Steve Creamer: Unmasked

How did Utah's own Steve Creamer become CEO of the nation's largest commercial nuclear waste dump? His is a history riddled with failed projects, wasted taxpayer dollars, and trampling over the public interest.

Water over the Dam (not under the bridge)

On New Year's Eve, 1988, the $23.5 million Quail Creek Dam failed, sending a 12-foot high wall of water over part of Washington County.¹ The dam failure killed livestock, flooded homes and apartments, destroyed bridges, ripped out roads, deposited silt on farmland, and ultimately wreaked $12 million dollars in damage.² Steve Creamer's engineering firm, Creamer & Noble, engineered the earthen dam.³

Rocky Roads

Utahns remember all too well when in 1989 part of I-15 cracked, crumbled, and sent chunks of freeway flying up through drivers' windshields. Who was behind our rocky roads? Steve Creamer. He worked as a consulting engineer and lobbied heavily for Utah to pave I-15 with Syn-crete, an experimental (faulty) synthetic concrete. The project and clean-up cost Utah taxpayers nearly $3 million. Creamer was also questioned in a federal and state Grand Jury Investigation, which examined the misuse of federal funds and the misrepresentation of Syn-crete.⁴

This is the place…to dump your waste

Steve Creamer made his fortune out of other states' garbage. Over the objections of East Carbon residents, in 1992 Steve Creamer opened East Carbon Development Corp (ECDC).⁵ The mammoth dump's twenty-nine 80-acre cells served southern California cities, General Motors, Ford, and Dow Chemical, among others. Later, Creamer was accused of trying to create a monopoly on waste disposal in Utah. Other industrial contracts brought contaminated soils too hazardous for municipal landfills.⁶ Residents formed Citizen Awareness Now (CAN) and vocally opposed the dump; ECDC then filed a civil lawsuit against the group. Creamer felt the good name of his company was being impugned and his right to conduct business compromised.⁷

Too hot to handle

As the battle over the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) plan to bring high-level nuclear waste onto the Skull Valley Reservation raged, Creamer quietly supported an alternative proposal, termed Plan B, to store high level nuclear waste on school trust land in southern Utah.⁸ As CEO of ISG Resources, Creamer hosted an insiders brainstorming meeting about Plan B. His company manufactured a cement substitute (Plan B would have created a huge demand for cement to build millions of square yards of cement pads and waste storage casts). However, Plan B undermined Governor Leavitt's strong opposition to bringing high-level waste into the state and went head-to-head with the 71% of registered voters who opposed PFS⁹.

Power Player

Despite Creamer's engineering failures, he scores an A+ in the political arena. In 1991, Creamer was named by fellow lobbyists as one of the most powerful lobbyists in Utah¹⁰. In 1990, he was one of the most highly paid “hired guns” on Capitol Hill¹¹. In the 2004 governor's race, he personally contributed over $80,000 to candidates¹². And as the CEO of EnergySolutions, last election cycle he oversaw more than $189,000 in political contributions. This year, his company gave $15,000 to Speaker Curtis.¹⁶ His long list of influential friends and associates includes: former Governor Bangerter, Republican Party giant Joe Cannon, and businessman Larry Miller.

Dr. Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love NUCLEAR POWER

While Utah is still recovering from the devastating blow the last nuclear power boom left the state, Steve Creamer has been actively promoting the industry. He joined The American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness (ACGNC), which promotes a national and global nuclear renaissance¹³. In March, he presented at his alma mater, Utah State University, on how nuclear power can solve global warming¹⁴. He even hired Patrick Moore, a nuclear industry spokesman, to present at EnergySolutions‟ Costumer Conference in January. But just as any nuclear waste dump that calls itself “EnergySolutions” should raise eyebrows, so should its claims that nuclear power can solve the global warming crisis¹⁵. Because this is really about EnergySolutions‟ bottom line: more nuclear power means more nuclear waste, which equals more money for EnergySolutions and Steve Creamer.

1 Deseret News. 1989. Collapse of the Quail Dam raises basic questions. January 4.
2 Baiman, Joe. 1989. As flood cleanup progesses, dike probes begin. Deseret News. January 14.
3 Henetz, Patty. 2004. New boss at Envirocare. Salt Lake Tribune. December 18
4 Brown, Matthew. 1991. Syn-crete makers may sue probers who raided office. Deseret News. June 9.
5 Smith, Arva. 1992. 1st Section of landfull nears completion amid public fray. Deseret News. June 11.
6 Fantin, Linda and Dan Harrie. 1996. From garbage to gold; foresight, political muscle keep money train on track. August 4.
7 Smith, Arva. 1992. 1st Section of landfull nears completion amid public fray. Deseret News. June 11. Israelsen, Brent. 1993. S, California communities want Carbon to take out the trash. Deseret News. April 4
8 Fahys, Judy and Dan Harrie. 2003 „Plan B‟ Aims to outbid Goshutes‟ N-waste site-Legislators see little hope to stop toxic materials, want to „deal with reality;‟ Lawmakers push alternative to Goshutes‟ Site. Salt Lake Tribune. February 6.
9 Harrie, Dan. 2002. If Goshutes win approval, some quietly propose “Plan B‟ so Utah reaps windfall; Nuclear Waste could go to Eastern Utah; Big Bucks cause some to reconsider. Salt Lake Tribune. Sept. 22
10 Bernick Jr., Bob. 2004. New Envirocare boss a lot like the old. Deseret News. December 17.
11 Bernick, Jr. Bob. 1990. Lobbyist wield legislative clout. Deseret News. December 31.
12 Henetz, Patty. 2004. New boss at Envirocare-critics say trouble not over for Envirocare; Entrepreneur with risk-taker reputation to run the controversial Utah business. Salt Lake Tribune. December 18.
13 ACGNC Press Release. 2007, February 1. ACGNC Expands Membership.
14 Burgess, Kim. 2007. Energy Rebirth. Logan Herald Journal. March 8.
15 Smith, Bryce. Insurmountable Risks: The Dangers of Using Nuclear Power to Combat Climate Change. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. 2006.
16. Tribune Editorial. Lawmakers for Sale: Utah desperately needs campaign finance reform. Salt Lake Tribune. Jan 2008.