This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Even a casual reading of the U.S. Constitution suggests that Rep. Rob Bishop's lack of a position on the proposed storage of foreign radioactive waste in Utah is curious.
According to Bishop's chief of staff, Scott Parker, Bishop sees the matter of storage of foreign nuclear waste in Utah as an issue for the state ("N-waste: Leaders slow to commit," Tribune, May 26).
However, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives Congress the power "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states."
Italy would certainly qualify, and so would processing waste in Tennessee, shipping it across many states and then storing it in Utah.
Focusing on only one element of the EnergySolutions proposal - storage in Utah - seems to ignore the apparent fact that the total program involves foreign commerce and multi-state commercial activities.
Lee L. Bean
Bountiful
