Utah House passes resolution opposing high‑level nuclear waste proposal on Goshute reservation

House Concurrent Resolution 6, introduced by Representative Ralph Becker, passed the Utah House on a 62–9 vote after a lengthy floor debate in which members expressed concern about liability, transportation and long‑term environmental risks posed by the proposal to locate a high‑level nuclear waste repository on Goshute tribal land.

Becker told colleagues the resolution was intended to send “unequivocally a clear message” to Congress and federal agencies that Utah opposes the project. He and other supporters raised several specific concerns, including corporate liability protections for a private consortium, the safety of transporting radioactive material through populated areas, and the potential for the waste to remain hazardous for millennia.

Opponents of the resolution argued that decades of experience worldwide showed spent fuel could be stored safely and warned against alarmist language. One member cited the existence of a federal fund established by power companies to manage spent fuel storage, while others referenced geological reports they said raised safety questions near the proposed site.

The resolution text, as described on the floor, highlights the estimated scale and duration of the waste the plan would consolidate — speakers referenced figures such as “about 15,000 tonnes” of high‑level waste and timeframes measured in thousands of years — and asks state and federal officials to review liability and transportation plans and the project’s potential economic and public‑safety impacts.

The House adopted HCR6 and transmitted the measure to the Senate for its consideration. No statutory or regulatory changes were enacted by the resolution; it is a formal expression of the legislature’s position and urges federal and tribal decision‑makers to consider the state’s concerns.