That's absurd. And that's SITLA for you.
SITLA, the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, is poised to lease about 2,500 acres three miles west of Green River to Emery County for an industrial park. The SITLA board, well aware that a nuke plant was in the offing, signed off on the proposal in May and authorized administrators to draw up the agreement. The paperwork, a SITLA attorney said, should be completed and signed within a week.
The county, in turn, has approved a purchase option for about 1,620 acres with EnergyPath Corporation, a North Carolina company with ties to Utah state Rep. Aaron Tilton. EnergyPath hopes to acquire a federal permit to build a nuclear power plant in the park. SITLA administrators have also been authorized to sign off on the option if the documents are in order.
The nuclear power plant would be a first for Utah, and for good reason. It's stupid to even contemplate building a water-intensive power plant in the desert and particularly in the upper Colorado River Basin, where allocated water rights already exceed the river's flow during dry years. We understand the county's desire to create high-paying jobs and produce carbon-free energy, but there are better, safer alternatives than nuclear power plants.
One would think that the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission would put a stop to this foolish proposal if and when a formal application is filed. But why take a chance? The SITLA board should rescind its offer, or limit development in the park to traditional industries.
SITLA uses the meter-maid argument to justify paving the way for a nuclear power plant. "Just doing my job, mam."
And it's true that their mandate from the state is to act like a financial trust, and put profits for beneficiaries first and foremost. That, too, has to change.
The state Legislature needs to refine SITLA's marching orders to prevent the sale or lease of land for projects that do more harm than good.
