NRC agrees to hearings on mine's license renewal

Foreign ownership, potential contamination to be argued at hearing on Crow Butte mine

By George Ledbetter, Chadron News Record staff | Saturday, November 29, 2008

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

Some opponents to the renewal of the operating license for the Crow Butte uranium mine near Crawford can argue their case before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a three-member panel of NRC judges has ruled.

The judges granted intervener status in the case to five people and five groups. The opponents include some of the same people and organizations opposing the mine's proposed expansion to an area just north of Crawford.

Among the objections to the mine's expansion and renewal of the existing license include foreign ownership of Crow Butte by Cameco, a Canadian corporation, and the potential for contamination of underground water supplies by the in situ leach mining process.

The judges' decision followed a two-day hearing in Chadron in late September. They called for written briefs on two issues relating to the foreign ownership of the mine in the next 30 days but did not schedule additional proceedings.

The individuals granted intervener status are Debra White Plume, Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Bear, Joe American Horse Sr. and Chadron residents Thomas Cook and Loretta Cook.

Organizations that will be allowed to take part in the proceedings are the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Western Nebraska Resource Council, Owe Aku/Bring Back the Way, and two family groups, the Afraid of Bear/Cook Tiwahe and the American Horse Tiospaye.

In a news release, White Plume, who is from Pine Ridge, said the panel's decision is "a huge victory for us. 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."

Two individuals, Dayton Hyde and Bruce McIntosh, and the Oglala Delegation of the Great Sioux Nation Treaty Council, were denied intervener status. However, the treaty delegation was given permission to take part as an "interested local government body."

The Crow Butte mine has been in operation since 1991. The process used to extract uranium from underground layers of sandstone involves drilling holes to inject a solution of bicarbonate of soda into the uranium-bearing rock, then pumping the water out and removing the dissolved material, which is sold as "yellowcake" fuel in electric power generation. The Crow Butte mine produces about 800,000 pounds of yellowcake a year, and its owner, Cameco, is the world's largest producer of uranium.

The mine's 10-year operating license has expired, but the renewal application was submitted in time to meet the NRC deadline, and it continues to operate under the old permit pending action on the renewal.

A backlog of cases at the NRC is blamed for some of the delay in the license-renewal proceeding. It is independent of action by another NRC panel on a permit application for the mine's proposed 2,100-acre North Trend expansion.

Crow Butte also has announced plans for expansions south of Fort Robinson State Park and northeast of Marsland.

The issue of non-U.S. ownership of the mine was raised in two separate arguments. One contention is that Crow Butte failed to disclose its foreign ownership in the license renewal application, even though the NRC was aware of and had approved Cameco's 1998 purchase of controlling interest in the mine. The opponents also contend that the Atomic Energy Act and other laws prohibit the NRC from granting an ISL uranium mining license to a foreign company, because that would not benefit the "national interest, common defense or security" and might be a detriment to public health and safety.

That prohibition is clear with regard to uranium enrichment facilities and power plants, but not in regard to "source materials licensing," the NRC panel said.

Because the issue is "potentially fatal" to the license renewal, the ownership question should be handled separately from and before the other objections, the NRC judges concluded.

The judges also want to hear arguments on five issues raised by the tribe, including whether there is evidence of a water connection between the Chadron Formation aquifer, which provides water for mining, and other aquifers or surface water.

Other issues of contention that will be argued before the board include: whether the contingency plans for a spill at the mine are adequate to handle non-radiological contamination; whether a past spill raises serious doubts about the company's ability to safely handle mine operations; a claim that Crow Butte failed to consult the tribe on cultural resources at the mine site; if wetlands at the site are being harmed by mine contaminants; and whether the most current scientific data regarding the area's hydrogeology was used in preparing the license application. The issues relating to past performance at the mine are relevant to the license renewal because NRC must ensure the public that "the facility's current management encourages a safety-conscious attitude" and must provide "reasonable assurance that the facility can be safely operated," the ruling said.