State Capitol

Salt Lake City, UT 84114

Honorable Governor Herbert,

We are writing to make sure that you are aware of troubling recent
developments regarding national nuclear waste policy and actions affecting
our neighbor states, and to ask you to support publicly your fellow western
Governors in asserting state sovereignty against unwanted federal intrusions
that put the safety of Utahns at risk.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) illegally shipped and disposed of mislabeled and unapproved low-level
radioactive waste from Oak Ridge, TN to the Nevada National Security Site
(NNSS), formerly the Nevada Test Site. The DOE is in the process of
determining if these were mixed low-level wastes, which are subject to more
stringent regulations and require treatment prior to disposal.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak responded with outrage, calling this violation
of NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria and numerous other state and federal
laws an “egregious” and “unconscionable” risk to the health and safety of
NNSS employees “and the communities in Nevada and along the
transportation routes of this material to NNSS”.

http://gov.nv.gov/News/Press/2019/Governor_Sisolak_Demands_Answers_from_U_S__Dept__
of_Energy_on_Unapproved_Waste_Shipments_to_the_Nevada_National_Security_Site/

http://gov.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/govnew.nv.gov/Content/News/Press/2019/Letter_%20Secretar
y%20Perry.pdf

These waste shipments follow an admission by DOE that it had quietly

shipped one-half metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium from South
Carolina to the NNSS last year, despite Nevada’s protest. The state
attempted to file suit last November to block the waste, but the shipment
had already been sent.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/01/31/us-secretly-shipped/

Communities along the interstate highways and railroads in Utah were likely
at risk with all of these shipments. Clearly, it is critical that first responders
in Utah be aware in advance of these shipments. Were the appropriate Utah
authorities notified in advance of any or all of these shipments? That is not
clear. We want - and the public deserves - an answer to this important
question.
As you know, most of the nation’s radioactive waste must travel through
Utah to NNSS, and to the Yucca Mountain Project site if it is ever opened.
With the high number of shipments and the many miles that it must be
transported through the entire state, Utah bears the greatest risk of an
accident or event occurring en route of any state in the country.
It is quite possible that we will see the current level of nuclear waste
transported through Utah increase exponentially in the years to come. The
citizens of Utah deserve to be assured that the ground rules are well
understood by all parties and are adhered to.
The risks of hazardous and radioactive waste shipments through our
communities are underscored by the recent rash of train derailments in Utah
and neighboring states Nevada and Idaho. This sudden increase in
derailments has garnered the attention of the U.S. Congress, and has been
attributed to cuts in train safety inspectors by Union Pacific, as asserted by
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and other railroad workers and
retirees. See:
https://kutv.com/news/get-gephardt/train-company-cuts-are-dangerous-
employees-tell-get-gephardt

This is alarming, and should be cause for concern both now and if
radioactive waste policies now being debated at the national level go
forward. Utah is poised to experience a future expansion of rail and truck
traffic, including more hazardous materials shipments, with much of that
increased traffic likely routed through inland ports promoted by the state.
Emergency preparedness and training, compliance and safety inspections,
and notification procedures and interagency coordination must be up to the
task, and the process and planning to achieve this should be as transparent
as possible.
Additionally, these revelations come on the heels of major policy statements
by Governor Sisolak and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
opposing permanent disposal of High Level Radioactive Waste (HLRW) at
Yucca Mountain, Nevada and temporary storage of HLRW in New Mexico.
https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/api/mail/Yucca%20Mountain%20Sisolak%20t
o%20House%20E%26C%20June%207%2C%202019.pdf?action=attachment&folde
r=default0%2Fn+waste&id=1243487&attachment=2&user=2&context=10780209&
decrypt=&sequence=1&delivery=view
https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/api/mail/Yucca%20Mountain%20NM%20gover
nor%20letter%20062019.pdf?action=attachment&folder=default0%2Fn+waste&id
=1243487&attachment=3&user=2&context=10780209&decrypt=&sequence=1&del
ivery=view

Legislation is pending before the U.S. House of Representatives to restart

the process for disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods (SNF) in Yucca Mountain
(H.R. 2699), a version of which passed the House last year, despite clear
scientific evidence that the site is unsuitable for the permanent geologic
entombment of this waste.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently is evaluating whether to issue
a 40-year license for a consolidated interim storage facility for SNF in
southeastern New Mexico. Among the reasons Governor Grisham opposes
the project are concerns that any temporary storage facility could become
an “indefinite storage facility”, the health and safety risks that exist with
transportation, and the need to repackage these wastes over time.
These are precisely the reasons why Utah opposed the proposed Private Fuel
Storage, Inc. interim storage facility on Goshute tribal lands in Tooele
County after a decade-long fight. In spite of this, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission licensed the facility, though the project was abandoned by PFS.
In light of all this, we urge that you stand publicly with the Governors of
Nevada and New Mexico by (1) objecting to the use of Utah roads and rails
to ship mischaracterized radioactive wastes that are not legal to store or
dispose of at facilities in Nevada or elsewhere, and (2) opposing consolidated
interim storage of SNF in Utah and in any State that objects to such a
facility.
We also request that you inform the public whether or not Utah was aware
of or notified by the U.S. DOE of the radioactive waste shipments objected to
by Governor Sisolak, explain what procedures and protocols are in place for
notification of radioactive and hazardous waste shipments to local
governments and first responders, and assess whether those procedures
ought to be thoroughly reviewed in light of these developments.
Thank you for your consideration and response to this request.

Respectfully,
Steve Erickson Scott Williams, Executive Director
Citizens Education Project HEAL Utah
Salt Lake City, UT Salt Lake City, UT
Ashley Soltysiak, Director Jonny Vasic, Executive Director
Utah Sierra Club Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment
Salt Lake City, UT Salt Lake City, UT
Sarah Fields, Program Director Judy Treichel, Executive Director
Uranium Watch Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Monticello, UT Las Vegas, NV
Deeda Seed, Senior Utah Field Campaigner
Center for Biological Diversity
Salt Lake City, UT
Don Hancock
Southwest Research and Information Center
Albuquerque, NM
Heather Dove, President
Great Salt Lake Audubon
Salt Lake City, UT