Friday, April 28, 2006

Hell No Way Day!


Tomorrow at 12:00 PM Democratic Chair Wayne Holland Jr. and Vice Chair Rob Miller will support Governor Jon Huntsman, Congressman Jim Matheson, and Senator Orrin Hatch as they stand together in the fight to keep 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste out of Utah. The PFS plan is to store this waste just 50 miles upwind of downtown Salt Lake City.

Governor Huntsman will offically declare Friday April 28, 2006 "No Way Day".

The Utah Democratic Party encourages you to attend a press conference that is being held at the State Office Building auditorium behind the Utah State Capitol at noon.

We would also like to encourage all Utahns to write letters to the Bureau of Land Managment (BLM) opposing BLM approval of a transfer facility needed for transportation of the nuclear waste casks, and the storage of nuclear waste in Skull Valley.

Private Fuel Storage LLC (PFS) plans to build and operate a high level nuclear waste facility for up to 40 years on the Skull Valley Band of the Goshute Indian Reservation. This site is less than 50 miles from downtown Salt Lake City and poses some serious concerns.

To begin construction, PFS must obtain a required permit to build an intermodal transfer station on federal land to transport the waste to its final destination. At Senator Hatch’s request, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has re-opened the public comment period on the PFS proposal, indicating that it could deny rights of way that PFS needs to construct the site should BLM determine the site is not in the public’s interest.

The deadline is May 8 — less than a month away — to make our voices heard and convince the BLM that transporting waste to Skull Valley is not in the public’s interest. Please take the time to learn more, write a brief letter or e-mail the BLM before the above deadline. To see a sample letter, look to the attachment.

Areas of concern we want you to know about:

1. Public safety: External events could cause credible accidents involving the facility.

2. Transportation: Containers of spent nuclear fuel rods will be transported not by train, but by 18 wheel trucks along our highways to a transfer station visible from I-80.

3. Terrorist target: We live in a post 9-11 world and such a facility could potentially be a target for sabotage.

4. Permanent location: After it’s here, trying to move it somewhere else will be even harder.
5. Property Depreciation: The Utah Realtors Association found that people believe that property values could decrease if the PFS facility is built.

6. Economic impact: Business relocation and headquarters decision could be impacted by even just the prospects of a terrorist or accidental incident.

7. Military readiness: Threats to military training readiness may negatively impact Hill Air Force Base that contributes $2 billion annually to Utah’s economy. Skull Valley is only seven miles away from Dugway Proving Grounds and 19 miles away from the Utah Test and Training Range.

8. Bad location: An F-16 fighter plane crashed over the Great Salt Lake last month. Accidents happen and will unfortunately continue. The nuclear waste will be sitting in a flight corridor of some 7,000 F-16 flights every year.

PLEASE CONTACT THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Contact: Pam Schuller
E-mail address: pam_schuller@blm.gov
Fax number: (801) 977-4397
Send letters to:
Bureau of Land Management
Salt Lake Field Office
2370 South 2300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119

Thank You

"ABSOLUTLEY NO!"- SLCSPIN
"we can at least be united on this ONE thing"- The Senate joint leadership statement
"Everyone from Orrin Hatch to libbies like me agree"- Jen's Green Journal
"If it is safe enough for us to store it here, it is safe enough to store it in the Great Lakes."- Obiter Dicta By Steve
"Even Orrin Hatch understands "- One Utah
" We've had more than our fair share of this mess already"- Eric Hamilton's Reality Check
"I’m probably still living with the effects of Chernobyl"- Part of the Plan
"This seems like lunacy to me that it's even an issue"- This Divided State
"There goes the neighborhood — maybe quite literally!"- Reach Upward
"This is about life"- Media Relations
"the half-life of a biodegradable golf-ball in the West Desert is about 144 days and that's a lot shorter than the half-life of a spent nuclear fuel rod"- Utahania
"This may be the last best chance to stop the high-level spent fuel rods from coming to Utah"- Utah Democrats
"This would be awful"- Utah Conservative
"It doesn't matter if you are a Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, a Constitutionalist, or Apolitical" - The World, According To Me

Thanks to Ethan and everyone else I stole from in putting this post together.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rob, although your words are simular, your visuals take your blog a step above.

Great work!

Rob said...

Thanks! but I think you mean similar. No worries, if it wasn't for Jeff Bell you're would be your.

Anonymous said...

Excellent! Yes the question is why were we chosen to store this crap in our state. We should find out who proposed this insanity and store it in his back yard, if indeed it is that safe. I think we, Utah, are doing our fair share already by having the plant that is destroying nerve gas and chemical warfare weapons. Keep your garbage in your own states thank you.