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Legal action against uranium mill

Pinion Ridge uranium mill under fire, The Energy Collective, 13 March 2010, Environmental groups file multiple legal challenges “…The Sheep Mountain Alliance (SMA), a Telluride, Colo., environmental group, and its legal counsel, the Energy Minerals Law Center (EMLC), located in Durango, Colo, have taken a two-pronged approach to try to stop the development of the Pinion Ridge uranium mill.

The 500 ton/day facility is being developed by Energy Fuels (TSE:EFR) and will be located in Naturita, Colo., about 50 miles northwest of Telluride.The most significant legal action is a lawsuit filed in Montrose County District Court which alleges the County Commissioners erred by issuing a special use permit for industrial operations in an agricultural zone.Travis Stills, attorney for the Sheep Mountain Alliance, told FCW the claim is a uranium mill is not an allowed use in an agricultural zone and that the county should have re-zone the site to industrial uses before issuing the special use permit……
The other issue environmental groups are raising is water rights. Hilary White, the acting executive director of the Sheep Mountain Alliance, told FCW her group estimates the mill will need about 800 acre feet of water per year and that one-third to one-half will come from wells and the rest from the San Miguel River. She also said the Dolores River (right) would be impacted by the mill.

White said that the group is concerned toxic materials from the mill tailing pile will get into the river harming fish and wildlife and that wind will make dust from the piles airborne resulting in people inhaling uranium dust. She said the group is particularly concerned about the impact of the mill on tourism.

White said the Sheep Mountain Alliance will file briefs with state regulatory agencies challenging Energy Fuels on the issue of “beneficial use of the water.” She’s not alone. A Utah environmental group, Red Rock Forests, is also planning on challenging the water rights for the mill because the Dolores River, which is only a few miles from the mill site, eventually flows into the Colorado River 250 miles away in Utah.

Pinion Ridge uranium mill under fire

March 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive, uranium