Coram closing controversial uranium mines
The headframe of the C-JD-5 uranium mine, above the Paradox Valley in Montrose County, is seen June 22, 2012. State Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, owns the mine, and he notified the state in May of his intention to shut it down and clean it up. The mine has not produced uranium in three decades.
By Joe Hanel
Journal Denver Bureau
Journal Denver Bureau
State Rep. Don Coram is taking steps to clean up and shut down four uranium mines he owns, making him among the first uranium mine operators in Colorado to call it quits for now and restore the land to its pre-mined condition.
The action comes after several years of legal pressure by activists on the state and federal government to shut down the old uranium mines that dot the landscape of San Miguel and Montrose counties.
A 2008 state law required all uranium mines to meet a higher level of regulatory scrutiny. State mining regulators are now demanding that all mine operators either submit a detailed environmental protection plan or shut down their mines and reclaim the land.
"Economically, it seemed to be more feasible to me to do a reclamation plan. It was strictly a matter of economics," said Coram, a Montrose Republican whose district includes Montezuma County.
Coram's company, Gold Eagle Mining Inc., bought the mines in 1998. Three are close to the Dolores River at Slick Rock. The fourth overlooks the Paradox Valley in Montrose County. They have been out of operation almost constantly since the early 1980s.
The state has given him until May 2014 to finish reclamation of the sites.
But even as they enter the cleanup stage, the mines remain as controversial as ever.
A mining watchdog group called Information Network for Responsible Mining, or INFORM, has been hounding Coram and other mine operators, and the group submitted a harsh objection to Coram's request earlier this year for an extension of his permit to leave the mines idle.
"We will not mince words in criticizing the condition of the Slick Rock mines: They are dangerous to public health, to the Dolores River, to wildlife and to the ecosystem they actively pollute. These mines represent egregious examples of neglect and mismanagement and have been allowed, for many years, to erode their toxic and radioactive contaminants directly into the Dolores," INFORM's objection stated.
However, storm water does run off some of the mining waste piles, Waldron said. As part of the reclamation work, Gold Eagle will have to flatten the piles to reduce the risk of tainted water spilling off the site.
Other reclamation work includes closing portals, replanting vegetation and removing old buildings.
INFORM's Jennifer Thurston will watch the work carefully.
And at the state Mined Land Reclamation Board, INFORM is pushing against any more temporary permit extensions for idled mines. Very little uranium has been mined in Colorado since the early 1980s, but companies have not had to close and clean up their mines because they still have permits that treat the mines as temporarily closed.
The two biggest mine owners, Cotter Corp. and Energy Fuels, won approval in April for another extension of their temporary cessation permits.
Colorado has 33 permitted uranium mines, run by eight to 10 companies, Waldron said.
Even after Gold Eagle closes the mines, it will retain the right to apply for a new permit and start mining again if the market comes back.
Photo by: JOE HANEL/Cortez Journal
A yellowish-green tinge on a rock shows telltale signs of uranium near the C-JD-5 uranium mine, in this picture from June 22, 2012. State Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, owns the mine, and he notified the state in May of his intention to shut it down and clean it up. The mine has not produced uranium in three decades.
Photo by: JOE HANEL/Cortez Journal
A waste pile sits outside the C-JD-5 uranium mine, overlooking the Paradox Valley in Montrose County, in this picture from June 22, 2012. State Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, owns the mine, and he notified the state in May of his intention to shut it down and clean it up. The mine has not produced uranium in three decades.
http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20130610/News05/130619999/Coram-closing-controversial-uranium-mines
