Salt Lake City, UT (December 19th, 2025) – Today, December 19, 2025, the Northwest Interstate Compact (NWIC) voted to approve EnergySolutions’ request to bring Canadian nuclear power radioactive waste to its Clive, Utah facility for permanent dumping. During the meeting, Compact members, appointees of their respective governors, approved a resolution to accept over 1.3 million cubic yards of radioactive waste from nuclear power generated in Ontario, Canada to be brought in for permanent disposal in Utah. 

Eighty-eight US and Canadian groups submitted important questions to the NWCompact Commissioners [from UT, WA, OR, ID, WY, MT, HI, AK].  While some of these points were briefly raised, the decision-making meeting provided no opportunity for public comment or input.

Based on concerns from organizations, the NWIC voted to require reporting on what companies will be sending their waste to Utah. The NWIC also removed any mentions of mixed waste because EnergySolutions now states it will not ship mixed hazardous waste. The original request provided by EnergySolutions states the waste coming into the US for disposal would be mixed hazardous and radioactive types of waste. The lack of clarity on the type of waste coming into the country remains concerning. 

This decision moves forward despite additional unresolved concerns raised by more than 88 organizations.

These concerns relate to transportation routes, public transparency, and lack of meaningful tribal consultation. All committee members voted in favor of the proposal except for Washington State, which abstained from the vote after it was clear it would pass on the grounds that additional meaningful tribal consultation was needed.

Approval for EnergySolutions to move forward is now contingent on Canadian export authorization and a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval for importation of the waste. The NRC process has always approved requests and does not allow for public hearings unless a party legally intervenes against the proposal, requesting an expensive adjudicatory process. 

Serious questions remain about the true nature of this waste, its long-term risks, and whether commitments made today will be enforceable once export and import approvals are granted. Utah has a long history of being treated as a radioactive dumping ground. Utahns and communities along the transport routes should not be asked to bear international radioactive risks while critical details remain hidden. 

Concerned organizations, advocates, researchers, and individuals will continue to oppose efforts to bring foreign radioactive waste into our communities and will continue to demand accountability, full disclosure, and protections for public health, Tribal Nations, and future generations.

“Reversing national policy against foreign radioactive waste dumping in the US should not be done on a Friday afternoon during the year-end holiday time, by 8 unaccountable governors’ appointees, who barely gave lip-service to serious concerns, objections and questions raised by from dozens of US and Canadian groups as soon as this threat was made public,” stated Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. 

She continued, “Low-level is NOT low risk and can give significant doses of radiation. Dubbing it as such probably even deceived some of the NorthWest Compact commissioners who voted on it.” 

“Utah should not be the permanent dumping ground for the world’s radioactive waste. Today’s NWIC decision moves forward despite unanswered questions about transportation, transparency, and tribal consultation, and it asks Utah communities to shoulder international radioactive risks without clear accountability for the businesses profiting from this proposal. That is not a fair deal for our communities. Utah has already paid a heavy price for radioactive exposure. This decision repeats a familiar pattern: exporting risk to communities that have long been treated as sacrifice zones. HEAL Utah will continue to fight to protect public health, the environment, and future generations.” said Lexi Tuddenham, Executive Director, HEAL Utah

“This approval was rushed through in just a few months after first being raised in September 2025, leaving communities, Tribal Nations, and organizations with little meaningful opportunity to engage. This approval reflects a failure of accountability for private businesses and decision makers. A proposal with permanent radioactive consequences was rushed from its introduction in September 2025 to approval in December, less than 2 weeks before the end of the year, without adequate public engagement or meaningful community or tribal consultations from not only Utah but all the states the waste will need to travel through. When decision-makers move this quickly, they are not listening, they are insulating themselves from community opposition. When decisions move this fast, it sends a clear message that public voices were not truly valued.” said Carmen Valdez, Senior Policy Associate, HEAL Utah

Context

During the meeting on November 25th, more than 50 attendees listened as public commenters, from Utah, across the U.S., and Canada, unanimously opposed EnergySolutions’ proposal to bring in foreign radioactive and hazardous waste for permanent disposal in Utah, citing threats to public health, transportation safety, and transparency.

So called “low level” radioactive waste from nuclear power includes long-lasting radioactive elements such as plutonium-239 (dangerous for a quarter to half a million years) and one of the most deadly substances known, iodine-129 dangerous for a 160 to 320 million years, strontium 90 which causes bone cancer and leukemia, cesium 137 which causes heart disease, and hundreds of other kinds of radioactive material that increase risks of cancer, birth defects, reduced immunity and heart disease.

Now that EnergySolutions has gotten Compact approval to import the waste and dispose of it in the US, they will apply for an import permit. NRC has never denied imports for nuclear processing so can be expected to rubber stamp this, especially in this era where the NRC is weakening its regulations and speeding up industry approval . There is no opportunity under US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations for public comment,  meeting or hearing unless a party legally intervenes and requests a legal administrative process.

EnergySolutions has indicated they will submit their application to expand their facility in Clive, UT with the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control. This will be the only option for Utahns to submit public comments locally, but the import decision has now been approved–in fact requested by that very “regulatory” agency on behalf of their licensee, EnergySolutions.

EnergySolutions could begin importing radioactive waste even before their expansion cell application is open for public comment in Utah, pushing out the public process until after EnergySolutions has already been allowed to import a substantial amount of waste.  

Resources

• https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/88-US-and-Canadian-Groups-Oppose-Dumping-Foreign-Nuclear-Hazardous-Waste-in-Utah-and-US-.pdf

• https://nwcompact.org/

• https://nwcompact.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EnergySolutions-Request-Letter-CD-2025-177.pdf

• https://nwcompact.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/NWIC-Public-Meeting-Notice-and-Draft-Agenda-12-19-2025.pdf

• https://nwcompact.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/NWIC-Example-Arrangement-for-Ontario-Canada-Waste-with-Email-12-19-25-1.pdf 

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40844803/