Colo. Senate passes bill requiring uranium mines, mills to clean up nuclear waste

Colo. Senate passes bill requiring uranium cleanup

DENVER — The state Senate has passed a bill requiring uranium mines and mills to clean up nuclear waste before accepting more radioactive material.

The Senate voted 24-9 in favor of the bill Wednesday. It now heads back to the House, where backers hope lawmakers will agree with changes made in the Senate.

Mines and mills are currently allowed to postpone cleanup until they finish production and decommission their production facilities. Lawmakers are concerned that a national focus on nuclear energy will allow mines to postpone cleanup of radioactive wastes while they increase 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.