DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — Cotter Corp. and Energy Fuels Inc. won't have to clean up old uranium mines that haven't produced any ore in over 30 years, after a state board voted to let the companies keep their mining permits.
The Mined Land Reclamation Board voted 4-2 Wednesday to allow the companies to go on inactive status, which means they will not have to begin cleanup for years.
The decision upset environmentalists, who said it's time to clean them up.
Jeff Parsons, lawyer for the Information Network for Responsible Mining, an environmental group, said mine cleanup should begin within 10 years of shutting down. Cotter owns four mines that have not produced ore since about 1981, company officials testified Wednesday.
"The fact that they've been given this exceedingly generous 30-year gap needs to end," Parsons said.
Most mines in Colorado were shut down in the early 1980s, with only brief production from a few mines from 2004 to 2006.
Parsons said state mining regulators have dragged their feet for decades, letting mining companies maintain their permits even though they aren't producing ore.
Members of the mining board said they don't want to revoke permits that the state had granted and honored for years.
"I think to retroactively go back and pull the rug out would be very damaging to their people," said Tom Brubaker, a board member.
A federal judge's order has blocked all uranium mining in Southwest Colorado since 2011 when the court ruled the government didn't properly study the environmental effects of leasing public lands to uranium companies.
Cotter officials objected, saying they keep the mines clean.
"Cotter is on board and committed to doing reclamation on each of these properties," said Glen Williams, the company's vice president of production.
Cotter last produced from two of the mines in 2006, pulling around $13 million worth of ore from them, Williams said. It is uneconomical to continue mining until the market improves, he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that it will extend until May 31 the public comment period for a uranium leasing program environmental impact analysis.
Under the leasing program, the agency manages 31 tracts of land in Mesa, Montrose and San Miguel counties in Colorado totaling about 25,000 acres. The properties are leased to companies for uranium and vanadium mining, but no mining has begun.
The agency is seeking information on the environmental impact and alternatives for managing the program.