It's unclear whether the agreement will make the difference in Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signing or rejecting the legislation that would expand the types of waste that the landfill could take.

Jason Chaffetz, Huntsman's chief of staff, said he was "glad" to hear about the deal because the governor opposes turning the state into the nation's dumping ground.

But Chaffetz stopped short of committing the governor's support, adding, "there are other issues." He declined to elaborate.

Huntsman has until Tuesday to sign or scrap Senate Concurrent Resolution 2, which would allow a newly opened landfill in unincorporated Tooele County to take nonhazardous waste from anywhere. SCR2 is one of only a handful of bills about which Huntsman has publicly expressed concern.

To alleviate that concern, Wasatch Regional Waste Management Corporation and Allied Waste, have signed the agreement stating they do not "intend to solicit or accept out-of-state waste at the site."

The agreement was obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune under an open-records request with the State Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA.)

"We heard that the governor's office was concerned about out-of-state waste," said Kory Coleman, Utah district manager for Allied Waste. "We're doing this to clarify misinformation that was given to the governor about our intentions. . . . This landfill is being built for the waste coming off the Wasatch Front."

Concerns had been raised about the landfill, some aimed at Wasatch Regional's owners. The corporation was founded by several well-connected politicos, including former House Speaker Mel Brown, who also was a former lobbyist for SITLA. The agency plans to lease the land for the waste site.

Upon approval by the governor, Allied Waste would take ownership of the lease, earning Wasatch Regional's lobbyist partners a substantial sum of money. They have declined to reveal the sale price.

But the resolution also aggravates a brewing trash war with a competing landfill. On the Goshute Indian Reservation in Tooele County, a group is attempting to build a landfill that would directly compete with the Wasatch Regional site. Officials with Sorenson Capital, which is backing the Goshute site, also have vowed not to take out-of-state waste.

For its part, SITLA wants the governor to sign the resolution, arguing that the Wasatch Regional landfill will pay hefty royalties to the state school trust fund.

"We'll make a lot of money anyway, but we will make more money if they grant this," said John Andrews, SITLA's associate director. He estimates the landfill would bring in a minimum of $400,000 a year for schools.

Wasatch Regional President Kevin Garn, a former House Majority Leader, says the agreement clarifies that the group never wanted to take out-of-state waste. "This just confirms what we already said we wouldn't do, anyway," Garn said.

tburr@sltrib.com