Time is running out for Utahns who want to speak out against Private Fuel Storage's plans to bring nuclear waste to Utah.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is accepting public comments on PFS's application to construct a rail line and a transfer station on public land to service its proposed facility in Skull Valley. The deadline for submitting comments is Monday at 5 p.m.

The BLM's decision to reopen the public comment period provides Utahns with a chance to weigh in. Don't waste the opportunity.

The PFS plan calls for storing up to 44,000 tons of spent fuel rods in an outdoor "temporary" facility 45 miles from Salt Lake City. With that much material coming in, it is going to be permanent.

The BLM is charged with ensuring that public lands are used in the public interest. Allowing a private company to handle radioactive waste on public lands is not the action of a good steward.

It is one thing for elected officials to make these arguments. But if the BLM hears a unified voice from Utah, it will take heed. Washington needs to get a clear message that Utah will not be the dumping ground for states that use nuclear power.

If Utahns want to stop this effort by PFS, the Bureau of Land Management needs to hear from them in letters, faxes and e-mails. Nuclear waste storage, even one that is allegedly temporary, is not in the public interest.

Please hurry, as time is running out.

HOW TO COMMENT

Mail comments to:

Pam Schuller

Bureau of Land Management

Salt Lake Field Office

2370 S. 2300 West.

Salt Lake City, Utah 84119

Fax (801) 977-4397

e-mail: pam_schuller@blm.gov.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A10.