Petitioners Fight Expansion of Dangerous ISL Uranium Mine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2008 David Frankel 308.430.8160
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Decision a Huge Victory for Petitioners
Oglala Sioux Tribe, Environmental Groups, and Concerned Citizens Cited Health, Environmental, Treaty, and Economic Concerns in Opposing Cameco’s Mine
WASHINGTON, DC- A Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) panel ruled in favor of petitioners seeking to intervene in the 10-year license renewal proceeding for Cameco, Inc.’s In Situ Leach (ISL) uranium mine in Crawford, Nebraska, and to block the expansion of the “Crow Butte” mine. The petitioners are made up of individuals from Nebraska and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; as well as the Oglala Sioux Tribe; the Oglala Delegation of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council; a Lakota cultural group, Owe Aku – Bring Back the Way, and an environmental group, Western Nebraska Resources Council. “This is a huge victory for us,” says Debra White Plume, one of the plaintiffs from Pine Ridge. ISL uranium mining involves massive pumping of oxygenated water into aquifers to dissolve the uranium and strip it from sandstone particles at the bottom of the aquifer. The process removes most of the uranium and then pumps toxic water back into the aquifer where it can mix with drinking water aquifers, rivers and streams to the detriment of the people and the environment.
On July 28, 2008, thirteen individuals and groups filed to intervene in the license renewal. A petition was also filed in November 2007 to intervene in the North Trend Expansion of the same Crow Butte uranium mine. Plaintiffs oppose the renewal and expansion of the Crow Butte mine’s license because of suspected contamination of drinking water sources with Arsenic, Radium, Thorium, and heavy metals due to the mixing of the mined water with community groundwater. Further threats are presented by spills and leaks into The White River, which flows from the ISL mine towards Chadron and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and which cuts through the land of several of the Petitioners at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Plaintiffs said that threats to public health and safety exist due to the faults and fractures that link the mined and drinking aquifers and that the license application is missing key information, such as the fact that the Crow Butte mine is wholly-owned by a Canadian corporation and that foreign ownership of the mine is not allowed by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Petitioners argue that the mine concentrates Arsenic in the mined aquifer creating a “toxic soup” underground that moves to mix with drinking water.
The Board admitted five contentions raised by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and four contentions raised by the other petitioners: failure to disclose non-radiological impacts, failure to consult regarding cultural resources, failure to disclose impact on surface waters, including The White River, failure to disclose fractures and faults connecting the mined aquifer and drinking aquifers, failure to disclose that wastes are released on-site, failure to include recent research, failure to account for the value of non-degraded wetlands, and failure to disclose foreign ownership. On the issue of foreign ownership of the mine and the concealment of that fact, the Commission ruled, “its resolution in this proceeding is potentially fatal to Crow Butte’s proposed renewal of its license. The Board is of the opinion that it is in the best interest in the management of this proceeding that this issue be segregated from the other contentions and briefed on the merits up front.”
David Frankel, attorney for Consolidated Petitioners, says this means that briefs on the issue of foreign ownership and concealment are due by end of December, with responses in January, and a decision about 30-45 days thereafter. If the Commission rules against the company on the foreign ownership issue they will either lose their license and start 20 years of full time water restoration or sell the mine to a US company.
“I am glad that the court ruled in our favor, but I also know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us in exposing what’s been going on at the mine and undoing the damage that the mine has already caused to our water supply. Cameco must take responsibility for the damage that their mine caused, and pay to repair that damage. Here at Pine Ridge, we have widespread Arsenic contamination and a rate of diabetes 800 times the national average, so it is clear to me that we have to continue to fight to make the water safe for our children and grandchildren,” says White Plume.
ISL mines owned by Cameco, Inc. in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Canada have all had major spills and leaks and were recently fined by state regulators for permit violations ($1.4 mm in Wyoming and $100,000 in Nebraska). Cameco also polluted Lake Ontario from its plant in Port Hope, Ontario which has been discharging the toxic cocktail of Uranium, Arsenic and Radium into Lake Ontario and causing adverse health and environmental impacts. The Commission admitted all of the Tribe’s environmental contentions.
Petitioners also asserted claims that the mine’s claimed economic benefits to the community are overstated and do not consider the environmental benefits of the ecosystems that are being damaged. The Board admitted the contention regarding wetland impacts and the economic value of the environmental benefits from those wetlands in a non-degraded condition.
“We will appeal certain aspects of the Board's ruling such as their refusal to admit our contention regarding climate change or our contention about the spiritual value of pristine water for traditional Lakota medicines and cultural ceremonies such as the inipi (sweat lodge)," says David Frankel, attorney for Consolidated Petitioners.
In addition to its Renewal, and the North Trend Expansion that was ruled on, the Petitioners expect Cameco to file for license amendments to expand the mining area called the Three Crow and the Marsland Expansions and petitioners will oppose.
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To arrange an interview with one of the petitioners, contact Katya Kruglak at 703.304.5075.
UPDATE: Lakota Organization OWE AKU Scores Interim Victory in Fight Againt Uranium Mine!
The entire issue is water, which is life itself, and our struggle is to protect it.
-Thomas Cook
Lakota chief Joseph American Horse speaks about the expansion
of the Crow Butte uranium mine. January 16th, 2008
There is nothing more important to do than protect and preserve our water supplies from radioactive contamination and depletion.
Overview:
Located near Crawford, Nebraska, The Crow Butte Mine produces 800,000 to 1 million pounds of yellowcake uranium per year (current price $89lb). The Crow Butte Mine is owned by Canadian-based Cameco, Inc. which calls itself the largest uranium company in the world. Cameco Resources (formerly Crow Butte Resources 'CBR') a Cameco subsidiary that owns the mine, represents 10% of Cameco's uranium reserves.
The Issue at Hand:
Petitioners are asking a three member panel of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative judges to allow them to participate as parties in the license amendment proceeding to allow a proposed 50% expansion of the mine. The judges' decision will be based on NRC regulations and some federal law principles to make up for large gaps in applicable regulations - and will be subject to appeal to a federal district court on very limited grounds under the Administrative Procedure Act.
The petition challenges CBR's request for an additional 2.4 billion gallons a year to expand its operations. CBR's application is made while drought is depleting the aquifers at 160% of recharge.
In addition to the use of additional valuable water resources, CBR has admitted to:
1. A spill of approximately 300,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste at its mine in Crawford, Nebraska
2. Failure to clean up one-third of the spills equaling approximately 100,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste
3. Admission that a broken coupling led to a one gallon per minute leak for several years into the Brule aquifer
CBR has also filed its 10 year renewal application and there may be petitions to intervene in that as well.
Meanwhile at the national level, the NRC is attempting to push through Dick Cheney's initiative to have a 'Generic' EIS for ISL mining with site specific environmental assessments that will have the effect of limiting the opportunity for public comment. Many objections were filed, including comments by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Key Players:
CBR, its counsel and the NRC staff in support of unfettered ISL Mining.
In opposition are an Indigenous led group of Debra White Plume and Owe Aku at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Tom Cook of Chadron NE, & Slim Buttes Agricultural Development of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, represented by its President, Chief Joe American Horse, Sr. (grandson of the shirt-wearer and treaty signer with the US) and Western Nebraska Resources Council, a community group working since 1983 to oppose the Crow Buttes Mine.
Uranium Mining and the Environment:
The CBR mine was one of the first ISL uranium mines and has been in continuous operation since 1991. As a result, it is often cited as a precedent by other mining companies seeking to do ISL - and there may be up to 14 in the next 3 years. ISL mining is happening in the Black Hills, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and next to the Grand Canyon.
No ISL mine has ever restored water quality to its pre-mining baseline. Large water supplies are being converted from drinking water to undrinkable wastewater to promote nuclear power mostly for foreign profit. ISL also releases radon into the air as well as thorium, radium, arsenic and other toxins into the water. There is also frequent contamination from spills and leaks.
Citizen Action is Needed!
None of the Presidential contenders have taken a favorable position on nuclear materials mining, use, power, weapons or disposal and cleanup (other than some Democratic resistance to Yucca Mountain). You Can!
- Write letters to editors, letters to congress and state reps to educate them about the true costs of nuclear material and the need to tighten controls and regulation at all steps.
- Donate to our effort and earmark for: general, legal, or public education/PR budgets.
- Transition to renewable energy to fulfill your personal, family and community needs.