SALT LAKE CITY?The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a final environmental study that sanctions a plan to store highly radioactive nuclear waste in Utah’s Skull Valley.

The study cites the economic benefits of consolidated storage for spent nuclear fuel rods from eight of the nation’s nuclear-powered electric utilities.

It said an industry plan to store up to 40,000 tons of waste in concrete-packed, steel casks had few environmental consequences for the desolate Skull Valley Indian Reservation, 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

The Goshute tribe has agreed to accept the waste from the eight utilities that are running out of space for spent fuel rods.