As you may know, a nuclear waste company called Private Fuel Storage (PFS) is seeking permission to store 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste just 50 miles upwind of downtown Salt Lake City. The Bureau of Land Management, which has the power to deny PFS’s proposal, is accepting public comment on the issue up until May 8th.

Gov. Jon Huntsman, in coordination with Rep. Jim Matheson, Rep. Rob Bishop, Rep. Chris Cannon, and Sen. Orrin Hatch is going to declare this Friday, April 28, “No Way Day,” and will be holding a press conference/rally at 12:00 pm in the State Office Building auditorium behind the Capitol. He will encourage Utahns to write letters to the BLM opposing approval of a transfer facility needed for transportation of the nuclear waste casks.

While I’d like to add in a few comments about how many times Senator Hatch has promised that nuke waste will never make it to Utah, due in large part to his “seniority,” and yet here we go again and again, it seems that a grassroots effort on a massive scale is certainly going to be needed and hopefully noticed.

Nor do I have any idea why the Governor would plan this event at the same time as the State Observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day (noon at the Downtown library), but, there it is.

Elected officials, non-profit groups, chambers of commerce, and community activists will be participating and all concerned citizens are invited to attend. We encourage you to come and participate in this important public awareness event. Attached is a notification flier with all applicable information as well as the governor’s press release. This may be the last best chance to stop the high-level spent fuel rods from coming to Utah.

Come to the Event or Send a letter (Here’s a link to a sample letter.) ASAP (c’mon, be polite about it) to:

Pam Schuller
U. S. Bureau of Land Management
Salt Lake Field Office
2370 South 2300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
pam_schuller@blm.gov
FAX: (801) 977-4397

“we can at least be united on this ONE thing”– The Senate joint leadership statement
“Everyone from Orrin Hatch to libbies like me agree”– Jen’s Green Journal
“If it is safe enough for us to store it here, it is safe enough to store it in the Great Lakes.”– Obiter Dicta By Steve
“Even Orrin Hatch understands “– One Utah
” We’ve had more than our fair share of this mess already”– Eric Hamilton’s Reality Check
“I’m probably still living with the effects of Chernobyl”– Part of the Plan
“This seems like lunacy to me that it’s even an issue”– This Divided State
“There goes the neighborhood — maybe quite literally!”– Reach Upward
“This is about life”– Media Relations
“the
half-life of a biodegradable golf-ball in the West Desert is about 144
days and that’s a lot shorter than the half-life of a spent nuclear
fuel rod”
– Utahania
“Not in my backyard!”– The Utah Amicus
“This would be awful”– Utah Conservative