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Friday, April 25, 2008
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Here's a recap of last night's public meeting of opponents of Powertech's proposed uranium mine in Weld County from The Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:
The group [Coloradodoans Against Resource Destruction] met in Loveland on Wednesday night and spoke to about 40 people about the dangers of uranium mining, which included presentations by two experts in the field and a physician listing the variety of cancers uranium contamination can cause. The speakers drew a grim picture, showing Powertech at risk of contaminating the aquifer, surface water and the air with a variety of lethal elements, as well as turning the landscape into a tight grid of uranium wells. There were photos of mine fields in Wyoming and Texas and horror stories of millions of dollars spent on failed reclamation mine sites. Much of the information can be found at CARD's Web site, www.nunnglow.com. Davis said the speakers were not giving a balanced view of the issue, but he said people should understand the risks involved. "What we have found tells us it's bad," Davis said. "We've heard the other side that tells us we are crazy, but to say that it's not going to have an impact ... I don't think so."[...]
In the United States, 104 nuclear reactors produce 20 percent of the nation's energy, pushing the demand for mined uranium to 55 million pounds annually, [Powertech President and CEO Dick] Clement said...
One issue CARD challenges is Powertech's in-situ approach to retrieve the uranium, which involves pumping a mix of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide into the aquifer where the uranium naturally exists, to bring the resource to the surface. The problem here is that Powertech's site also has 3,500 drill holes from past explorations. If the aquifer is under pressure, the liquid mix and maybe the uranium could leach into other ground water. Clement said the in-situ process is proven safe, which state Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, supported at the legislature last month. Marostica gave a presentation on the in-situ process while arguing against House Bill1161, which could require more rigorous water treatment. The bill passed out of the House of Representatives to the Colorado State Senate with a 49 to 16 vote, with Marostica as the only state representative in Northern Colorado to vote against it...
Mining companies already are required to return water back to its initial purity after exploration. But depending on how the language in HB1161 is interpreted, Clement said it would make purity standards so strict that his company could not drill in Northern Colorado, which he characterized as "taking" the company's property. "The most important thing to understand is that this process has been operating in the United States for a number of years," Clement said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here, here and here.
"2008 pres"
5:47:10 AM 
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 2:21:32 PM.
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