Utah House passes substitute bill allowing DEQ site-specific review for depleted uranium waste; 51-20

The Utah House on Feb. 12 passed the second substitute of House Bill 220, a measure that directs the Department of Environmental Quality to classify certain radioactive waste at the time it is accepted and to use site-specific, science-based performance assessments to evaluate whether depleted uranium may be disposed at Utah facilities. The bill passed on final passage 51-20 and will be transmitted to the Senate.

Sponsor Representative Brad Albrecht (Representative Albrecht) told the chamber the substitute answers a policy question asked by DEQ after years of review of a request from Energy Solutions to dispose of depleted uranium. "The main policy question is when do we classify waste? The answer this bill provides is that waste is classified at the time of acceptance," Albrecht said, and described the substitute as advancing "a science based site specific waste acceptance model." According to Albrecht, the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control in DEQ will participate in site performance assessments.

Opponents raised safety and process concerns. Representative Priscilla King (Representative King) offered a voice amendment to require that any proposal to import "more than 1 metric ton of depleted uranium" trigger an earlier performance assessment; she argued the substance “increases in toxicity over time” and that the amendment would add guardrails. The motion to amend was debated and ultimately ruled to have failed on the floor. Representative King told colleagues the amendment would require review "to the extent that more than 1 metric ton of depleted uranium is proposed to be brought into the state, it would require that there be a performance assessment of that."

Several members pressed technical and procedural questions about the scientific basis of the new model and who would perform it. Representative Daley-Provost asked the sponsor to identify the scientific studies underlying the change; Albrecht responded that DEQ would perform a site-specific performance assessment and that the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control would be involved. Representative Segg Miller asked where the large stockpiles cited in the sponsor's materials would come from; Albrecht answered shipments would come "by either rail or truck from Kentucky or Ohio." Segg Miller had quoted the packet language that "presently there are over 750,000 tons" of depleted uranium stockpiled.

Supporters argued the substitute updates an aging classification system and preserves regulatory review. Representative Stratton said the changes reflect current science and that checks and balances, including the DEQ review and statutory processes, remain in place. Representative McHale and others noted some low-level radioactive waste already exists in Utah and Tooele Army Depot, and said the substitute provides a procedure to consider safe disposal rather than an automatic acceptance.

Representative Albrecht also emphasized local economic benefits if the Clyde/Clive facility is approved as a disposal site, saying mitigation fees would go to Tooele County and that a radioactive waste tax could generate revenue for the state education fund. Representative Romero said she would vote no, citing family experiences with contamination in Tooele County; other members expressed concern about transportation and long-term public health risks.

The House adopted a motion to end debate and, after a final summation by the sponsor, passed the second substitute HB220 by a recorded voice tally reported as 51 yes and 20 no. The bill will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

The vote on the King's proposed amendment was taken on the floor and the Speaker ruled the motion failed. The final action for HB220 was passage of the second substitute and transmittal to the Senate. The legislative process now shifts to the Senate committee and floor consideration; DEQ and federal review processes described on the floor would inform whether any proposed disposal at the Clive facility proceeds.