- file photo / Maegan Burr- file photo / Maegan Burr" href="C:\Program Files\ABS\Auto Blog Samurai\data\Hazardous Waste Disposal News\Haz Waste Disposal Google\H4GQ_Nuke_Waste_12_9_10.jpg" rel=lightbox[10608586]>slideshow Move keeps proposed competitor to EnergySolutions out — for now
The Tooele County Commission voted Tuesday not to lift a five-year-old ban on the creation of new hazardous waste storage zones.
The removal of the ban was considered at the request of Charles Judd, president of Cedar Mountain Environmental, a Salt Lake City-based transportation and waste management company. Judd wants to open a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility that would compete with EnergySolutions. He plans to build the facility on 320 acres of school trust land about 4 miles north of EnergySolutions’ Clive site.
“I had just come on the commission in 2005 when we passed an ordinance to shrink the hazardous waste zones and to not allow any additional new hazardous waste zones to be created,” said Colleen Johnson, chairwoman of the county commission, during the discussion of Judd’s proposal. “It was the overwhelming public opinion at the time that they did not want any new — or expansion of — hazardous and radioactive waste facilities in the county. I don’t see that much has changed since that time.”
Judd countered by saying his proposal has several elements that make it attractive to the county. He proposes to pay fees based upon the volume of waste received by the facility instead of a percentage of revenue, as is the current agreement with EnergySolutions. He also would give 50 cents per cubic foot of waste received directly to the Tooele County School District.
“Under my proposal, the county would receive $10 million a year for 30 years,” Judd told commissioners. “All I want you to do is seriously look at my proposal and what I am offering to the county and schools.”
The state School Land Trust program would also receive a payment per cubic foot of waste.
“The payments from Judd’s proposal would go directly into the pool of money distributed statewide for community councils to spend on their local schools,” said Margaret Bird, an administrator with the School Children’s Trust, the beneficiary of the School Land Trust program.
Judd also touted job creation as a benefit of the proposal.
“I would employ 200 to 300 people directly with another 300 related jobs that would be created because I will be contracting with local Tooele County companies,” Judd said.
Steve Bunn, owner of Lake Point-based general contracting firm Broken Arrow, one of those potential contractors favors Judd’s proposal.
“I worked with EnviroCare when it first started. We helped develop the technology they currently use out there,” Bunn said. “I have had conversations with Charles and together we can do things much more efficiently with the knowledge that we gained from doing this before. There also are people out there in the waste industry that are unhappy with EnergySolutions and would like a competitor to do business with.”
Judd added that opening his new facility will not bring any more waste to Tooele County.
“About 98 percent of the commercial low-level waste produced in this country comes to Clive right now,” Judd said. “There isn’t that much additional waste that I can bring to the county, but I will compete directly with EnergySolutions for waste.”
The capacity of the EnergySolutions site at Clive has been a source of disagreement. Judd said he can show they have only a five-year capacity remaining, while EnergySolutions officials have testified they have 25 to 30 years capacity remaining.
While the county commission voted unanimously to not lift the hazardous waste zone ban, the door was left open for Judd to return at a future time and make the request again.
“I am not necessarily opposed to the idea,” said Commissioner Jerry Hurst. “I would like to see you go a little further with your planning without us taking this action right now. You have a lot of steps to take yet, you need a state license as well as the approval of the governor and the legislature. Let’s see how far you can get in the process first.”
Judd said he has submitted an application for site review with the state Division of Radiation Control and that could possibly go forward without the ordinance change.
Judd is no stranger to rejection. Having served as the president of EnviroCare, the precursor to EnergySolutions, from 1988 to 2002, he has been trying to get back into the radioactive waste business since he left EnviroCare. In 2003, he was turned down for a conditional use permit to build a radioactive waste site on property he owned adjacent to EnergySolutions. The county claimed Judd had not proved the need for an additional radioactive waste site. He sold the property to EnergySolutions, which then received permission from the county to store radioactive waste on the site.
In 2005 Judd sued the county for denying his permit and the 3rd District Court dismissed the case because he no longer owned the property. He appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, which overruled the district court and ordered a trial held. Judd lost the district court trial and was in the process of appealing that loss to the state Supreme Court in 2009. Judd dropped the appeal in Feb. 2010.
“I decided to try and work out an agreement with the county outside of the court system,” Judd said. “It is difficult to believe they won’t even look at a plan that will create hundreds of jobs and give them millions more in mitigation fees than they are receiving now.” Judd said he doesn’t believe commissioners are trying to deliberately give EnergySolutions a monopoly.
“The current ordinance does favor EnergySolutions,” Judd said. “ But I think the commissioners have just worked with one company for so long they are having trouble understanding how it would work with two companies.”
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