Rocky wants N. Utah talks on blast

By Joe Bauman
Deseret Morning News
Published: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 11:17 p.m. MDT
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Northern Utah residents who could be affected by the Divine Strake explosion at the Nevada Test Site should be allowed to comment in public hearings, says Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Divine Strake is the planned detonation of 700 tons of conventional explosives, which recently was delayed until June 23 or later. Politicians and members of the public have protested the explosion. Among the concerns expressed are that:

• Radioactive material from previous nuclear tests at the NTS might be kicked up and drift in the air.

• Detonating conventional explosives that weigh too much to be lifted by a bomber could be a prelude to developing a new nuclear "bunker buster" bomb.

Before leaving for Sweden, Anderson wrote to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, calling for hearings in northern Utah on the explosion.

Anderson is proposing that the Defense Department hold public meetings in Salt Lake City and along the Wasatch Front. The meetings would inform the public about the issues and collect comments, according to a press release from Anderson's office.

Alyson Heyrend, Mathe- son's spokeswoman, said the congressman had a briefing with the head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which is sponsoring the test. He told the congressman that the DTRA planned to hold town meetings in Utah and Nevada.

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"Matheson told them that they would want to put the information out there regarding health and safety," she said. However, details about where the meetings would be held were not discussed.

Now that Anderson had made a request for meetings in northern Utah, she said, she believes the state's congressional delegation will "think about the request."

Hatch was not available for comment late Tuesday.

The letters express Anderson's concern about exploding the bomb. He said he understands that the Defense Department, at the urging of the letters' recipients, "has now agreed to schedule public meetings" in Nevada and southern Utah.

"I write to urge that you press the Department of Defense to hold public meetings in northern Utah as well," he wrote.

Nearly 80 percent of Utahns live along the Wasatch Front, he noted. "As parties who might be directly impacted by these tests, the residents of northern Utah deserve the same consideration and opportunity to comment on this critical issue before the scheduled test proceeds."

Anderson wrote that his staff could help arrange a downtown location for meetings in Salt Lake City.

E-mail: bau@desnews.com

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