A coalition of eight private utility companies says its plan to store up to 44,000 tons of nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation won't be affected by the Yucca Mountain federal repository.

Private Fuel Storage says the Goshute dump will go forward as a temporary site. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the final stages of making a decision on a 20-year license for the proposal.

But the permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is in doubt over new allegations that workers falsified data. The projected 2010 opening of the site has been put off again, leading some to wonder whether the Goshute dump will be "temporary."

Leon Bear, the chairman of the Goshute tribe, signed a multi-million dollar lease with PFS to host the site. He is under federal indictment on tribal theft and tax fraud charges. He recently lost an attempt to force former Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), now Secretary of Health and Human Services, to testify at his trial about the state's opposition to the waste deal and how it affected the tribe.

Get the Story:
Yucca woes no obstacle for PFS (The Salt Lake Tribune 4/11)
Leavitt need not testify at Goshute leader's trial (The Salt Lake Tribune 4/9)

Public Decision:
In the matter of Private Fuel Storage (February 24, 2005)

Relevant Links:
Skull Valley Goshute Tribe - http://www.skullvalleygoshutes.org
Private Fuel Storage - http://www.privatefuelstorage.com

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