In this Issue:
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Sponsored by the
Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
A waste amendment bill, SB 155, was sent to Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. on Feb. 15 with veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate. The Governor had until midnight on Feb. 27 to make a decision. In the end, Huntsman decided to allow the bill to go into law without his signature.
“I do so in part because of the need to recognize the ‘grandfather’ status of an existing facility," Huntman said. "The bill, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/sbillenr/sb0155.htm is simply a technical clarification of current practice. It is not the legislation that concerns me, but the nuclear waste industry and its impact on Utah.”
Huntsman made it clear he continues to oppose expansion beyond a company’s current boundary and plans to notify the Northwest Interstate Low-Level Waste Compact to limit the volume of waste that can be disposed at EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive waste facility in Clive, Utah, to the currently approved volume.
He went on to say: “I will exercise my statutory powers to supervise the conduct of the Department of Environmental Quality officers responsible for licensing the EnergySolutions facility, to include requesting the Utah Radiation Control Board to make special reports to me concerning the quantities and types of wastes received at the facility.”
DEQ-Supported Legislation
Utah lawmakers passed two important pieces of legislation sought by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to provide more flexibility in administering environmental laws.
HB 99, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Painter (R-Nephi) and Sen. Margaret Dayton (R-Orem), makes amendments to the Water Loan Program that would give the Water Quality and Drinking Water boards more flexibility in using the funding, either with loans or grants, to protect Utah waters. The bill, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillamd/hb0099.htm, for instance, would allow funding to be used to study a water issue, thereby reducing the cost or improving the quality of water treatment.
HB 221, sponsored by Rep. Ronda Menlove (R-Garland) and Sen. Greg Bell (R-Fruit Heights) makes a technical change to cover environmental statutes that were otherwise not covered under existing law. The bill, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillint/hb0221.htm, adds the Hazardous Substances Mitigation Act, Used Oil Management Act and the Waste Tire Recycling Act to the provision giving DEQ the ability to preserve their right to legal remedies in the courts while attempting to resolve the environmental problem.
Bills of Interest Await Gov’s Consideration
The Governor has until March 20 to sign or veto bills lawmakers passed this session, including the following:
HB 20 designates the first full week of May to be commemorated yearly as “State Water Week.” The bill, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillint/hb0020.htm, by chief sponsor Rep. Ralph Becker (D-Salt Lake), recognizes the importance of water conservation, quality, and supply in the state. Gov. Huntsman signed the bill into law on Feb. 27.
HCR 01, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillint/hcr001.htm, is a concurrent resolution that would create the Utah Lake Commission, setting up an inter-local cooperative agreement between DEQ, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Central Utah Water Conservancy District and local governments within Utah County to implement a comprehensive management plan for Utah Lake and its shoreline. Provisions of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Clark (R-Provo), would require the state to contribute 35 percent of the Commission’s annual budget, estimated at $300,000. DEQ and DNR would pay the state’s portion.
SCR 05, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/sbillenr/scr005.htm, is a joint resolution opposing Divine Strake. The Governor signed the resolution the day the Department of Defense announced it would scrap its proposal to detonate a 700-ton blast at the Nevada Test Site.
HB 110, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillamd/hb0110.htm, sponsored by Rep. Fred Hunsaker (R-Logan), requires the director of Fleet Services to establish standards and procedures for purchasing energy efficient state vehicles.
HB 243, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillamd/hb0243.htm, amends the state energy policy to include hydroelectric in the list of renewable energy resources. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Roger Barrus (R-Centerville), also adds language supporting energy related educational programs.
HB 351, http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/hbillamd/hb0351.htm, establishes a revolving loan fund to fund energy efficiency projects in buildings in school districts. The bill, sponsored by Barrus, also appropriates $5 million for fiscal year 2007-08 only.
Bills of Interest Languished
Several bills failed to take shape.
For instance, a bill that would have initiated a perpetual care fund for commercial hazardous and radioactive waste facilities like Clean Harbor’s Grassy mountain landfill and EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive landfill never materialized. EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive waste facility has such a fund currently in place. The fund would be used to pay for problems that surface years after the facilities close. The company has said it would support leaving the existing perpetual care fund for their facility as is. The issue will be studied by the Radiation Control and Solid and Hazardous Waste boards.
Sen. Scott McCoy (D-Salt Lake) tried for a second time to pass a bill that would require the recycling of certain types of electronic waste, a measure that failed to muster support.
Rep. Roz McGee’s (D-Salt Lake) bill that would have provided a $1,000 tax credit to buyers of new energy efficient vehicles and provide credits for companies that convert vehicles to clean-energy fuel passed the House but failed in the Senate.
Sen. Fred Fife (D-Salt Lake) introduced a bill that would have increased the waste tire recycling fee from $1 to $1.25 to cover the cost of relocating a waste tire recycling plant. That bill languished in the Senate rules committee.