Maryland-based Duratek said Thurs- day that a month-long waiting period mandated by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 - an antitrust regulation that automatically triggers a 30-day review whenever an investor seeks to acquire either a 15 percent stake, or a stake valued at more than $15 million, in a particular security - ended this week without any indication the Justice Department wants more time to review the merger, which will create the nation's largest full-service nuclear waste company.
However, the $396 million deal, announced Feb. 7, is still months from being complete. Publicly traded Duratek needs shareholder approval, and a vote has not been scheduled yet, said Diane R. Brown, who leads the company's investor relations.
In addition, EnergySolutions, formerly called Envirocare of Utah, must complete the bureaucratic process of transferring Duratek's licenses and permits with other states and the federal government into its name. With the merger, EnergySolutions will have more than 2,000 employees and operations in more than 40 states and England.
It will operate the only two low-level radioactive waste facilities available for regulated waste from more than 30 states.
In Utah, EnergySolutions already has done the necessary paperwork, said Dane Finerfrock, director of the state Division of Radiation Control. "All of the licenses and permits EnergySolutions has with the department have already changed over," he said.
The company operates a mile-square radioactive and hazardous waste landfill about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. A request to the state to double the site's size is pending and faces a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, EnergySolutions has amended its current license to switch equipment planned for the new acreage to the existing site. Another proposed change is to increase the amount of waste that can go into the disposal pits. Under its current license, EnergySolutions can stack waste about 44 feet above ground.
The mounds would be 75 feet off the ground if the amendment is approved, allowing the company to expand its Utah disposal capacity by growing up instead of out.
fahys@sltrib.com
