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| 11/21/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | State receives application for uranium mill
Joe Hanel
Journal Denver Bureau
DENVER - Energy Fuels Corp. formally applied for a permit to build a uranium mill in western Colorado on Wednesday.
The mill, proposed for the Paradox Valley west of Naturita, would be the first new uranium mill in the country in 25 years. It has caused heated debate in the Paradox Valley, in part because it could restart the uranium mining industry in Southwest Colorado.
Montrose County commissioners approved zoning for the mill, known as the Piñon Ridge mill, in September.
A Telluride environmental group, Sheep Mountain Alliance, sued Montrose County late last month, claiming the commissioners abused their discretion in granting the permit for the industrial facility in an agricultural area.
This week's application to the state triggers a 10- to 15-month process that will include two public hearings.
State regulators will zero in on health effects of the mill in both the short- and long-term, said Steve Tarlton, radiation program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
"Colorado has the most stakeholder-focused review process for uranium licensing in the United States," Tarlton said.
Tarlton's office has 30 days to determine if the application is complete. Once it does, Energy Fuels has 75 days to hold two public hearings. Those hearings probably will happen in Montrose and the Nucla-Naturita area, said Energy Fuels spokesman Gary Steele.
After the hearings, state law gives regulators nine to 12 months to approve or deny the permit.
Energy Fuels CEO George Glasier said he is confident his application will pass muster with the state.
Travis Stills, a Durango lawyer who represents mill opponents, said Energy Fuels can expect plenty of opposition.
"There will be considerable technical, grassroots and legal scrutiny of whatever it is they have proposed there," Stills said.
Stills filed the lawsuit in state court in Montrose against the county commissioners on behalf of Sheep Mountain Alliance. In the suit, mill opponents claim the county commissioners should not have approved the permit, because in the middle of the process, the company cut the amount of ore it intended to process in half and doubled the projected life of the mill to 40 years. The suit also claims that the mill should not have been approved in the Paradox Valley because it would carry much higher environmental risks than uranium mines, which are common the in the valley.
A spokeswoman for Montrose County did not return messages Wednesday afternoon.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com
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Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Dale Morris
How about the "alliance" go live on sheep mountain and take their "lawyer" with them so some jobs can be created?
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