Activists battle new uranium mine

Comment: No to Uranium Mining and Milling in Virginia or anywhere in the world! Uranium mining is a proven technology of death and sickness to workers and neighbors!

Environment » They want a closer look taken by regulators.
By Judy Fahys

The Salt Lake Tribune

Two environmental groups are trying to block Utah's first new uranium mine in three decades.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Uranium Watch want the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to rethink its approval of the Daneros Mine, located about 10 miles from Natural Bridges National Monument.

The groups also want the federal agency to stop Australia-based White Canyon Uranium from mining its Daneros claim until BLM's Utah director, Selma Sierra, determines whether her agency studied the environmental consequences sufficiently.

"There are a lot of issues associated with uranium mining that were not adequately assessed before the permits were issued," Liz Thomas, an attorney for SUWA, said Friday.

Peter Batten, managing director of White Canyon, did not respond to requests for comment. And BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall, said only: "We have agreed to review the request for a stay."

A company news release in May said White Canyon would begin developing the site immediately and planned ore shipments in September.

Sarah Fields, director of Moab-based Uranium Watch, said the project needs more thorough reviews of its potential impacts on water and air. For instance, she said, the BLM did not look at the possible emissions of radon.

Thomas submitted a nearly 50-page critique of BLM's analysis. Besides possible harm to the air and water, she said, the cumulative impacts of the Daneros Mine and other nearby uranium operations should be considered.

For instance, mine waste, called "tailings," from past uranium mining remains piled up on the Daneros site, Thomas noted. In addition, if old mines reopen in the area, there will be more ore trucks traveling the backcountry roads on their way to the uranium mill in Blanding.

Uranium activity in the Four Corners has eased in recent months with a decline in uranium prices from a recent high of $135 per pound two years ago to about $47 a pound this month. Denison Mines, which owns the Blanding mill, has put four of its seven active mines in the region on standby, Ron Hochstein, Denison's chief executive officer, told the Utah Radiation Control Board in June.

There is no deadline for the BLM to respond to the groups' request, Crandall said, although the agency generally tries to provide an answer within 30 days. She added that the Utah director's review will include staff input on all the concerns.

"It's more important," Crandall said, "to conduct the review in as thorough a manner as possible to ensure we cover the entire breadth of issues raised."

The BLM released its final decision on the permit, plus a "finding of no significant impact," on May 27.

fahys@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12969036