The delegation said it is "inconceivable" that the NRC would consider licensing the site proposed by Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of electric utilities, without taking into account the new threats of a post-9-11 world.
"The PFS proposal is a reckless, short-term fix for a pressing national problem," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "We're going to fight this with everything we've got. They picked the most dangerous site in the nation to locate most of our nation's high-level nuclear waste. That's not political rhetoric - it's a fact."
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has held lengthy hearings on the safety aspects of the site, and has ruled against all objections the state has raised, turning the proposal over last month to the NRC to decide whether to license the facility.
PFS proposes to store spent nuclear fuel in steel and concrete casks on a series of pads on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation, 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
In addition to the threat of terrorist attack, the delegation challenged putting the facility in the flight path of an Air Force testing range, argued the casks that would store the nuclear waste have not been adequately tested, and questioned the liability issues of having a private company shipping and securing the nuclear fuel.
"Due to the possibility of an accidental or deliberate aircraft crash, concerns over the safety of the waste during transportation and storage, and uncertainty regarding liability, the Utah Congressional delegation strongly opposes the granting of this license," the delegation wrote in its letter to NRC Chairman Nils Diaz.
The state has asked the NRC for a thorough review of the data supporting the PFS license application, while PFS has urged the commission to move quickly. PFS is seeking a license to store the waste for 20 years, with a possible 20-year extension, until a permanent repository can be built at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
But questions remain about when, or if, the Yucca Mountain facility will ever be built. On Wednesday, the Energy Department revealed that some of the documentation supporting water infiltration studies may have been falsified by U.S. Geological Survey scientists.
A review has been ordered, which could delay the site and opponents say may be the stake through the heart of Yucca Mountain.
Hatch and fellow Republican Sen. Bob Bennett have said that rapid development of Yucca is the best way to prevent PFS from becoming a reality.
"I oppose any decision that would allow storage of nuclear waste in Skull Valley, and will continue to pursue all available options to prevent this from taking place," Bennett said.
