Stymied in its effort to sprawl onto adjacent property, the company has asked regulators to allow waste to be piled 83 feet above ground level, roughly twice the level now allowed. The proposal, if approved, would free the mile-square hazardous and radioactive waste site to grow by nearly 50 percent.

Critics call the idea another example of unchecked growth at the landfill, the nation's only commercially owned and operated facility for low-level radioactive waste and its largest in terms of volume. At least two critics of the latest EnergySolutions growth project plan to raise their concerns at public hearings on Wednesday.

Charles Judd, onetime president of the company formerly known as Envirocare of Utah, has been poised for months to sue the state for allowing the growth without seeking a review by the Legislature and the governor.

He says a 1990 law requires it.

So does an environmental group, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL), which has an appeal of EnergySolutions' boundary expansion before the Utah Supreme Court.

Like Judd, HEAL notes state law requires that a radioactive facility that grows by more than 50 percent - as EnergySolutions has - to be approved by the governor and Legislature, not just by the Radiation Control Division that reviews plans for routine license amendments.

More than 80 such amendments have cleared the way for growth at the Tooele County site in its 18 years of operation. Licensed for 4 million cubic yards in 1990, it now has approval from state regulators to accept 8.8 million cubic yards.

With the higher cell limits now proposed, and by combining two disposal cells with similar types of waste into a new "Supercell," the capacity will be 13.1 million cubic yards. Just this expansion alone will increase the waste capacity by 49.2 percent.

Greg Hopkins, vice president of communications for EnergySolutions, said his company only wants to be more efficient and meet contracts, many of which offer disposal for 20 years. The review by state leaders won't be needed because all of the growth is staying within the disposal site's current boundaries, he said.

"This assures we will have the capacity to fulfill the obligations to our customers."

Judd questioned the state's motive in continuing to grant the expansions without the review triggered in the 1990 law. He said the radiation agency has an interest in allowing more waste because its budget is tied to waste volumes.

"If the state is buying into [EnergySolutions'] strategy, it's just so they can keep the waste coming in, keep the money coming in," Judd said.

In the past, agency officials have said they have followed the law with Envirocare and EnergySolutions.

EnergySolutions also confirmed Monday that it reduced its work force by 10 percent, or 30 people, last week. The company had expected a lower volume of waste than in its recent years, so the reduction in work force was not a surprise. Hopkins said the layoffs were due to lower than expected waste volume coming to the facility in the last quarter.

fahys@sltrib.com

Public comment opportunities

* Public hearings on EnergySolutions' new "Supercell" are slated for Wednesday. More information about the proposal can be found on the Web, http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov.

* The Utah Department of Environmental Quality will hear comments from 2 to 4 p.m., in Room 201 of its Salt Lake City headquarters, 168 N. 1950 West, Building No. 2.

* A second meeting is planned for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., in Room 162 of the Tooele County Health Department building, 151 N. Main St.