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Issue Alert: Nuclear Waste Storage
(One of our goals at Utah Policy Daily is to provide early warning of issues that are likely to mushroom [no pun intended] into big deals. Nuclear waste storage is clearly such an issue.)
If Utah gets most of the nation’s high-level nuclear waste, which appears more and more likely, Democrats are going to have a mighty big club with which to beat the Republican congressional delegation in the 2006 election. This could become an enormous political issue just in time for Sen. Orrin Hatch’s re-election campaign.
Even though an argument can be made that spent nuclear fuel rods can be transported and stored safely, no one can deny that this is the world’s nastiest, most dangerous waste. It remains deadly for tens of thousands of years.
It sounds almost ludicrous, even comical, that the safety and suitability of deep underground storage at Yucca Mountain, a much-delayed project that will cost close to $100 billion (yes, with a b), continues to be in serious question, and yet the proposal to stick the stuff on a concrete slab in the open air 40 miles upwind of Salt Lake City is on a fast track.
And yet, that’s what’s happening. If Utah gets the waste, citizens will be asking Sens. Hatch and Bob Bennett, along with the rest of the delegation: What happened to all that supposed clout and power you have in Washington? How could this happen? The Republican strategy of going along with the Bush Administration’s Yucca Mountain plan will look naïve. It will appear that the Utah Republicans abandoned fellow westerner Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, and he badly outmaneuvered them.
If Utah gets the waste, another question will also be asked: Do we get anything out of this? Why doesn’t the state get anything in return for solving (albeit reluctantly) the nation’s nuclear waste storage problem? This solution is worth literally hundreds of billions of dollars to the nuclear power industry and the federal government. To get the waste and nothing in return is the ultimate slap in the face. Had we known we were going to get it anyway, we could have found a spot in the remotest (but viable) corner in Utah and said, OK, we’ll take your waste. But we want $10 billion to go into our school trust fund.
Already, Republicans are beginning to break ranks on this issue. Rep. Steve Urquhart, who has studied hazardous waste issues as a legislator, questions Sen. Hatch’s nuclear waste strategy in a Thursday post on his web log www.steveu.com. He says Hatch shouldn’t have gone along with the Administration’s Yucca Mountain plan and instead should have joined Sen. Reid in opposing remote storage, arguing instead the waste should be kept where it is until it can be reprocessed.
If Utah gets the waste, there are going to be a lot of red faces within the congressional delegation, and a lot of angry voters in Utah.
Reader Response
Learn to Play the Whole Piano
(A member of a city council, who asked not to be identified, wrote the following in response to Exoro consultant Bart Barker’s essay on running for political office in Thursday’s UPD)
Thank you for your suggestions in the "should I run for office" column in today's Utah Policy email. You are right on the money.
I have been serving for several years as an elected official in one of the larger cities in Utah. I hope those who are contemplating running for office ponder the questions you pose as you are absolutely correct.
I still wake up every morning humbled and excited to serve my community. I am thankful I can do that after as many years as I have served. I have the complete support of my family, a tremendous blessing not all elected officials have. As a side note, my youngest child was 4 during my last campaign and her only negative campaign observation was "Don't eat Cheetos after stapling rubber bands on fliers because when you lick your fingers to get the Cheetos off, it will taste like rubber bands." :)
I have worked with elected officials whose attitude is, "I am an elected official, therefore I am" rather than, "I am, therefore I am an elected official". Elected office and its public service enhances what is there rather than creating something from nothing.
I would suggest potential candidates "learn how to play the whole piano". One issue candidates are like those who only can play one key, over and over, and loudly. While the one or two issues may have gotten you to the piano, one must be willing to learn how to play the whole instrument just as a community is more than just one or two issues or functions.
I hope you and the others will continue to give advice to those pondering public office. Yours and the others' comments have prompted me to make a list of things I have learned while in office. Thank you again for taking the time to write your thoughts.
Casual Friday
Everything You Need to Know About Fishing
Ah, spring! We’re over the hump of yet another Utah winter; it’s all downhill from here. ‘Tis the season of sunny skies, budding blossoms -- and clear cold waters swarming with hungry trout. If cabin fever’s got you bouncing off the walls, it’s time for a medicinal dose of Utah fishing. Throughout the state fishing conditions are improving and things will continue to pick up every week into early summer (but beware of high runoff). Here are some fishing links to whet your appetite and point you in the right direction.
Fishing Reports:
-- Utah DWR
-- Fishwest Outfitters
-- Lake Powell
-- Angler Guide
-- Utah.com
-- Utah Fish Finder
Links:
List of Utah Lakes and Reservoirs
Utah DWR Fish Stocking Information
Map of Utah Blue Ribbon Fisheries (PDF)
List of Utah Guides and Outfitters from Utah.com
Southern Utah’s Wild Trout Streams
Bass Waters of Utah
UtahOutdoors.com Fishing Page
Go Utah Fishing Guide
Utah Fly Fishing from Utah.com
Utah Fly fishing from Utahflyfishing.com
Popular Utah Fishing Destinations:
-- Bear Lake
-- Flaming Gorge
-- Fish Lake
-- Lake Powell
-- Strawberry Reservoir
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