DENVER—Colorado health officials on Monday issued a final radioactive materials license for what would be the country’s first new conventional uranium mill in more than 25 years.
The Department of Public Health and Environment in January approved a preliminary license for Energy Fuels Corp.’s proposed Pinon Ridge mill in southwest Colorado. The company didn’t request a formal hearing on the preliminary license, and it is now final—with 18 pages of conditions covering health concerns, safety, security, emergency response and financial assurance issues.
The license allows the mill to process up to 700 short tons of uranium ore on a given day but only an annual average of 500 short tons per day. The health department has to approve engineering plans for the mill before construction begins.
The Sheep Mountain Alliance, a citizens group based in Telluride, has filed a lawsuit seeking to revoke the license. A Denver judge has yet to rule on the health department’s request to dismiss the suit.
The group has questioned whether the roughly $11 million bond that Energy Fuels was required to post for future decommissioning costs is enough, given that cleanups of other uranium facilities around the country have run far more than that. The license issued Monday says the amount is subject to an annual review.
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