By The Associated Press Wednesday, October 14, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Radiation Control Board has voted to allow more depleted uranium into the state only after the company that wants to take it submits a report confirming that additional steps to safeguard the waste will work.
On Tuesday the board voted to require EnergySolutions Inc. to complete a “site performance assessment” before additional depleted uranium comes to Utah.
The move comes less than a month after the board refused to block the disposal of the low-level radioactive waste in the state.
A board vote in September removed any obstacles to EnergySolutions’ plans to dispose of depleted uranium waste from the Savannah River site, a former nuclear weapons complex in South Carolina, at the company’s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City.
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2009/10/14/news/doc4ad60cc0476df657146512.txt
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Red Rock Wilderness Act: Our Chance to Be Present at the Creation
Photo of Gooseneck of Colorado River taken by Ray Bloxham for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Posted: September 30, 2009 11:42 AM
Robert Redford,Actor, Director, and Environmental Activist
This week marks an historic turning point for people who love the wild canyon country and sweeping mesas of Southern Utah. For the first time, the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest, and Public Lands will consider a bill designed to protect millions of acres of spectacular Utah lands as wilderness.
All of these lands -- some of the last great places on earth -- are owned by the public, but most of them remain vulnerable to industrial development. America's Red Rock Wilderness Act would protect them from oil and gas development, uranium mining, and off-road vehicle use. Meanwhile, hunters, anglers, hikers, and families could continue to enjoy these lands, including the renowned Cedar Mesa, San Rafael Swell, and the Book Cliffs.
This is our chance to be present at the creation. If we pass the Red Rock Wilderness Act, we can tell our grandchildren that we helped birth the latest Yellowstone. We can say we preserved treasures equal to Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks. We can add to the wilderness inheritance of future generations, and they will thank us for it.
I love the extraordinary lands encompassed in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. I have spent decades exploring them, and I am still awed by the beauty of their serpentine canyons and alcoves filled with stone houses built by the ancestors of today's Pueblo people. I have profoundly inspiring memories of the time I've spent hiking with my family under sculpted arches, through pink sand dunes and across mesas that open up to a sea of redrock vistas.
Fortunately, there is growing support in Congress for protecting precious wildlands like these. This February, Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands Act -- the most significant conservation law in decades. The law designated more than 2.1 million acres of wilderness in nine states. Significantly, this was a bipartisan effort.
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, introduced by true champions Senator Richard Durbin and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, also has bipartisan support. It has a remarkable 139 cosponsors in the House and 31 in the senate--that's almost 1 out of every 3 Members of Congress.
I believe two key forces are fueling this renewed desire to protect the public's lands.
First, lawmakers are finally recognizing the toll climate change is taking on fragile landscapes like Southern Utah. The highly regarded NRDC is releasing a report tomorrow documenting the impacts of global warming on national parks, and Zion is one of the 25 most imperiled. The same extreme heat and drought that plague Zion stretch across the region.
Already, conditions are so dry that high winds are picking up Utah's red dust and dumping it hundreds of miles east on Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Skiers call this red snow or watermelon snow.
When you build roads and lay drill pads and pipelines on this kind of delicate landscape, it rips apart the biological soils that retain precious water and prevent erosion. Scientists agree that protecting large roadless areas is critical for combating climate change.
Lawmakers are also beginning to realize that we can power our nation with cleaner, more sustainable options than dirty fossil fuels. Energy efficiency and plug-in hybrids will do far more to free us from our oil addiction than the tiny amount of fuel found in Utah -- home to just 2.5 percent of the nation' natural gas reserves and 1 percent of oil reserves.
But there is also a second force behind the growing movement for America's Redrock Wilderness Act: the American people. I don't think popular support for wilderness has ever waned in this country -- exploring untrammeled ground is too deeply embedded in American tradition. But I do believe that during the Bush administration, those voices were not heard above industry's clamor.
Still, Americans burst through the din last November, when the Bush administration gave 77 drilling leases as a parting gift to their friends in the oil and gas industry. The leases were all in Southern Utah and many of them were in full view of beloved national parks. More than 150,000 people filed protest comments with the Bureau of Land Management, and the successful effort to block the leases received national attention. It became clear just how much Americans care about this corner of Utah.
There is also strong local support for America's Redrock Wilderness Act. The lands included in the bill were inventories by hundreds of Utah volunteers, and Utah activists, religious leaders, and businesspeople have called on politicians to pass it. The natural assets of the state of Utah and the quality of life they provide continue to be a primary reason individuals and families move there and stay there.
As well, many Utah residents see the economic benefits of choosing wilderness over industrialization. Back when President Clinton first proposed protecting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, some locals hated the idea. Now many say it was one of the best things that happened to their region. According to a report by the Sonoran Insitute, using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, labor income and personal earning power increased significantly in the years after the monument was designated.
The truth is no generation regrets setting aside land for another. No generation looks back and chastises the previous one for leaving a wilderness inheritance.
The America's Redrock Wilderness Act is our chance to add to this natural heritage. You can do your part by telling your lawmakers to support the bill.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-redford/the-red-rock-wilderness-a_b_304281.html
Posted: September 30, 2009 11:42 AM
Robert Redford,Actor, Director, and Environmental Activist
This week marks an historic turning point for people who love the wild canyon country and sweeping mesas of Southern Utah. For the first time, the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest, and Public Lands will consider a bill designed to protect millions of acres of spectacular Utah lands as wilderness.
All of these lands -- some of the last great places on earth -- are owned by the public, but most of them remain vulnerable to industrial development. America's Red Rock Wilderness Act would protect them from oil and gas development, uranium mining, and off-road vehicle use. Meanwhile, hunters, anglers, hikers, and families could continue to enjoy these lands, including the renowned Cedar Mesa, San Rafael Swell, and the Book Cliffs.
This is our chance to be present at the creation. If we pass the Red Rock Wilderness Act, we can tell our grandchildren that we helped birth the latest Yellowstone. We can say we preserved treasures equal to Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks. We can add to the wilderness inheritance of future generations, and they will thank us for it.
I love the extraordinary lands encompassed in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. I have spent decades exploring them, and I am still awed by the beauty of their serpentine canyons and alcoves filled with stone houses built by the ancestors of today's Pueblo people. I have profoundly inspiring memories of the time I've spent hiking with my family under sculpted arches, through pink sand dunes and across mesas that open up to a sea of redrock vistas.
Fortunately, there is growing support in Congress for protecting precious wildlands like these. This February, Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands Act -- the most significant conservation law in decades. The law designated more than 2.1 million acres of wilderness in nine states. Significantly, this was a bipartisan effort.
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, introduced by true champions Senator Richard Durbin and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, also has bipartisan support. It has a remarkable 139 cosponsors in the House and 31 in the senate--that's almost 1 out of every 3 Members of Congress.
I believe two key forces are fueling this renewed desire to protect the public's lands.
First, lawmakers are finally recognizing the toll climate change is taking on fragile landscapes like Southern Utah. The highly regarded NRDC is releasing a report tomorrow documenting the impacts of global warming on national parks, and Zion is one of the 25 most imperiled. The same extreme heat and drought that plague Zion stretch across the region.
Already, conditions are so dry that high winds are picking up Utah's red dust and dumping it hundreds of miles east on Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Skiers call this red snow or watermelon snow.
When you build roads and lay drill pads and pipelines on this kind of delicate landscape, it rips apart the biological soils that retain precious water and prevent erosion. Scientists agree that protecting large roadless areas is critical for combating climate change.
Lawmakers are also beginning to realize that we can power our nation with cleaner, more sustainable options than dirty fossil fuels. Energy efficiency and plug-in hybrids will do far more to free us from our oil addiction than the tiny amount of fuel found in Utah -- home to just 2.5 percent of the nation' natural gas reserves and 1 percent of oil reserves.
But there is also a second force behind the growing movement for America's Redrock Wilderness Act: the American people. I don't think popular support for wilderness has ever waned in this country -- exploring untrammeled ground is too deeply embedded in American tradition. But I do believe that during the Bush administration, those voices were not heard above industry's clamor.
Still, Americans burst through the din last November, when the Bush administration gave 77 drilling leases as a parting gift to their friends in the oil and gas industry. The leases were all in Southern Utah and many of them were in full view of beloved national parks. More than 150,000 people filed protest comments with the Bureau of Land Management, and the successful effort to block the leases received national attention. It became clear just how much Americans care about this corner of Utah.
There is also strong local support for America's Redrock Wilderness Act. The lands included in the bill were inventories by hundreds of Utah volunteers, and Utah activists, religious leaders, and businesspeople have called on politicians to pass it. The natural assets of the state of Utah and the quality of life they provide continue to be a primary reason individuals and families move there and stay there.
As well, many Utah residents see the economic benefits of choosing wilderness over industrialization. Back when President Clinton first proposed protecting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, some locals hated the idea. Now many say it was one of the best things that happened to their region. According to a report by the Sonoran Insitute, using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, labor income and personal earning power increased significantly in the years after the monument was designated.
The truth is no generation regrets setting aside land for another. No generation looks back and chastises the previous one for leaving a wilderness inheritance.
The America's Redrock Wilderness Act is our chance to add to this natural heritage. You can do your part by telling your lawmakers to support the bill.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-redford/the-red-rock-wilderness-a_b_304281.html
Saturday, August 1, 2009
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
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
Monday, July 13, 2009
Moratorium sought in Utah on depleted uranium
Monday, July 13, 2009
By Brock Vergakis
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- State regulators will consider whether federal rules for disposing of depleted uranium are adequate to protect health and safety in Utah or if the waste should be banned until more stringent procedures are put in place.
The Utah Radiation Control Board will meet Tuesday to discuss a disposal moratorium sought by the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, an environmental watchdog group.
"Utah is vulnerable," said Christopher Thomas, public policy director of the group.
Depleted uranium is classified as the least dangerous type of low-level radioactive waste and has been disposed of for 18 years at the EnergySolutions Inc. facility in the Utah desert 70 miles west of Salt Lake City.
However, the material is different than other low-level waste because it becomes more radioactive over time for hundreds of thousands of years.
This spring, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission directed staff to require additional safeguards for the disposal of large amounts of depleted uranium. It could take several years to finalize any new rules.
EnergySolutions intends to tell Utah regulators it has safely handled the material and there is no reason to keep more of it from being sent to Utah.
The company estimates that 46,000 metric tons of the material will be available for disposal from Department of Energy sites during the next five years.
"There are a lot of cleanups that would be adversely affected if we stopped taking this waste, and we don't think its reasonable for them stop," said Tom Magette, the company's senior vice president of nuclear regulatory strategy.
If the waste was barred from Utah, it would likely be stored at the site where it was generated or sent to a private disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, that's set to begin disposing of low-level radioactive waste in 2010.
On the Net: Utah Radiation Control Board http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/
http://www.standard.net/live/news/178308
By Brock Vergakis
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- State regulators will consider whether federal rules for disposing of depleted uranium are adequate to protect health and safety in Utah or if the waste should be banned until more stringent procedures are put in place.
The Utah Radiation Control Board will meet Tuesday to discuss a disposal moratorium sought by the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, an environmental watchdog group.
"Utah is vulnerable," said Christopher Thomas, public policy director of the group.
Depleted uranium is classified as the least dangerous type of low-level radioactive waste and has been disposed of for 18 years at the EnergySolutions Inc. facility in the Utah desert 70 miles west of Salt Lake City.
However, the material is different than other low-level waste because it becomes more radioactive over time for hundreds of thousands of years.
This spring, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission directed staff to require additional safeguards for the disposal of large amounts of depleted uranium. It could take several years to finalize any new rules.
EnergySolutions intends to tell Utah regulators it has safely handled the material and there is no reason to keep more of it from being sent to Utah.
The company estimates that 46,000 metric tons of the material will be available for disposal from Department of Energy sites during the next five years.
"There are a lot of cleanups that would be adversely affected if we stopped taking this waste, and we don't think its reasonable for them stop," said Tom Magette, the company's senior vice president of nuclear regulatory strategy.
If the waste was barred from Utah, it would likely be stored at the site where it was generated or sent to a private disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, that's set to begin disposing of low-level radioactive waste in 2010.
On the Net: Utah Radiation Control Board http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/
http://www.standard.net/live/news/178308
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