'Not trying to keep anything from anyone', said the lab director; the state's MOU with Valar said it and related information were confidential, except as required by law; the energy office uses similar terms with some other nuclear companies
documented conflictpublic process
What was said
- Jaron Wallace, state lab director, at Emery County's 'Nuclear Industries' hearing (minutes) (2025-06-17): "Transparency is imperative. We are not trying to keep anything from anyone."Minutes of a Public Hearing of the Board of Emery County Commissioners, June 17, 2025 (Nuclear Industries in Emery County) (Emery County Commission (Utah Public Notice Website), 2025-06-17)
What the record shows
- The Utah Office of Energy Development's MOU with Valar, signed a month earlier (16 May 2025): 'This MOU and related information are confidential', not to be disclosed without both parties' consent except as required by law; 'OED requires Valar officer approval for external disclosures'; 'No publicity shall be issued without mutual consent.'Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of Energy Development and Valar Atomics, dated May 16, 2025 (signatures omitted) (Utah Office of Energy Development, 2026-01-12)
- For fairness: the MOU also says OED is subject to Utah's records law (GRAMA), and some of OED's later MOUs with other nuclear companies carry similar clauses (gov-011); the MOU was posted on OED's website in January 2026. At the same hearing the lab director publicly described Valar's plans for the lab, and the next day OED's slides for a legislative committee gave the MOU's signing date (gov-040).Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of Energy Development and Valar Atomics, dated May 16, 2025 (signatures omitted) (Utah Office of Energy Development, 2025-05-16)
- The lab director's office is part of the agency that signed the MOU: the lab is 'a unit within the Utah Office of Energy Development', per the joint groundbreaking release.
The gap: At Emery County's June 2025 hearing on nuclear industries, the state's lab director called the meeting 'the first of many' and said nothing was being kept from anyone; the state's signed agreement with Valar, then a month old, said the agreement and related information were confidential, required Valar's approval for outside disclosures and barred publicity without consent.
In plain termsAt Emery County's June 2025 public hearing on nuclear industries, the state official who runs the lab told residents transparency was 'imperative', that nothing was being kept from anyone, and that the meeting was 'the first of many'. A month earlier his agency had signed an agreement with Valar saying the deal and related information were confidential, that the state needed a Valar officer's approval to disclose things, and that neither side would publicize it without the other's consent. In fairness, the state still has to answer public-records requests, it uses similar clauses with some other nuclear companies, and it later posted the agreement online. But on the day he spoke, the agreement itself was confidential, and the minutes do not record him mentioning that.
Why it matters: Residents weigh officials' statements about openness; the lab director's June 2025 statement and the confidentiality terms of OED's May 2025 MOU with Valar sit side by side in the record, and the minutes do not show the MOU being mentioned.
What would settle it: GRAMA to the Utah Office of Energy Development for any records it has classified as protected or redacted at Valar's request under the MOU, and for Valar's confidentiality designations.