The Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians in Utah and Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a utility consortium, filed a lawsuit in a US district court in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 19 April challenging the constitutionality of a handful of state laws aimed at delaying or halting completely the siting and operation of a spent fuel storage facility on the tribe’s reservation. The lawsuit argues the state laws are pre-empted by existing federal laws that regulate nuclear waste storage. One bill signed recently by governor Mike Leavitt bans the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Utah. Another requires PFS to provide $2 billion in financial guarantees in the event of an accident involving spent fuel stored in Utah.
