ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments Monday in what opponents say is the first-ever challenge to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of licenses for an in-situ leach uranium mining operation.
The New Mexico Environmental Law Center contends the NRC has violated federal policies and its own regulations in granting licenses to Hydro Resources Inc. A petition filed in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver asks the court to order the NRC to overturn the licenses for operations near the Navajo communities of Church Rock and Crownpoint in New Mexico.
“They are going to allow a mining company to pollute the groundwater and the people in Church Rock to be exposed to unsafe levels of radiation from mine waste,” said Eric Jantz, an attorney for the law center in Santa Fe. “It just doesn’t square to what they’re supposed to be doing.”
New Mexico-based Hydro Resources wants to inject chemicals into the ground to release uranium and pump the solution to the surface in what’s known as in-situ leach mining. It’s an unconventional but increasingly popular way of mining uranium that the company says is safer than older methods.
“We are committed to getting this job done,” said Rick Van Horn, chief operating officer for Texas-based Uranium Resources Inc., HRI’s parent company. “We’ve been working on this for a long time. We believe we are in compliance with all regulations.”
The most serious environmental effect associated with in-situ leach mining is the potential for groundwater contamination—specifically elevated levels of trace metals in groundwater, the NRC has said. The commission requires licensees to restore the groundwater to a pre-recovery standard or, at the least, demonstrate the water is not a threat to public health and safety.
The NRC regulates in-situ operations because it alters the chemical form of uranium.
Jantz contends that HRI has failed to prove it would protect groundwater from contamination. Some 15,000 people—mostly Navajos—rely on a regional aquifer HRI plans to tap for mining. Jantz said the aquifer “is really one of the last untouched resources out there.”
“The fact of the matter is in a state like New Mexico where every drop of water is like gold, it doesn’t make sense to sacrifice any of it,” he said.
Jantz will present arguments on behalf of the Albuquerque-based Southwest Research and Information Center, Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, and Grace Sam and Marilyn Morris of Pinedale, who live near the proposed Church Rock mine.
HRI said the portion of the aquifer where it plans to mine cannot be used for drinking water because of the presence of radon and uranium. Company officials say that portion never has been suitable for drinking water.
“If it was drinkable, you wouldn’t want to mine there because there wouldn’t be any uranium or radon,” said Charles Mullins, a lawyer who is representing the NRC.
Hydro Resources has put up a multimillion-dollar bond to ensure its sites are cleaned up if it is unable to reclaim the land or water, but Jantz contends the bond approved by the NRC is far too low.
HRI declined to state the exact amount of the bond. Jantz believes it is about $3.5 million but should be three to four times that figure.
The NRC would regulate the cleanup of the mining sites and re-evaluate the bond each year, Mullins said.
“If the inflation goes up or if it’s harder to mine than what they thought it was going to be, they have to add more money to the surety,” he said.
HRI plans to start its in-situ mining operations near Church Rock—an area already heavily contaminated by past mining operations. Jantz said HRI’s operations would only add to radiological air emissions.
“The way we see it, the NRC is less interested in protecting the public health and safety and more interested in issuing licenses,” he said.
The NRC said HRI’s operations would make a minor, insignificant addition to the overall radiological impact and poses “no significant threat to public health and safety.”
“If it were a straw that would break the camel’s back, it would be different, but it’s not,” Mullins said.
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