Ritter to receive letters of concern about mining operation

Staff reports,

Clean Water Action, a Colorado environmental group, on Wednesday will deliver 1,500 hand-written letters from Fort Collins residents to Gov. Bill Ritter in support of a strict rulemaking process for mining.

The residents are concerned about safety because they live near the site of a proposed uranium mining operation. The mine is proposed by Canadian company Powertech, which has been actively drilling test holes and plans to apply for a uranium mining permit in 2009.

Colorado’s rulemaking process on mining was enacted into law during the 2008 legislative session. The first “stakeholders meeting for the rulemaking process will be Wednesday afternoon in Denver.

“The governor needs to know that Fort Collins citizens are seriously threatened by this uranium mine,” Gary Wockner, of Clean Water Action, said in a statement. “He needs to see the letters and feel the concern of the people who wrote them.”

Residents are concerned about potential groundwater contamination, negative impacts to property, long-term impacts of nuclear energy and other issues related to the leach uranium mine.

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