EnergySolutions has changed its mind.

Company officials announced Wednesday they will no longer seek permission to dispose of foreign nuclear waste at the company’s Clive disposal facility.

“We have determined that we can best serve our international customers by exporting our skills and technologies and building longer-term relationships to assist them in developing their own facilities and capabilities, rather than pursuing a short-term disposal solution at the company’s Clive, Utah, facility,” said Val Christensen, president and CEO of EnergySolutions, in a prepared statement.

The company intends to help its Italian customers build a facility where Class A waste can be safely stored, rather than store the waste at Clive, according to Mark Walker, director of media relations for EnergySolutions. However, there is no current written agreement to build a foreign waste disposal site in Italy, and EnergySolutions would not own such a facility, but would seek to be the contractor that operates it.

Exporting expertise rather than importing waste was EnergySolutions long-term plan even when it proposed bringing the Italian waste to Clive. Now the company is simply accelerating that plan, according to Walker.

In 2008, the company sought a permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from Italy. The waste was to be processed in Tennessee, with some of the material recycled, some incinerated, and a total of 1,600 tons of processed waste sent to Clive for permanent storage.

The proposal sparked controversy in Utah, with governors Jon Huntsman and Gary Herbert opposing the plan. Congressman Jim Matheson has been shepherding a bill through the U.S. House of Representatives that would ban the importation of all radioactive waste, and the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-level Radioactive Waste is in the process of appealing a court decision that denied the compact the right to stop the proposal.

“The decision was not the result of any outside influence or controversy,” said Walker. “After evaluation and discussion by our leadership team, it was apparent it was the right thing to do for our company and stockholders.” Helping clients develop and handle their own waste will build longer-term relationships which will be more fruitful than a short-term solution like disposing the waste at Clive, Christensen said.

The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah was pleased by the decision.

“It was a surprise, but absolutely welcome news,” said Vanessa Pierce, executive director of HEAL Utah. “This is what Utahns have been asking for all along. Let Italy take care of its own waste.”

Gov. Herbert said he was pleased by the company’s decision not the take foreign waste.

“The announcement by EnergySolutions that it will no longer pursue efforts to import foreign nuclear waste for storage at its Clive facility is welcome news for all Utahns,” Herbert said, in a prepared statement. “As Governor, I have opposed, and I continue to oppose, the importation of foreign nuclear waste to Utah. This decision by EnergySolutions is the right one, and is personally appreciated by me. I would like to thank the company and its president, Val Christensen, for working with my office and state regulators to reach this decision.”

Pierce still sees a need for Matheson’s bill, which has been stalled in the Senate, to ban the import of radioactive waste. She said EnergySolutions still has plans to import waste to be processed in Tennessee before being returned to its country of origin and there are other companies that may seek to import radioactive waste.

“The Radioactive Import Deterrence Act sponsored by Rep. Matheson is still needed,” said Pierce. “There are other companies in the United States that may look for the opportunity to import and store foreign radioactive waste.”

Christensen said the new strategy capitalizes on the companies strongest asset — its technology and employees.

“Some people view Clive [the disposal site] as our greatest asset,” he said. “It’s not. The greatest asset of our company is our people, the very smart engineers and technologists who, in the long-term strategic plan, will put us in a position to grow beyond the disposal of waste at Clive.”