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State receives uranium mill application
Paradox Valley proposal already has OK from Montrose County
Herald Denver Bureau
The mill, proposed for the Paradox Valley west of Naturita, would be the first new uranium mill in the country in 25 years. It has caused heated debate in the Paradox Valley, in part because it could restart the uranium mining industry in Southwest Colorado.
Montrose County Commissioners approved zoning for the mill, known as the Piñon Ridge mill, in September.
A Telluride environmental group, Sheep Mountain Alliance, sued Montrose County late last month, claiming the commissioners abused their discretion in granting the permit for the industrial facility in an agricultural area.
This week's application to the state triggers a 10- to 15-month process that will include two public hearings.
State regulators will zero in on health effects of the mill in both the short- and long-term, said Steve Tarlton, radiation program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
"Colorado has the most stakeholder-focused review process for uranium licensing in the United States," Tarlton said.
Tarlton's office has 30 days to determine if the application is complete. Once it does, Energy Fuels has 75 days to hold two public hearings. Those hearings probably will happen in Montrose and the Nucla-Naturita area, said Energy Fuels spokesman Gary Steele.
After the hearings, state law gives regulators nine to 12 months to approve or deny the permit.
Energy Fuels CEO George Glasier said he is confident his application will pass muster with the state.
Travis Stills, a Durango lawyer who represents mill opponents, said Energy Fuels can expect plenty of opposition.
"There will be considerable technical, grass-roots and legal scrutiny of whatever it is they have proposed there," Stills said.
Stills filed the lawsuit in state court in Montrose against the county commissioners on behalf of Sheep Mountain Alliance. In the lawsuit, mill opponents claim the county commissioners should not have approved the permit, because in the middle of the process, the company cut the amount of ore it intended to process in half and doubled the projected life of the mill to 40 years. The lawsuit also claims that the mill should not have been approved in the Paradox Valley because it would carry much higher environmental risks than uranium mines, which are common the in the valley.
A spokeswoman for Montrose County did not return messages Wednesday afternoon.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
at 8:53:54 AM
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Smoove says...
The article states that there is considerable debate among residents in the Paradox Valley. Not from what I've seen. There are a handful of people - relative newcomers - who are opposed. The vast majority of people who have lived here for longer than a couple of years are for the mill. Most opposition has come from Telluride, Moab and that attorney from Durango. It is these outsiders who are attempting to tear our communities apart.
The West End is dying. We need jobs, tax revenues, and economic development. Tourism won't get it done. The mill will be perfectly safe for people and the environment. I think it's ironic that lots of these opponents will trust our government to run health-care, but not trust them to permit and oversee a uranium mill in a remote area. Bizarre. I wish outsiders would let us decide our own future.