Nunn board against uranium mine

September 9, 2009

By Steven Olson

The Wellington

 

In effect, the town of Nunn told Powertech “no thanks.”

Coloradans Against Resource Destruction, an organization of rural landowners, town residents and activists trying to stop a proposed uranium mine in Weld County, succeeded in getting the town board to pass a resolution opposing the proposed uranium mine and urging regulatory agencies not to grant any permits for it.

The 4-2 vote, with one abstention, came during the Sept. 3 board meeting. Voting to approve the resolution were Trustees Brian Jex, Karen Burd, Joyce Taylor and Jenny Johnson. Voting against it were Mayor Jeffrey Pigue and Trustee Jack Smith. Trustee Christy Alexander abstained.

A month earlier, Powertech Uranium Corp. asked the Nunn Town Board to pass a resolution saying the town would work together with Powertech to handle any concerns residents might have over the proposed in-situ leach uranium mine. Faced with a roomful of residents and CARD members opposed to the mine, the board tabled the resolution to applause.

When the board approved CARD’s resolution, it got a standing ovation from the crowd of about 50 people sitting on metal folding chairs in the center of the old high school gymnasium.

CARD and many Nunn-area residents are skeptical of the mining process Powertech plans to use to extract uranium. Simply, the in-situ process would use chemicals and water to “loosen” the uranium that lies in deposits about 600 feet underground at sites between Nunn and Wellington, then pump the element to the surface to be processed and shipped. Once the uranium is gone, the company would then restore the groundwater to its original state, or baseline quality.

CARD, however, doesn’t believe Powertech is capable of protecting the groundwater. CARD contends the usual practice of ISL mining companies is to lobby the regulatory agencies to first adjust the baseline standards and then apply for a waiver, arguing that the company cannot get the water any cleaner.

It was disbelief over Powertech’s ability to clean up the water that convinced Taylor to cast a vote for the CARD resolution.

“I’m with Brian,” Taylor said. “If there is any miscue, we don’t have anything; we can’t lose our water. This [in-situ mining] is new to us, but we can’t take a chance on losing our livelihood.”

Pigue was concerned that the town could be sued by landowners who had been promised royalties from the mine for their mineral rights to the uranium. That possibility also bothered Alexander and Smith. However, that argument did not make any impression on Taylor, who received a loud round of applause when she mentioned other municipalities that had passed similar ordinances. “Can they sue Greeley or Timnath or Ault?” she asked.

The town board of Wellington (Colorado), located just west of the proposed mining area, adopted a resolution in opposition to the mine on April 8, 2008.

Speaking in support of ISL mining, Eric Nelson, who identified himself as an area resident and mining engineer with 25 years of experience, said that “this is the most unobtrusive and safe form of mining in the United States today.”
But Howard Williams, a rural resident of nearby Carr, disagreed. Williams cited a U.S. Geological Survey report that said no remediation of any in-situ mining operation has ever returned well water to baseline standards.

The most passionate speech against the Powertech plan came from Ault resident Charles Kindsfather, who invoked the example of the nearby, abandoned town of Keota, which contaminated its water supply years ago while mining for uranium.

“Look at what happened to it! It’s a ghost town,” Kindsfather said. “You can solve this problem before it even becomes a problem!…This is a gun with a loaded shell in every chamber. Once it’s done, you can’t reverse it.”

CARD Attorney Jeff Parsons said the resolution was not enough to stop Powertech, but it would be a mitigating factor to agencies that determine whether Powertech gets the permits to operate.