The following is a press statement from Matt Garrington, Field Director of Environment Colorado and will be presented as testimony today in the Senate Local Government Committee hearing on House Bill 1161, the “Land & Water Stewardship Bill”
“The uranium boom could be a big bust for Colorado’s treasured mountains, waters, and communities. Uranium mining can pose serious threats to our environment by leaving behind toxic and radioactive pollution.
“We shouldn’t put our groundwater, our environment and our communities needlessly at risk from uranium mining pollution. The Land and Water Stewardship Bill (House Bill 1161) provides sensible protections for Colorado’s groundwater, rivers and streams, and pristine lands. Environment Colorado commends Sen. Steve Johnson (R-Fort Collins) and Representatives John Kefalas (D-Fort Collins) and Randy Fischer (D-Fort Collins) for sponsoring this important legislation.
“The new uranium boom is real and happening now. In fact, uranium claims on public lands alone have soared from 120 in 2003 to 10,730 in 2007. Homeowners are getting notice of uranium exploration right beneath their homes. Farmers and ranchers are seeing uranium drill rigs on their lands without clean water protections for their well water. New projects in Park County, for example, could threaten the headwaters of the Platte River and the water supply of the Denver-metro area.
“Colorado’s laws are simply out-of-date and unprepared to deal with the new uranium boom. Some companies have gone so far as to say uranium mining is exempt from current environmental and public health protections.
“We need 21st Century protections to deal with a 21st Century threat. All uranium mining projects should be required to have environmental plans as required under a ‘designated mining operation.’ We also need to ensure mining companies clean-up after themselves and require that mining companies prove they can clean-up groundwater used for agriculture and domestic use before permits are issued.
“Some of Colorado’s treasured lands are too important for our environment and our communities to be developed for any uranium mining, but where uranium mining does take place, we need to ensure proper protections for our environment.”
– Matt Garrington, field director of Environment Colorado
Bill supporters include:
Alliance for Responsible Mining, Citizens Against Resource Destruction, Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, Colorado Counties Inc., the Colorado Environmental Coalition, the Colorado Medical Society, Environment Colorado, Information Network for Responsible Mining, Oil and Gas Accountability Project/Earthworks, the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Sheep Mountain Alliance, Sierra Club-Rocky Mountain Chapter, Tallahassee Area Community, and Western Colorado Congress.
Additional contact:
Jeff Parsons, Western Mining Action Project (720) 203-2871
