Utah nuclear waste company ramps up campaign contributions

The company has never shied away from the fact that it donates heavily to state politicians, but the emphasis on contributing to nearly four dozen federal lawmakers from across the country is new.

Political giving, Walker said, "gives us the opportunity to participate with elected officials and offer solutions to growing concerns within the energy sector."

Last year, EnergySolutions CEO Steve Creamer donated the maximum allowed by law $28,500 to Democratic and Republican senatorial campaign committees.

The biggest recipient of EnergySolutions' recent spending spree is Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an ardent supporter of nuclear energy.

Graham has received $24,000 in campaign contributions from EnergySolutions' PAC and more than $19,000 from company investors and executives since December 2006.

He is encouraging the NRC to allow the construction of two nuclear power plants in South Carolina, where EnergySolutions manages the site through which the Italian waste could be imported.

The company wants to import the waste through the ports of Charleston, S.C., or New Orleans for processing in Tennessee.

After processing, about 8 percent, or some 1,600 tons, would be shipped to EnergySolutions' Utah facility, about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City, for disposal. It is the largest and only privately owned radioactive-waste dump in the United States.

The plan has drawn opposition from environmental groups.

"Public opinion should rule and not political opinion that's influenced by campaign donations," said Tom Clements of Friends of the Earth in Columbia, S.C.