ApprovedMesa County approves uranium mine permit near Gateway
BY MARIJA B. VADER
GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO
December 19, 2007
The Mesa County commissioners Tuesday approved a conditional use permit for an underground uranium mine five miles southwest of Gateway.
The action reintroduces uranium mining to an area with a rich uranium mining history dating to the 1940s.
In the 1990s, the price of uranium ore plummeted to between $8 and $10 per pound, prompting the closure of area uranium mines. Now, the price has reached $90 a pound and made it economically feasible to mine, said Frank Filas, environmental manager for the mine, Energy Fuels Resources.
Energy Fuels Resources would like to mine up to 200 tons of ore per day at full scale mining at its Whirlwind Mine. The mine is five miles away from Gateway, and about 15 miles away down 5/10 Road to John Brown Canyon Road to Highway 141.
Initially, the company will hire between 10-12 people and haul up to 100 tons a day of uranium.
The company would truck the ore to a mill in Blanding, Utah, Filas said. The ore would not go through the town of Gateway, he said.
The company would like to start mining next year.
Eventually, Energy Fuels Resources may build its own mill in western Montrose County at a cost of $100 million and at least a decade of jumping through regulatory hoops, he added.
The radioactive milled ore is targeted for use at nuclear power plants and could be sold as far away as India and China, “but more than likely, domestic,” Filas said.
The Bureau of Land Management is now preparing an environmental assessment on the project, said David Lehmann, natural resource specialist with the Grand Junction BLM office. Based on the results of the EA, an environmental impact statement may be called for, Lehmann said.
Hendricks’ comments
Tuesday, at the commissioner hearing, several people cautioned the commissioners about a hasty approval.
John Williams is staff attorney for Discovery Channel founder and owner John Hendricks. Hendricks has developed several businesses in Gateway.
Hendricks’ initial thoughts were to support job creation, Williams said.
“We’d like to support Energy Fuels, but this support is quite conditional and done with some reluctance on my part,” Williams said. Now, Gateway has a “terrific recreational-based economy. Our fear is that these cultures may clash.”
Williams suggested monitoring the activity more often than the planning commission recommended.
Commissioners agreed, and wrote that into the list of 17 recommended conditions.
Commissioners required the company get permission from all state and federal regulatory agencies. County leaders required all radiation releases to not exceed acceptable state and federal standards.
The commissioners’ primary concern was the John Brown Canyon Road, which leads to Highway 141. The gravel road is twisty, steep and has hairpin turns.
The company is required to maintain the road in all weather conditions.
Other public comment
Grand Junction resident Bob Beverly worked for Union Carbide and wrote a scientific paper on radiation of underground mines.
“As far as radiation exposure, we certainly found there was no concern whatsoever,” on the impact of underground mining to the environment.
John Kiernan, a retired Catholic priest, appealed to the commissioners’ duty of making decisions based on the common good.
The Colorado Medical Society recommended uranium mining be eliminated, Kiernan said. He questioned the feasibility of the ore, which he called “very low grade."
Kiernan wondered aloud the benefits of a mine that will be open only 10 years.
Many say effects of uranium mining is unknown, but it’s “illustrative that the government gives $150,000” in payments to men and women who mined uranium between 1935 and 1971 who have suffered health effects, Kiernan said, referring to federal payments.
Uranium ore is safer in the ground “until we’re ready to use it,” said Chad Kennard, West Slope field organizer for the Colorado Environmental Coalition. He also asked about a plan of remediation in case of a spill.
Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking, said Grand Junction resident Joel Prudhomme.
“If the material is ingested, what is the cumulative effect?” Prudhomme asked. “Dust mitigation and air and water discharges are real critical,” because the air and water drainages both go toward Gateway.
“The uranium industry has a pretty poor legacy,” Prudhomme said. “We’re dealing with an industry that doesn’t deal with a benevolent material.”
Approving the mine is premature, because the mine’s operators don’t yet know for sure where it will be milled, said Beth Mills, land use planner for the Sonoran Institute.
Jake Carpenter also urged commissioners to delay their decision.
Most of the clean-up of mines falls to the shoulders of American taxpayers, said Carpenter, whose grandfather died “racked by cancer” after working two years in the Uravan uranium mine.
“I’m pretty sure a mountain biker from Boulder doesn’t want to ride next to a uranium processing mine,” Carpenter said.
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.