Note to readers •This story is made possible through a partnership between The Salt Lake Tribune and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
For the first time, leaders of Western states have approved a proposal to ship low-level radioactive waste from a foreign country to Utah.
Members of the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management, which manages the disposal of nuclear waste in Utah and seven other states, approved a proposal from EnergySolutions to import 1.3 million cubic yards from Ontario power plants to its facility in Clive, roughly 60 miles west of Salt Lake City.
[Read more: For 1st time ever, Utah would take radioactive waste from another country]
The committee clarified their approval was based on the fact that the Ontario nuclear plants produced energy used in the United States. Members noted proposals to dispose of radioactive waste from other foreign countries, like a 2008 request from Italy, would not be entertained unless they directly involved energy production that has a domestic benefit.
“It’s been a while since the compact has had to address a request like this,” said Doug Hansen, director of the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control, and the state’s representative on the committee, after a vote Friday afternoon. “I’m comfortable and confident that we came up with a reasonable decision.”
At least two-thirds of the states in the compact needed to vote in favor of EnergySolutions’ request for it to proceed, and Utah had the ability to veto. Seven states voted to approve, while Washington’s representative abstained.
The compact’s approval came just in time for EnergySolutions to take advantage of SB216, a bill passed by Utah lawmakers this year that streamlines the process for the company to expand its Clive storage facility in Tooele County. The legislation expires on Dec. 31.
EnergySolutions gave large donations to the lawmakers behind that bill and another specifically benefitting the company — Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, and Rep. Bridger Bolinder, R-Grantsville. The second bill sponsored by the pair, HB254, repealed Utah’s definition for the type of nuclear waste EnergySolutions can accept in its Clive facility, located in Bolinder’s district, instead relying on a less specific federal definition.
EnergySolutions’ lobbyist, Casey Hill, helped the lawmakers present both bills in public hearings.
As Bolinder faced reelection in 2024, EnergySolutions gave $11,000 to his campaign, becoming his biggest financial backer. And after The Salt Lake Tribune first reported those contributions, both lawmakers received additional money from the company, according to campaign disclosures.
EnergySolutions has reportedly donated $6,500 to Bolinder so far this year, in addition to buying his $200 membership to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. It’s given $3,000 to McKell, who also received $2,500 from Hill’s lobbying firm — Lincoln Hill Partners.
The company’s plans call for an additional 8.6 million cubic yards of storage capacity, according to previous meeting materials. About 85% of the expansion is meant for U.S. customers.
(Utah Department of Environmental Quality ) This image of EnergySolutions' Clive facility is from a presentation the Utah Department of Environmental Quality made to the 2025 Northwest Interstate Compact Commission annual meeting last month in Richland, Washington. At upper right, it shows the area of a potential expansion that could be used to accept low-level radioactive waste from Canada, if approved by regulators.
The Clive facility only allows low-level radioactive waste, which it has stored since 1988. Its Canadian imports will only include Class A waste, which are materials with the lowest levels of radioactivity, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company previously noted the materials will mostly include construction debris from decommissioned power plants.
The compact has deliberated over EnergySolutions’ request since October. It held a special meeting on Nov. 25, which saw 50 virtual attendees. Nine members of the public from multiple states and Canada spoke against the proposal. Others submitted written comments.
“‘Low-level’ waste is not low risk, and much of it is not low-dose,” a coalition of 88 organizations in the U.S. and Canada wrote in a statement to the committee ahead of Friday’s vote, asking the members to reconsider. “Every amount of radioactivity can cause health damage.”
The committee did not open Friday’s meeting to comment, but it thanked the public and observers for their participation and feedback.
“The committee has taken this very seriously, and discussed some very, very complex topics,” said Kristin Schwab, the compact’s chair and representative from Washington.
But environmental and public health advocates called the approval a rushed and short-sighted decision benefiting a deep-pocketed business at the expense of Utah communities.
“When decision-makers move this quickly, they are not listening,” Lexi Tuddenham, executive director of HEAL Utah, said in an emailed statement.
HEAL raised several questions about EnergySolutions’ plan, including how it will be transported to Utah, who’s responsible for any spills during transit, and whether it’s a foot in the door for Utah to become the dumping ground for even more foreign nuclear materials.
Other compact states include Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming. Utah and Washington are the only member states that allow disposal of radioactive waste.
The resolution approved by the compact committee specified EnergySolutions’ Canadian waste can only come from the province of Ontario, and cannot be transferred there from other places.
It only allows waste generated by the civilian energy sector, and bars materials generated by the government, weapons, academic research and industrial processes. The compact can modify or cancel the agreement at any time.
EnergySolutions does not have plans to seek contracts from any other foreign customers, a spokesperson said, and the waste stream will include the same types of materials it accepts from domestic clients.
The Ontario waste will travel to Utah via rail, the company confirmed. The exact route will be determined by the rail companies themselves. Any spills in transit will be the sole responsibility of EnergySolutions, including the cost of cleanup.
“EnergySolutions is proud to support the nuclear industry and the clean energy it provides,” a spokesperson wrote in an email, “in a manner that safeguards public health, protects the environment, and ensures a sustainable future for generations to come.”
The company expects to pay $30 million for its facility expansion under a new tax imposed by the Utah Legislature in order to generate money for Gov. Spencer Cox’s Operation Gigawatt — his initiative to more double energy production over the next decade.