Nuclear waste 'strictly prohibited' on the lease, per the slides; the memo lets Valar buy land for spent-fuel storage

recordconfirmed

2026-09-17 · csite-008 · Utah Trust Lands Administration, Valar Atomics, Utah Legislature

The staff slides shown to the board on 20 August list among 'Safeguards': 'Storage of nuclear waste is strictly prohibited on the lease'. The memorandum's terms add that before any portion of the property may be used to store radioactive waste, 'that portion, as determined by TLA, must be purchased by the lessee', and that Valar must buy any portion needed for 'interim storage of spent fuel' before storing it; spent fuel may not be stored on land the trust still owns. So storage is barred on land under the lease but provided for on land Valar buys. Utah Code 19-3-301 separately bans placing 'high-level nuclear waste' in Utah unless, among other conditions, the Governor approves with the Legislature's concurrence (a 2026 exemption for test-reactor waste exists); Utah defines that term by the federal 'high-level radioactive waste' (42 U.S.C. 10101), which covers waste from reprocessing spent fuel plus other highly radioactive material the NRC by rule says needs permanent isolation, while federal law defines 'spent nuclear fuel' separately. Whether used TRISO fuel kept at a Carbon reactor would fall under Utah's ban is not answered in any record read.

In plain termsThe short version shown to the board said nuclear waste is strictly banned on the lease. The full terms add a purchase route: Valar must first buy the piece of land it needs, and with federal and state licenses could store used fuel there for an interim period. Both statements are true; the slide leaves out the purchase route. Utah law strictly limits high-level nuclear waste, but whether that law reaches used fuel stored at a reactor is a legal question the records read do not settle.

TLA Board of Trustees meeting presentation, August 20, 2026 (Item 9A slides: SULA 2095 OBA) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-08-20) primary government “Storage of nuclear waste is strictly prohibited on the lease”
09.17.2026 TLA Board Packet (Item 10A: SULA 2095-OBA Board of Trustees Memorandum, Carbon County letter, lease map) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-09-17) primary government “that portion, as determined by TLA, must be purchased by the lessee”
Utah Code 19-3-301: Restrictions on nuclear waste placement in state (Utah State Legislature, 2023-02-27) primary government “high-level nuclear waste or greater than class C radioactive waste is prohibited”
Utah Code 19-3-102: Definitions (Radiation Control Act) (Utah State Legislature, 2025-05-07) primary government
42 U.S.C. 10101: Definitions (Nuclear Waste Policy Act) (Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House) primary government “fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation”

verified 2026-10-02: Holds. Re-read in late September 2026: August slides p. 49 ('Safeguards'); memo p. 22 (Spent Fuel Storage) and p. 24 (Purchase Option); Utah Code 19-3-301 and 19-3-102(9); 42 U.S.C. 10101(12) and (23). Quotes exact. Removed two general statements from the plain text that no source read supports. Corrected 30 Sept 2026: the plain-language text was reworded for neutral wording.

In tabs: Carbon County Site, Safety Related Issues, Connections to Government