Re "Feds: Company backing Utah nuclear plant is a fraud" (Tribune, Jan. 27):

After it was revealed that LeadDog Capital and its principals, the main backer of Blue Castle Holdings’ proposed 3,000-megawatt nuclear power plant on the Green River, is accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of massive fraud, the statement by Utah’s State Engineer Kent Jones falls squarely in the you-gotta-be-puttin’-me-on category.

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Jones said that even it he had known of the fraud he would have signed off on the power plant’s permit: "It would be my guess [Blue Castle] would have explained, ‘We will go to somebody else to get money lined up,’ and that probably would have been reasonable enough for us."

Wow! Stunning way to run Utah’s water-licensing business! If an applicant simply makes an assertion that serves its business interest, Jones and his staff just accept any self-serving explanation given and move on. No fact-checking, no worries.

Efficient? Sure. Nice process for this extremely dubious applicant? You betcha! What Utah’s citizens deserve in terms of meaningful, intelligent project review? Nowhere close.

Mary D. Draper

Salt Lake City