NUCLA, Colo.—A company that wants to build one of the first new U.S. uranium mills since the Cold War has won local approval and now needs the state’s OK.
The Montrose County commissioners last month issued a permit to Toronto-based Energy Fuels Inc. for its proposed Pinon Ridge mill 12 miles west of Naturita and about 340 miles southwest of Denver.
The company is preparing to submit a 12-volume application to state health regulators, triggering a technical review.
Many area residents welcome the possible return of high-paying mining jobs. Several uranium mills operated in western Colorado until the uranium market crashed in 1981 after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island.
Energy Fuels officials said the mill would employ about 85 people. They estimate at least 200 mining jobs would be created in the area with salaries ranging from $45,000 to $90,000 a year.
“Once you have a mill, you can develop mines. There were over 200 uranium mines in western Colorado at the peak,” Energy Fuels chief operations officer Steve Antony said.
Some advocates see more reliance on nuclear power as one way to cut emissions causing climate change.
But environmental groups and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have raised concerns about the mill. The county commissioners “have approved yet another toxic threat that will result in a 7.3 million-ton radioactive waste dump site, a tragic legacy for future generations in Colorado,” said Joan Seeman of the Sierra Club’s Rocky Mountain chapter.
Jon Holst of the Division of Wildlife said the mill will have direct impact on big game and would sit between two areas occupied by Gunnison sage grouse, which is being considered for placement on the federal endangered species.
———
Information from: The Denver Post,
