He should have vetoed the bill.

Both houses of the Legislature had passed it by two-thirds margins, so they might have had the votes to override his veto easily. He should have forced their hand.

In a statement that accompanied his non-signing, the governor explained that he would allow the bill to become law because, in part, he bought EnergySolutions' argument that this bill was a technical clarification of current practice. The company has argued that a 1990 version of the law had grandfathered the dump, exempting it from approval by the Legislature and governor when it seeks to expand capacity within its existing boundaries. This provision had been left out by mistake when the law was rewritten in 2005, the company argued, and SB155 simply restored it.

But in the next sentence of his statement, the governor said he was concerned not with the legislation but with the impact of the nuclear industry on Utah. That impact has been the overriding point all along. Utah should not be signaling that it will easily accept greater quantities of nuclear waste for permanent storage.

Huntsman said he takes seriously his "responsibility to ensure that our state will not become the dumping ground for other states' nuclear waste." To that end, he will seek a cap on waste sent to Utah by 39 other states under a federal compact.

We applaud that effort. But by talking out of both sides of his mouth, the governor weakened his message.