This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In "In the wet firewood business" (Opinion, Sept. 16), columnist George Pyle had a good analogy comparing the EnergySolutions business model to the game of Monopoly. Unfortunately, he stopped too short with his analysis.
Pyle stated that the winner in Monopoly gets there by collecting rents, not by purchasing property; therefore EnergySolutions should charge a monthly storage fee rather than a onetime disposal payment.
What he ignored is that in the game of Monopoly, the winner is declared when other players are bankrupt and can no longer pay rents. Who would be the winner when EnergySolutions customers no longer pay rent? What would be the eviction procedure for orphan drums of long-lived nuclear waste?
Utah seems to welcome NIMBY (not in my backyard) facilities with light regulation, especially nuclear-related ones, without enough questioning on why other states seem to overregulate.
Whether the nuclear storage business is privately run or run by government, intensive government involvement is required.
Dave Moore
Sandy