WYO's Next Big Boom Might be Uranium Mining
Friday, March 14, 2008
Casper, WY – People in Wyoming and neighboring states are worried that in the push for "clean energy," an upswing in uranium mining activity may mean dirty air and waterways.
Concerned citizens are meeting Saturday in Casper to talk about the pros and cons of the rush for uranium claims in the region to mine uranium that would fuel nuclear power plants. Organizations from Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska will be talking about private property rights, water quality and concerns for public lands as speculators' interest grows in possible mineral deposits.
Event organizer Shannon Anderson with the Powder River Basin Resource Council says contamination is a top concern and so is water, because a huge amount of it is needed for mining.
"They're concerned about quantity issues of water and the possibility that this mining will deplete aquifers in the area."
Anderson says that, on the positive side, new mining has the potential to help diversify economies dependent on oil and gas. And if Congress updates mining laws, royalties paid on uranium would go to the states and into a fund to help with cleanup, if needed.
However, she adds, uranium mining in the past has contaminated water and land, and that is still a problem in Nebraska.
"The track record definitely shows that there is a significant possibility for contamination in all these places."
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