New uranium laws passed in 2008

DENVER – The prospect of uranium mining in Weld County resulted in new laws governing the removal of the substance being passed in the Colorado legislature in 2008.

State Reps. Randy Fischer and John Kefalas, both Democrats from Fort Collins, and State Sen. Steve Johnson, a Fort Collins Republican, led a bipartisan effort to pass House Bill 1161. The bill requires mining companies to show how they will restore groundwater aquifers to their pre-mining quality levels before any drilling can occur.

A second bill – HB 1165 – sponsored by Fischer and Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, would have required mining companies to inform local residents of any mining activity taking place near them. That bill died in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, but Senate Bill 228 – sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, and Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison – did pass and essentially does the same thing HB 1165 would have accomplished.

SB 228 requires mining companies to reveal more non-proprietary information to the public about their prospecting activities, which had previously been kept secret.

HB 1161 was introduced after uranium mining company Powertech USA revealed in 2007 that it intended to mine uranium on about 5,700 acres in Weld County west of Nunn. Powertech USA President Dick Clement said he expected neither new law would have any impact on its in-situ recovery Centennial Project in Weld County.

Meantime, another uranium mining company – Grand Junction-based Geovic Mining Corp. – followed Powertech in planning to prospect for uranium in Weld County, buying or leasing mining rights on about 15,000 acres between Grover and Keota.

Geovic officials said they would make a final decision in 2009 on whether to pursue uranium mining in Weld County after drilling and monitoring a series of test holes.

Powertech USA announced in December that it expected to complete all of its preliminary studies before year’s end and submit permit applications to federal, state and county regulators in the first half of 2009.

The global economy may play a part in how fast the projects progress. The price of uranium oxide has been on a steady slide from its high of $140 at the end of 2007 to $55 on Dec. 8.

Kefalas said he’s happy with the passage of HB 1161 and SB 228 and believes they will go far in creating a safer environment for Coloradans living near uranium and other mining activities.

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