Saturday, January 3, 2009

Energy policy -- Nuclear: Tallahassee area exploration update The Cañon City Daily Record says that the proposed uranium mining efforts in the Tallahassee area of Fremont County was their top story for 2008. Here's a report from Debbie Bell: Surrounded by opposition, the controversial Conditional Use Permit to allow uranium exploration in the Tallahassee area was approved unanimously by the Fremont County Commissioners in June. Headquartered in Australia, Black Range Minerals faced heavy resistance from residents in its quest to test the area northwest of Cañon City for the economic viability of a full uranium mining and milling operation. The commissioners listened to almost seven hours of testimony from 70 people during a June public hearing and sifted through stacks of documentation before approving the permit. The county pledged to be a strict watchdog to ensure strict compliance to a lengthy list of conditions. Black Range Minerals is paying for an independent, third-party water expert to monitor surface and groundwater throughout the exploration process. That expert, hydrogeologist Bruce Smith of Western Water & Land Inc. in Grand Junction, hosted a public meeting in November to answer citizens' questions. He told residents the exploration presents a low risk of aquifer cross contamination. Tallahassee residents have openly scoffed at the wisdom of allowing exploration of uranium in the area, despite similar drilling about 30 years ago during the Hansen Project, a nearby uranium exploration project by Cyprus Mines Corp. Black Range is in the process of drilling about 800 test holds on a 3,900-acre parcel of land, primarily on the Taylor and Boyer ranches. The targeted area lies generally south of CR 2 and west of the intersection of CR 2 and CR 21. A lawsuit soon followed the county's issuance of a CUP. Tallahassee Area Community Inc., a group formed solely to fight the exploration, and others filed a Rule 106 lawsuit to appeal the decision. Rule 106 is an avenue to appeal the decision of an administrative body, such as the Fremont County Commissioners. The case has been assigned to District Judge David Thorson's courtroom. No hearing date has been set. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "cc" 8:36:48 AM     UCSD project uses a large aperture scintillometer to measure crops use of water From the Associated Press via the Denver Post (John Rogers): "Jan Kleissl and a handful of his students at the University of California at San Diego think technology using laser beams might lead to a better way to conserve the millions of gallons of water sprayed each year on thirsty crops. He and his team are using a large aperture scintillometer to study how much water crops lose to evaporation and the peak times that water disappears. The hope is to give farmers a more accurate, up-to-date reading of how efficiently their crops are using water than current technology allows." "colorado water" 7:48:00 AM

© Copyright 2009 John Orr. Last update: 3/15/09; 3:45:35 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.