Comment: CO, stay strict with uranium mining and milling but ban it in now would be best!
Re: “Colorado tells mining company to redouble cleaning effort,” Aug. 27 news story.
Your article on the status of the cleanup of the Schwartzwalder uranium mine brings forth more questions than answers.
First, this mine discharges into my water supply (North Table Mountain Water and Sanitation District), and I am concerned about the lack of public involvement and information sharing. There is a paucity of critical data having to do with water quality in the stream, reservoir and raw and finished water of the treatment plants. I know it has been collected, so where is it?
Second, the regulatory posture of the state of Colorado is rather odd. Clearly, the Division of Mining, Reclamation and Safety is a competent organization with effective leadership, but I don’t think it is in a regulatory position, legally and financially, to guarantee success.
The mine discharge, I assume, would fall under the federal Clean Water Act and other regulatory programs at the federal and state level. To date the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency seem to be missing.
My recommendations: Conduct public meetings and use all the regulatory tools available.
Max H. Dodson, Golden
http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2010/09/01/questions-about-cleanup-of-uranium-mine/10327/
