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George M. Harmond
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George M. Harmond is a judge for the Utah Seventh Judicial District in Utah.[1] Harmond was appointed to this position in December 2005 by Governor Jon Huntsman (R).[2]
Harmond won a retention election on November 8, 2016.[3]
Biography
Harmond received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. He went on to receive his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1981.[2]
Career
- 2005-Present: Judge, Utah Seventh Judicial District
- 2003-2005: Utah Board of Water Resources
- 1987-2005: Deputy Carbon County Attorney
- 1981-2005: Attorney, Private Practice[2]
Elections
2016
Utah held retention elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for sitting judges seeking retention was April 15, 2016. George Harmond was retained in the Utah 7th District Court (Harmond Seat) election with 71.86 percent of the vote. [3]
| Utah 7th District Court (Harmond Seat), 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 George Harmond | 71.86% | |
| Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, "Utah Election Preliminary Results," accessed November 9, 2016 | ||
Notable cases
Water source for nuclear power plant approved by court
- See also: Utah Seventh Judicial District
A court in Utah approved the water source for a nuclear power plant proposal. Blue Castle Holdings, the company that sought to build the state's first nuclear power plant, applied to divert the water for the plant from the Green River. Judge George M. Harmond of Utah's Seventh Judicial District Court approved the water use plan on November 27, 2013.[4]
The evidence presented in court by Blue Castle convinced the court that the project "will not impair any existing water rights, nor will it interfere with a more beneficial use of water."[5] Judge Harmond found that legislation in Utah views power generation as beneficial for culinary, agricultural, or manufacturing use. It was also deemed that the volume of water use would not affect the affect the river in a negative way.
A total of $17.5 million was invested in research for the project prior to the case's conclusion, including geographical, archaeological, and seismic studies. This research did not find any barriers to building the nuclear facility. Judge Harmond looked at this research to weigh the physical feasibility of the nuclear facility. In the written decision, it was noted that the plant was still in the early stages of approval. Before development could begin, the project still needed the approval of the nuclear regulatory commission. The court's ruling added another guideline for the plant--its water rights would be dependent on those of the Central Utah Project, which supplies water to 600,000 people in the region.[4]
Aaron Tilton, the CEO of Blue Castle Holdings explained how important this case ruling was in Utah, where water is a hot commodity:
| “ | Without a source of water you don't have a project. The original approval by the State Water Engineer has now stood the test of an appeal where the relevant evidence was weighed. The ruling is a major de-risking milestone for the Blue Castle Project. It provides future utility participants greater certainty that the major asset, water for the deployment of a new nuclear plant, has been secured economically.[5][6] | ” |
Power Engineering International, a magazine dedicated to power generation news, believed that the plant would have a positive economic influence on Utah. One thousand workers were expected to be permanent, full-time staff at the plant, and more than 2,500 workers would be needed for the six-year construction of the facility. The plant could also increase Utah's generation of electricity by 50 percent. The article endorsed clean nuclear energy because it "enable[s] the establishment of a multi-source energy portfolio with lower risk and higher cost predictability".[5] Opponents of the plant said that the state engineer did not adequately weigh the potentially harmful risks.[4]
See also
- Utah Judicial Districts
- News: Utah Judiciary Council Receives New Member, November 3rd, 2011
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Utah State Courts, "Directory"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Utah Courts, "Judge Harmond Biography"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed May 14, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Emery County Progress, "Judge rules favorably on water for Green River Nuclear Plant," December 3, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Power Engineering International, "Court Approves Water Use at Blue Castle Nuclear Project," December 2, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Utah • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Utah
State courts:
Utah Supreme Court • Utah Court of Appeals • Utah District Courts • Utah Juvenile Courts • Utah Justice Courts
State resources:
Courts in Utah • Utah judicial elections • Judicial selection in Utah
