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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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The GOAT: "Yesterday, the BLM issued leases for natural gas drilling on the Roan Plateau. The leases were auctioned off about six weeks ago for a record-breaking $114 million. Environmental groups, hunters, anglers and Colorado politicians, including Governor Bill Ritter, opposed the BLM's management plans, advocating for stronger protections on the unique and beautiful sanctuary in western Colorado. Opponents of the BLM's plan filed more than 15,000 protests, but they were dismissed by the Department of Interior.
"A coalition of 10 environmental groups filed a lawsuit, seeking to overturn the BLM's management plan. In the meantime, they are seeking a temporary federal injunction to block the leases until there is some resolution to the legal challenge."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:07:50 PM 
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Many Coloradans already think that the feds have too much oversight of state water supplies as it is. Now we have this story from Water Online:
Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) recently introduced H.R. 6997 a bill to create a national Water Initiative. The Initiative will coordinate and support federal water research, education, and technology transfer activities to address changes in water use, supply, and demand in the U.S. It includes support to increase water supply through greater efficiency and conservation. This legislation will help to engage stakeholders at all levels of government, academia, and industry to create a national strategy to ensure adequate water for the 21st century and beyond.
"Sound water management is essential if we are to meet the water needs of municipalities, industry, agriculture, recreation, and power," said Gordon. "A new commitment is necessary to ensure that the United States can meet the water challenges over the next twenty years and onward."
In the United States, over 50,000 water utilities withdraw approximately 40 billion gallons of water per day from the nation's resources, to supply water for domestic consumption, industry, and other uses. When severe water shortages occur, the economic effect can be substantial. According to a 2000 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, eight water shortages from drought or heat waves each resulted in $1 billion or more in monetary losses over the past 20 years. Thirty-nine states are expected to experience droughts in the next five years.
"colorado water"
6:01:33 PM
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From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: "The 20-year, $120 million cleanup of the old Uravan mill site along the San Miguel River in western Montrose County was completed Monday."
More from the article:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certified completion of the cleanup and was preparing to hand over management of the site to the Department of Energy, said Rebecca Thomas, Uravan site manager for the EPA. The cleanup eliminated threat to surface and groundwater from the 680-acre site that dates back to the beginning of the nuclear age. The cleanup removed more than 13 million cubic yards of mill tailings, evaporation-pond precipitates, water-treatment sludge, contaminated soil and debris from more than 50 major mill structures on the site. The wastes are contained in four on-site disposal cells, which also contain wastes from a nearby abandoned mill in Gateway and tailings from the Naturita mill site. More than 380 million gallons of contaminated liquid were treated in the cleanup. State and federal agencies worked with Umetco, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, which operated the site since 1984. Umetco cooperated with the cleanup and went the extra step of accepting additional wastes into the containment cells...
In all, Umetco likely paid more than $120 million for the cleanup, but the full amount might never be known, Thomas said. The evaporation ponds, once visible from Colorado Highway 141, no longer can be seen because of cleanup and revegetation, Deckler said. Umetco has donated 140 acres and a building to the Rimrock Historical Society to house a museum about history of uranium mining and milling in the area, Thomas said. Federal jurisdiction over the site will be transferred to the Energy Department, which will monitor the repositories and other aspects of the cleanup. Even though the cleanup is done, the job of monitoring is not, [Jeff Deckler] said. "We'll keep watching that site pretty much forever," he said.
More coverage from The EPA. They write:
Uravan, a former uranium and vanadium mine and processing site located along the San Miguel River in western Montrose County, had long been contaminated with radioactive residues, metals, and other inorganic materials. The 680-acre site dates to the dawn of the atomic age, and its closing coincides with renewed interest in uranium mining and milling in the area. Umetco, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, has operated the facility since 1984. "The final completion of this massive and challenging cleanup reflects a successful partnership among Umetco, the State of Colorado, and EPA," said EPA's Acting Regional Administrator, Carol Rushin. "We have achieved several key goals at the Uravan site. Wastes have been removed and safely contained, the area has been restored, and the threat of impacts to the San Miguel River has been eliminated. In addition, a portion of the area will be dedicated as a campground and a museum focused on the history of uranium mining in Colorado."
Today's announcement brings final closure to a cleanup effort that removed more than 13 million cubic yards of mill tailings, evaporation pond precipitates, water treatment sludge, contaminated soil, and debris from more than 50 major mill structures on the site. These wastes were collected and disposed of in four on-site disposal cells. The cells also contain wastes from a nearby abandoned mill in Gateway, Colorado, and mill tailings from the Naturita millsite. In addition, more than 380 million gallons of contaminated liquid collected from seepage containment and groundwater extraction systems were treated at the mill site. The cleanup cost more than $120 million. The Uravan mill site was designated a Superfund site in 1986 and cleanup took place from 1987 to 2007. Cleanup work was performed by Umetco, with oversight from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and EPA. The site and surrounding area will be used in the future for recreation and as wildlife habitat. A portion of the site will be transferred to the Department of Energy for long-term management...
The Uravan facility is located along the San Miguel River in Montrose County, Colorado, southwest of Grand Junction on State Highway 141. The site is characterized by an arid climate, sparse vegetation, and rugged topography. Historic mining and milling at Uravan included the production of radium, vanadium and uranium. The site was contaminated by radioactive residues resulting from the processing of vanadium- and uranium-containing ores from the early 1900s through the mid-1980s. From the time Uravan began operating in the 1920s until it was shut down, the mill processed over ten million tons of uranium-vanadium ore. During this time, operations produced in excess of ten million tons of tailings, 38 million gallons of waste liquid residue, and other milling wastes containing radioactive materials, metals, and inorganic contaminants. Materials produced at the site were used for various purposes. An early mill on the site provided radium for Madam Curie's research efforts. In 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built facilities to process uranium in Uravan and during the 1940s the mill processed uranium for the Manhattan Project. Later, uranium produced from the Uravan mill was used to fuel nuclear power plants. The mill shut down in 1984.
For more information, including EPA's site close-out report, visit: http://www.epa.gov/Region8/superfund/co/uravan/
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"colorado water"
5:52:04 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 2:40:42 PM.
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