Eyebrows were raised when Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. allowed Senate Bill 155 to pass without his signature. This is the measure that took elected officials out of the loop on nuclear waste expansion.

It was as though Huntsman wasn't really serious about keeping nuclear waste out of Utah. And a lot of people wondered just where the governor was coming from.

And so it was a pleasant surprise when Huntsman announced last week that EnergySolutions had agreed to "withdraw" its application to add to its landfill. The company said it would live with its currently approved capacity instead of doubling it. And the deal bars disposal of hotter class B and C level radioactive waste that the company has sought in the past.

But don't breathe any sighs of relief just yet. EnergySolutions is not going gently into the night. It apparently plans to re-apply for expansion after Huntsman is out of office. It has asked the state to hang on to all its paperwork.

But the plot thickens even more. The company made its bargain with Huntsman after the governor threatened to use the state's veto power to keep the eight-state Northwest Interstate Low-Level Waste Compact from continuing to send waste.

Then on Tuesday we got a surprise. Documents show that EnergySolutions doesn't actually take waste from the compact, which was authorized by Congress to dispose of radioactive waste in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Instead, the company takes contaminated waste from other states.

Moreover, the Huntsman deal called for EnergySolutions to "promptly withdraw" its current request for more waste, without any qualifying language about preserving future options. But Assistant Attorney General Fred Nelson said the deal never required EnergySolutions to permanently renounce ambitions to dump more waste at Clive, the railroad spur 72 miles west of Salt Lake City.

Less than a week after the announcement, the company said it was withdrawing its license application, but it used the odd legal phrase "without prejudice," a term lawyers use in other contexts to indicate that they reserve the right to file a case again.

The nuanced position went unmentioned when Huntsman heralded his purported grand compromise. So what kind of sleight of hand is going on herefi We're not sure. Huntsman needs to stop dancing and be clear with the people of Utah.

Many were skeptical about Huntsman's motives in refusing to reject SB 155. And many were angry that the voice of the people, through their elected representatives, had been substantially squelched.

Huntsman needs to clear the air, and soon.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.

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