Gov. Jon Huntsman is finally spending some of his immense political capital — on Utah's most controversial political issue, no less — the environment.

It will be interesting to see if Huntsman's emergence as an out-and-out environmentalist will hurt his ever-soaring popularity ratings. Utah voters have often proven to be much closer to the political center than their right-wing, pro-energy, pro-development lawmakers.

Earlier this week, Huntsman shot down a Bear Lake hydro-power proposal because of the "disruption" it would cause to the lake's pristine water. A Logan hydroelectric firm had hoped to pump water out of Bear Lake to generate "renewable energy."

Now, Huntsman has put Utah into the front lines of battling importation of foreign nuke waste. Of course, his previous dodging of the issue — Huntsman said it was a federal regulatory decision whether EnergySolutions could import Italian nuclear to Utah — is quickly being erased:

As I have always emphatically declared, Utah should not be the world's dumping ground. Our country has limited space to store even domestic waste and it would be most appropriate to have a federal policy against the importation of foreign nuclear waste. However, as the federal government is slow to adopt such a policy, Utah will lead the way.

The anti-nuke lobby is unlikely to slap the dreaded "flip-flopper" label on Jon.
HEAL's Vanessa Pierce, says:

Governor Huntsman's action today speaks volumes for his integrity, strength, and passion for protecting what we cherish about our state. If EnergySolutions wants to pick a fight with our Governor, the people of Utah will be standing behind him every step of the way.

I'm sure Huntsman will be comforted to know HEAL is "behind him" when EnergySolutions starts throwing its cash and clout around.