Group calls for review of DEQ

A legislative task force is calling for an independent review of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to determine if state regulators are doing their jobs when it comes to deciding if — and what kinds of — waste should be allowed into Utah.

"I have not seen any indication (DEQ) is not doing its job," said Rep. David Hogue, R-Riverton. "But it's important to get someone outside the box."

The Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force met Tuesday to finalize recommendations to the 2004 Legislature.

After a five-hour meeting, the task force took its recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee, which had no comment.

There was plenty of discussion, however, on whether DEQ is adequately regulating waste.

For the most part, task force members expressed approval of DEQ. But in the end, they agreed with Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, to conduct an independent review of the department, something that hasn't happened since 1992.

The review would be done by an outside expert who would review DEQ's oversight and monitoring program and report back to the task force by May 1.

The fact that the task force endorsed DEQ was a joke to critics.

"It's like telling the state of California they've done a good job in handling their budget and don't need to do anything about their current crisis," said Jason Groenewold of Families Against Incinerator Risk. "Congratulating the group that effectively allowed the state to be turned into the bargain basement dumping ground is astonishing."

The task force, composed of nine House members and seven senators, spent much of this year touring waste facilities and gathering data. Formed by the 2003 Legislature, the task force is charged with a two-year study to examine all types of wastes that end up in Utah and how the state regulates and taxes them.

It was prompted, in part, by Envirocare's proposal to expand its business by disposing of so-called Class B and C radioactive wastes, which are primarily the by-products of decommissioned nuclear power plants. The company has received state regulatory approval but still needs formal approval from the Legislature and the governor to move ahead.

On Tuesday, the task force decided it would recommend to the 2004 Legislature not to take any action on wastes during the session other than the following:

• Roll back the tax and fee hikes on hazardous waste facilities. The task force voted unanimously to amend HB286, which increased the hazardous waste fees from $14 a ton to $28 a ton and also imposed the 3 percent gross receipts tax, which would have generated an additional $300,000 a year. The bill also hiked fees on radioactive waste disposed at Envirocare, but the task force left those hikes intact.

• Require legislative and governor approval on any hotter waste that has radioactivity in excess of the state and federal licenses.

That bill, by Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, was targeted at uranium mill tailings from Fernald, Ohio, that the U.S. Department of Energy's cleanup contractor wanted to send to Envirocare. However, Envirocare announced Tuesday it would drop its application to receive those tailings.

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E-mail: donna@desnews.com

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