DENVER—Cotter Corp. plans to terminate its license for its defunct uranium mill near Canon City, putting it on a path to closure, Colorado health department officials said Friday.
The announcement came about a month after the department asked Cotter Corp. to do more testing in order to renew its radioactive materials license, due to expire Jan. 31.
However Cotter officials told the health department in a letter Monday that it would not seek to renew the license, The Denver Post reported ().
“This is good news for the Cañon City community,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a written statement. “We appreciate Cotter Corp.’s containment and cleanup efforts and look forward to the company’s continued involved in the community as remediation and decommissioning activities occur over the next 10 to 15 years.”
Cotter once processed uranium for weapons and fuel at the mill. Federal authorities placed the mill on a national list for Superfund cleanups in 1984 after radioactive materials traced to the mill were found to have contaminated the soil and groundwater.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eventually turned oversight of cleanup work to state officials.
Uranium hasn’t been processed at the mill since 2006. The state requires mill sites that are being decommissioned to be thoroughly cleaned up and restored at the operator’s expense. It’s expected to be a multimillion-dollar effort.
One of Cotter’s first steps will be to submit a conceptual characterization plan describing how Cotter will address on-site and windblown soils and on-site groundwater. That’s due Monday.
Residents who oppose the mill cheered news of the license termination.
“We think this is the first sign of serious progress on getting this place cleaned up. They have stated now that they are going away. The challenge is to see that they clean it up properly before they do,” Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste leader Sharyn Cunningham told The Denver Post.
