Uranium mining in Gateway area could hurt tourism, recreation, report warns

By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Friday, August 14, 2009

A report on the implications of a uranium mining revival in the Gateway area holds lessons for Montrose County as it weighs whether to approve a mill for processing the mineral, the group behind the research says.

The Tucson-based Sonoran Institute this week released a report warning that an upswing in uranium mining could negatively impact the growing tourism and outdoor recreation industry in the Gateway area in southwestern Mesa County.

On Thursday night, Montrose County commissioners met in Nucla to consider a uranium mill proposal by Energy Fuels Resources Corp. for a site west of Naturita. Commissioners made no decision Thursday and will resume review of the matter on Sept. 9 in Montrose.

The nonprofit, conservation-oriented Sonoran Institute’s report considers the economic and community effects of getting uranium out of the ground, rather than processing it.

The economist who prepared the report, Joe Marlow, said a uranium mill is different from a mining operation.

“Still, there are environmental and economic risks associated with that,” he said.

Marlow’s analysis is available at www.sonoraninstitute.org.

Soaring uranium prices had sparked a renewed interest in mining in the Gateway region, but that interest has subsided because of a more recent price drop.

The report says local communities should be aware that traffic, environmental and other impacts of what has been a boom-and-bust industry could harm the more sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation industry.

A representative of Gateway Canyons Resort presented Montrose commissioners with the report Thursday as one more thing to think about as they consider the mill proposal.

The county’s planning commission and planning staff have recommended approval of the mill, with conditions aimed at protecting the environment.

County land-use Director Steve White said the potential tourism and environmental impacts have been a common concern regarding the proposal. Many of the more than 80 people who spoke Thursday opposed the mill, but others have voiced support for it, largely for the jobs it would provide.

Marlow acknowledged the value of mining-related jobs compared to lower-paying tourism work, but he said their higher pay reflects the health risks those jobs present and the lack of certainty over their longevity.

He said the report doesn’t take a position on uranium mining around Gateway.

“It’s just really to make people think and be aware of what the costs and the benefits are,” Marlow said.

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