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Michael Leavitt
Governor of Utah
Continued...
Verdoia: You have told me in many different settings,
that government which governs best, governs closest to the people.
I submit to you the Tooele County Commission, which has signed
a cooperative agreement with PFS. A lucrative contract to provide
mitigation for the impacts that might exist on county government.
Gov. Leavitt: Well, there is also a compelling state interest
in this situation and I think their interest is defined simply
by financial support. They don't believe it's unsafe. I disagree.
The Legislature of the state of Utah disagrees. The broad cross
section of the people of the state of Utah disagree and I think
if you get right down to it, a large segment of the people in
Tooele County disagree. They clearly have cut a financial deal
on the basis that if this comes, we want to be taken care of.
I'm prepared to understand that but not agree with it, and I'm
prepared to do all I can to block the capacity of a local government
to offer services to anyone who would bring high level nuclear
fuel rods to this state.
Verdoia: What about the process of approving this private
sector initiative? We just returned from Yucca Mountain. Down
there it's been a ten year study period, exacting scientific standards
must be met and then after the scientific considerations complete,
it moves into a political arena for that deliberative process
and consideration. Compare that to the deliberative process associated
with Skull Valley proposal.
Gov. Leavitt: The Environmental Impact Statement, the
regulatory process that they've gone through, the Department of
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, have
just been completely inadequate. Major questions that they've
been unwilling to look at in terms of an adequate study. The issue
I spoke of earlier, that the facility would sit next to the Test
and Training Range, where in the last two years we've had two
separate incidents where cruise missiles have gone awry. One actually
hit a building and the other had to be shot out of the air by
our own forces because he didn't have control of it, or they had
to self destruct it. Now, they've been unwilling to even look
at that as part of the issue. And I submit to you that's incomplete.
Verdoia: Let's consider this notion of temporary storage,
although by definition temporary is almost certain to outlive
you and I. Are you assured that it's temporary?
Gov. Leavitt: I'm fairly certain, I'm certain it's not
temporary. They're not going to go through this twice. Once they
have moved it out of their backyard, there will be no lift to
move it anywhere else.
Verdoia: A full blown third stage energy crisis has enveloped
the state of California now for the better part of six weeks.
We have seen the ripple effects in the state of Utah. We've seen
ripple effects in the western power grid. We've seen the ripple
effects on energy prices and now perhaps, we're seeing ripple
effects on energy production in this nation. Some say this may
redo the mandate, the once dead mandate, or increase nuclear generating
capacity, that in fact the flagging stock of nuclear power may
be on the rebound because of the energy demands that must be met.
Increase nuclear power production, you increase nuclear waste.
You create a greater imperative for dealing with nuclear waste.
Does the energy crisis in California in fact work against the
interest of Utah on this storage issue for high level radioactive
waste?
Gov. Leavitt: I have never intended that my opposition
to moving their waste here, as an anti-nuclear statement, in general.
That's a separate issue. But if we do continue to generate nuclear
power and if we do continue to generate waste, we need to find
a place to either dispose of it or to store it and I would argue
that those who use it ought to take care of it. Those who don't
shouldn't be expected to care for those who do. It's as simple
as that.
Verdoia: National decision makers conceivably play a role
in this issue, a significant role perhaps. George Bush, friend
of the Western Governors, friend of Governor Michael Leavitt.
How concerned are you about the national outlook towards Utah's
concerns?
Gov. Leavitt: We need a national energy policy. Part of
a national energy policy will be a means of being able to take
care of the by-products of our energy development, whether it's
nuclear waste, whether it's coal, or whether it's gas, they all
have some form of downside with respect to their residual. I don't
believe that this ultimately will factor into the decision on
what we do with the existing fuel rods. It could, but at this
point I don't see exactly what it will be.
Vedoia: You have, at numerous points in your career, pointed
to the responsibility we have as a current mature generation to
deliver a solid state for future generations. Native Americans
refer to this as the pledge to the seventh generation. What do
I do today? How will it impact seven generations from now? I'd
like you to take that generational commitment and offer me a final
thought on why this issue is important to Utah.
Gov. Leavitt: It's important to us because it defines,
in large measure, how we are perceived by the world and the level
of safety that we achieve. Safety, as defined in increments of
10,000 years, I will deal with very few issues during my public
service that will have that kind of a half-life. This one does.
We don't want it here. We'll do everything we have to do to prevent
it.
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