Comments: The Federal govt needs to clean up the Legacy Mines now and stop uranium mining in the US, the nuclear industry is dead, too expensive, too dangerous, not wanted, not needed, plus look at the following comment plus the info on the side of newspaper: " Many area residents have expressed concern about the water use", Quotable :
“Based on the National Weather Service predictions of ongoing drought. I feel it is necessary to close the Mount Taylor District to prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect public health and safety.”
Cibola National Forest Supervisor Elaine KohrmanGroup Suggests ‘No Action’ for Roca Honda Mine
By Rosanne Boyett Beacon Senior Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 12:00 am
CIBOLA COUNTY - The Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) filed more than 500 pages of comments with the U. S. Forest Service on June 13.
The citizen-based group is an environmental advocacy organization that has focused its efforts on the uranium mining industry.
The document urged the federal agency to choose the “No Action” alternative when evaluating the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Roca Honda uranium mine near Grants.
(Editor’s note: See the Friday, April 12, Beacon story, “Roca Honda Mine Public Hearing,” page A2; and also the Tuesday, April 23, Beacon edition, page A7, for the “Roca Honda Mining Site Includes 1,920 Acres,” for more information on the proposed mine.)
The Albuquerque-based New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC), which represents MASE, stated that the draft EIS suffers from numerous errors and omissions, and violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), according to the June 25 press release.
See the sidebar for specific items listed in the Public Comments filed with the U.S. Forest Service.
“The Forest Service admits they will break federal NEPA laws and other laws designed to protect human health by permitting the Roca Honda mine," said Nadine Padilla, MASE coordinator. "They erroneously believe they have to permit [issue approval of] the mine, and that's not the case. MASE believes we need to protect our local water sources instead of letting companies destroy it."
Up to 4,000 gallons per minute of water would be pumped from the mine and treated prior to discharge in an unnamed tributary of San Mateo Creek.
Roca Honda Resources LLC, owned by Strathmore Minerals and the Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese company, has proposed a mine on Jesus Mesa in the Mount Taylor Ranger District. The proposal compasses 1,920 acres.
The company intends to submit a license application for a conventional uranium mill and tailings disposal operation for its Peña Ranch Mill Project, which would be located in McKinley County about 30 miles north of Grants.
"There has been no remediation of past pollution by old uranium mining companies and families live with the radioactivity and toxins every day," said Eric Jantz, New Mexico Environmental Law Center staff attorney. "Now, the Forest Service wants to permit a new uranium mine to move in with no real checks on what the mining company plans to do. Legally, the Forest Service doesn't have to allow this."
Many area residents have expressed concern about the water use that is part of this proposal and have commented at public meetings about the uranium-mining legacy that continues to affect this area.
In addition to urging the Forest Service to adopt the "no action" alternative under NEPA, the Alliance is also urging the agency to prepare and submit for public review a revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement instead of routinely issuing a Final EIS, according to MASE representatives.
The original Public Comment period, which began in March, was extended to June 13.
http://www.cibolabeacon.com/news/group-suggests-no-action-for-roca-honda-mine/article_c7e02c9e-e2d9-11e2-b2c2-0019bb2963f4.html
