As the lengthy list of those in opposition to Private Fuel Storage's plans becomes longer, the chances that the temporary nuclear waste storage facility will be built grows stronger.

Last week more than 60 members of Congress added their signatures to a letter written by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, (D-Ohio) that urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to deny a license to PFS & the company seeking to temporarily store 4,000 180-ton casks filled with spent nuclear fuel rods on the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes' Reservation in Tooele County's West Desert.

"There is no good reason to construct this facility, but there are many reasons to oppose it," noted Kucinich, who visited Utah last year while campaigning to be the next president of the United States.

"PFS' proposal is dangerous to Americans, violates the rights of the Skull Valley band of Goshutes and is not in our national interest," he added.

Calling the proposal "unjust, extremely dangerous and unnecessary," Kucinich indicated in the letter that was sent this week that the "history of exploitation and racism carried out toward Native Americans by the U.S. government is well documented, and we must not relive it."

He also wrote that it is "unjust" for the U.S. to "target a destitute and vulnerable Native American tribe." He noted that the tribe has an "inextricable spiritual attachment to the land they inhabit, and many tribal members say it is all they have left."

Kucinich mentioned the possibility of terrorist attacks as well.

"Transportation of such high volumes of nuclear waste would put virtually every part of the country at risk."

"Transportation routes proposed by rail, road and barge could pass through as many as 44 states and the District of Columbia, putting the waste within half a mile of 50 million people," wrote Kucinich.

While his letter and several others in opposition to the project have been received by the NRC, rulings on the plans have tended to be in favor of PFS.

In fact, just yesterday the NRC rejected Utah's latest attempt to block the issuance of a license for the storage site. It dismissed the state's argument that the site would be permanent rather than temporary. The state claimed that comments made by Gary Lanthrum, Director of the Department of Energy's transportation program, made it clear that the way the storage casks were welded shut would not allow them to be stored at the permanent facility in Yucca Mountain, Nev.

But sighting various letters from the Energy Department and PFS, which noted that there would be flexibility with the types of casks used, the commission stated that "The board sensibly thought differently."

Thus, the only remaining hold-up on the license approval is the question of whether or not risks from a possible F-16 crash would be so minimal there would not be cause for concern.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (a three-member panel of the NRC) has already made a favorable recommendation on the matter to the full NRC.

If the NRC grants a license, PFS would be allowed to construct and operate a spent nuclear fuel storage facility consisting of a cluster of 500 concrete pads, each 67-feet by 30-feet, on which the cylindrical storage casks would sit. Each carbonsteel-encased concrete cask would be 19-feet tall and 11-feet in diameter and would hold a stainless steel canister, which houses the high-level radiation spent nuclear fuel rods.

The site would be home to the N-waste for a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40. However, the state believes that because several issues with the Yucca Mountain repository have yet to be resolved, the waste would stay in Utah much longer than 40 years.

If PFS obtains a license, the state can make an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver or to the appellate court in the District of Columbia. However, PFS has the same right to appeal if its license is denied.

The state is also working to sway Interior Secretary Gale Norton to not approve the Goshute's contract with PFS as well as trying to prevent a right-of-way from being built across the Skull Valley to the proposed site.

While the Senate has yet to examine a Defense Department bill that creates a wilderness area near the proposed site, the House has already passed it.

A final decision on the PFS license & which was applied for more than 2,500 days ago & is expected to come later this summer.

e-mail: kscott@tooeletranscript.com