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House backs resolution initiating relocation review for medical-waste incinerator
Summary
The House approved a resolution (HJR6/HCR6) authorizing the process for a medical-waste incinerator (Stericycle) to relocate to Tooele County, citing updated regulatory standards and further permitting steps; the measure passed 73–0.
The Utah House on March 3 approved a joint resolution beginning the statutory process for the relocation of a commercial nonhazardous medical-waste disposal facility, often referred to on the floor by the company name Stericycle.
Representative Hughes, sponsor of the resolution, said the company proposed building a new facility in Tooele County that would be constructed to 2014 regulatory standards and operate at higher environmental controls than its current site. Hughes stressed the measure does not complete permitting but only begins the legislatively required approval sequence that permits further environmental and local permitting processes.
Members who spoke on the floor described robust local engagement: Representative Kristofferson recalled industry and resident concerns about facilities when residential development encroached on industrial sites; Representative Sagers said community meetings were productive and that the proposed relocation site was remote and unlikely to be developed; Representative Nelson, whose district would host the new facility, acknowledged opponents’ air-quality concerns but said he had not seen evidence tying the company’s emissions to illnesses and noted the facility’s mitigation technologies, including primary and secondary combustion and scrubbers.
Vote and next steps: The House voted 73 yes, 0 no; the resolution advances the relocation process but does not substitute for later regulatory permitting and environmental review.
