"Would you rather have Utah famous for having the world's greatest snow," she asked, "or for being the world's dumping ground?"

Don Bosch thinks it's "backwards" that state leaders would aggressively fight the Goshutes over their nuclear waste plan while shrugging off foreign waste imports. "I don't want them sitting there," the Bountiful resident said, "while this happens."

The state Radiation Control Board is now planning a special meeting next month to consider issues like these.

The last time it met, last month, the regulatory board heard about plans by Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions to import low-level radioactive waste from Italy and bury a small portion of it at the company's specialized landfill in Tooele County, about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.

Some board members indicated the state has no cause to ask the U.S. Nuclear Energy Commission to reject the federal import license the company has requested. But others wondered if it's time the state considers restrictions on foreign waste.

When their lawyers sort through the issues Feb. 1, there will be many, tricky questions to ask.

They boil down to these: Does Utah have the authority to block foreign wastes and are there any reasons to stop the state from exercising it? Here are some of the factors they might consider:

* Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he negotiated a cap on the amount of waste that can go to EnergySolutions Utah site. He has indicated that agreement limits him from trying to block foreign waste, as long as it meets the state's radioactivity limits and fits within the mile-square disposal site.

* Utah has no laws or policies barring foreign waste, although such bans have been imposed in Washington state and South Carolina, the only other states with commercial radioactive waste landfills.

* A Dec. 13 letter from NRC Chairman Dale Klein to two congressmen who had asked about EnergySolutions' import license application notes several times that his agency will only grant such licenses when it is clear "an appropriate facility has agreed to accept the waste for management or disposal."

* The contract that grants EnergySolutions the right to operate the Tooele County landfill, the sole exception to a national system for managing low-level radioactive waste, says it's the state's job to regulate the landfill. " . . . Utah retains the right to specifically approve each disposal arrangement before the waste is allowed access to the licensed EnergySolutions facility," the contract says.

* EnergySolutions spokesman Greg Hopkins told an industry newsletter last week that the company is not concerned about what the radiation board might do because "there's a general consensus on the board that this is a federal issue."

The NRC has sent a second round of follow-up questions to EnergySolutions. Once the questions are resolved, the NRC will ask affected states and the public to voice their opinions on the license request during a 30-day comment period.

One of the Utahns looking forward to providing comments is Holladay resident Eric Spreng. He sees the argument that Utah has a role in helping bolster the nation's energy security.

"But when we get to the point were we are importing waste from foreign nations, it becomes only about corporate profits," he said. "If we are to have a role, it should be done for the well-being of all people."

fahys@sltrib.com

Importing Italy's waste

EnergySolutions applied Sept. 14 to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from Italy. The waste would be processed at a company-owned plant in Tennessee. Some of the processed material would be reused as shielding at nuclear plants and hospitals. About 1,600 tons - all of it falling within the safety guidelines set by the state and federal governments - would be buried at the EnergySolutions landfill in Tooele County. The U.S. Nuclear Commission will have a public comment period before it decides on whether to grant the import license.