Colo. Legislature passes bill requiring uranium mills to clean up radioactive waste

Colo. Legislature passes uranium cleanup bill

DENVER — Colorado lawmakers have passed a bill that requires uranium mills to clean up radioactive waste before accepting more radioactive material.

The Senate voted 24-9 in favor of the bill Wednesday. Later the House agreed with changes made in the Senate and readopted the bill by a vote of 60-3. It now goes to Gov. Bill Ritter.

Mills are now allowed to postpone cleanup until they finish production and decommission their facilities. Lawmakers are concerned that a national focus on nuclear energy will allow mines to postpone cleanup while they ramp up production.

Plans to revive a uranium mill in Canon City — a Superfund site since 1984 — and open a mill in Montrose County led environmentalists and activists to push for a change this year.

The Cotter Corp. says the future of its Canon City mill is uncertain if the bill becomes law. Last year officials announced they hoped to refurbish the mill to process ore from Mount Taylor in New Mexico as soon as 2014.

John Hamrick, Cotter’s vice president of milling, said that work would create 40 to 60 new jobs at the mill, where 30 people are now employed. He said the company is considering suing to win the ability to reopen.

“We do know that our future is tied to the Mount Taylor project and that’s what we’re trying to maintain,” Hamrick said.

Jeffrey Parsons, a senior attorney with the Western Mining Action Project, which supports the bill, said there’s no guarantee Cotter will be able to get ore from Mount Taylor, which is considered sacred land by as many as 30 Indian tribes.