Governor Leavitt and the State Legislature are vigorously opposing Private Fuel Storage’s bid to construct and operate a high level nuclear waste storage facility at the Skull Valley Indian Reservation in Tooele County. A public scoping meeting for the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) has been scheduled by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for June 2. This meeting is crucial. It is the time for individuals and groups to raise questions, comments and concerns.

As a result of the scoping meeting, NRC will define the EIS scope, identify significant issues to be analyzed in depth, and eliminate issues which are "peripheral" or not significant. The EIS will then influence NRC's decision to either approve or deny Private Fuel Storage's proposal.As a result of the scoping meeting, NRC will define the EIS scope, identify significant issues to be analyzed in depth, and eliminate issues which are "peripheral" or not significant. The EIS will then influence NRC's decision to either approve or deny Private Fuel Storage's proposal.

PREPARE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

NRC is looking for facts it should consider in the EIS process. (We have been informed that unsupported, emotional arguments will be ruled out of order.) Whether or not you have a technical background in the issues under consideration, your concerns are important. Please attend the scoping and help raise the issues you view as critical. Participants will be allow between three and five minutes to make a statement. Written comments will also be accepted at the meeting and through June 19.

This fact sheet has been prepared to help give you a general overview of some of the related issues which have been raised as part of the State's ongoing opposition. A complete text of Utah's contentions to the NRC on the license application is available our homepage at http://www.deq.state.ut.us. Documents related to the proposal are available for public review at the Marriott Library on the University of Utah Campus or the Department of Environmental Quality.

WHAT'S ALREADY IN THE BACKYARD

Initially, "not in my backyard," might seem like an emotional argument. But, consider what is already in this backyard. Skull Valley is surrounded by industrial and military facilities incompatible with the proposed facility, which create a potential source of incidents and catastrophic accidents. Military and hazardous waste shipments are routinely shipped in and out of these facilities. The threat is not only to the proposed site but to the Transfer Station proposed for Rowley Junction and the transportation corridors along Skull Valley Road, I-80 and the Union Pacific Rail line.

• Tekoi Rocket Engine Test Facility, just 2.5 miles from the proposed facility, is used to static fire rocket motors, conduct hazard testing of explosives, and to store rocket motors for aging tests.
  
• Dugway Proving Ground, approximately eight miles southwest of the proposed facility, is used for combat training using live munitions and testing of conventional weapons.
  
• The Utah Test and Training Range, 18.3 miles from the proposed site, is used by the U. S. Air Force as a training range for air-to-air and air-to-ground live munitions training and propagation testing of military ordnance.
  
• The Army's Chemical Weapon's Incinerator (TOCDF) is also in the area. An accident involving spent fuel casks may limit TOCDF evacuation routes. Conversely, an accident at TOCDF may impact operation of the storage facility or of the intermodal transfer site.
  
• Commercial facilities - the Laidlaw APTUS hazardous waste incinerator, the Envirocare low level radioactive and mixed waste landfill, the Laidlaw Clive Hazardous Waste Facility, and Laidlaw's Grassy Mountain hazardous waste landfill - located 25-35 miles northwest of the proposed ISFSI receive thousands of tons of waste yearly. Most of these shipments pass through Rowley Junction.

TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

If approved, an intermodal transfer station at Rowley Junction, about 24 miles north of the proposed site, will likely receive and handle thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel. Up to 200 casks per year are anticipated - more than double the total number of spent nuclear fuel shipments from nuclear utilities and research facilities during the period 1979 to 1996.

Heavy haul trucks could make up to 400 trips per year along 24 miles of the Skull Valley Road, a 15-foot, secondary road. The trips would be made in all weather and traffic conditions. Bottlenecks are likely and there is a potential for accidents.

If heavy haul trucks are used to move the casks from Rowley Junction to the facility, the existing Skull Valley Road will need to be widened. Permission would need to be granted to widen the road.

SAFETY ISSUES

The site and the transfer station would need to be protected from intruders. There should also be an emergency plan to protect workers and the public in the event of an accident. Dose analyses should also be performed to ensure that nearby members of the public are not exposed to unacceptable doses of radiation from spent fuel. Sabotage is also a credible concern. The potential should be examined using both onsite and in transit scenarios.

Emergency response efforts can be affected by flooding, high winds, range fires, ice and snow, and the presence of grazing domestic and wild animals on access roads. Tooele County/City has been identified as the primary off-site support for major emergency support. This should be looked at in the EIS. Also, the need for extra preparedness should be looked at, especially in adverse weather conditions, as a result of off-site support being at least two hours away.

The design of the proposed facility must adequately protect against overheating of storage casks and of the concrete cylinders in which they are to be stored. Temperatures at the Skull Valley site can range as high as 105 oF to 109 oF during the summer months.

The possible impact of an aircraft crash at the site or at the transfer station should be evaluated. Military and commercial aircraft should be evaluated. The Salt Lake City International Airport may direct approximately 15% of its commercial aircraft through Rush Valley. The mid to southern portion of Skull Valley is located within restricted military air space and is used for training or security missions.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Construction, operation and maintenance of the facility will cause degradation of air quality and water resources.

Rainfall in Skull Valley ranges from 7 to 12 inches/year, making fire a serious risk. Fire fighting capability and the availability of water to fight a fire of any consequence should be evaluated.

The area may potentially be seismically active. It must be evaluated to define capable faults. The site chosen by the Applicant is one with complex seismicity, capable faults and potentially unstable soils. The impact of placing 4,000 casks over such a site is not fully assessed.

Most spent fuel will be shipped to Rowley Junction on rail lines paralleling the Great Salt Lake. This is an area that has been impacted by extensive flooding in the recent past due to the rise in elevation of the lake. The elevation of rail tracks in the Rowley Junction area is just three to eight feet higher than the Great Salt Lake's historic high, which occurred in 1986 following several wetter than average years.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Private property adjacent to the proposed site and Skull Valley Road is currently used for ranching and farming. Approximately 4,000 mother cows and calves winter on the private property north of the proposed facility and on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land. In addition, the private property produces a variety of crops, including alfalfa, oats, barley, and wheat. Adverse impacts may include impacts on livestock and plants from releases of radiation, chemical, heavy metal, noise, or visual pollution due to the proposed action.As a result of the scoping meeting, NRC will define the EIS scope, identify significant issues to be analyzed in depth, and eliminate issues which are "peripheral" or not significant. The EIS will then influence NRC's decision to either approve or deny Private Fuel Storage's proposal.

Construction activities will "temporarily disturb resident wildlife species" and have a long term impact to the overall ecological system in Skull Valley. Additional traffic, fugitive dust, any radiation releases, and other pollutants will impact various species. Impact on wetland species, aquatic organisms, plants, fish, and birds will be vastly different and should be examined separately. There will be a visual impact of the facility and the transportation of casks along Skull Valley Road will detract from visitors' enjoyment of recreational areas including Deseret Peak, the Deseret Wilderness Area and the Wasatch National Forest in the Stansbury Mountains. Other areas which would be impacted include:

• Horseshoe Springs Wildlife Management Area is located approximately 9.5 miles south of Timpie Junction (Rowley Junction) and approximately 1100 feet west of Skull Valley Road. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has designated Horseshoe Springs a wetland/riparian area and restricts disturbing activities, including new road construction or new right-of-ways, within 1,200 feet.
  
• Timpie Springs Waterfowl Management Area is adjacent to the proposed intermodal transfer station.
  
• The Great Salt Lake is just north of Timpie Springs Waterfowl Management Area, near the proposed intermodal transfer station. In addition, the Great Salt Lake is only 21.7 miles northeast of the proposed site. The likely eastern transportation routes will closely follow the southern and eastern shorelines of the Great Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake is a unique body of water that has no outlet and is, therefore, a sensitive ecosystem. Seventy-five percent of Utah's vital wetlands are supported by the greater Great Salt Lake Wetland Ecosystem. In addition, the Great Salt Lake is a western hemisphere shorebird reserve.
  
• Salt Mountain Springs is approximately 300 feet west of Skull Valley Road. The speckled dace, a state protected indigenous fish is known to inhabit one of the springs in the area. There are other species which depend on the fragile wetland.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Plan to attend the scoping meeting on June 2. Let the NRC know what you think it should consider as it evaluates the environmental and human impacts of the Private Fuel Storage proposal. If you have questions about the process or would like to discuss the issue further, please give us a call.

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