South Texas
Uranium News
URANIUM ACTIVITY
IN SOUTH TEXAS—SUMMER & FALL 2009
On May 14, a Contested Case Hearing protesting TCEQ’s
issuance of the request of Uranium Energy Corporation (UEC) to mine uranium in Goliad
County got underway in Goliad. The State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) is
conducting the Hearing, which is scheduled to conclude by March 2010. KIII-TV’s
Manuel De La Rosa covered the meeting for the Corpus Christi station. To view his report,
click on: http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/45049147.html?skipthumb=Y.
A public meeting with TCEQ and UEC, in which residents will ask
questions and voice concerns over a proposed 36-acre production area authorization (PAA-1)
will occur at 7:00 pm at the Goliad County Courthouse on October 5. At 10:00 am the
following morning, a Preliminary Contested Case Hearing meeting will be held at the
Courthouse on the draft permit for PAA-1.
Because the process of in situ uranium mining inevitably contaminates
groundwater in the production zone with dangerous substances which are released by
oxidation during mining, many South Texas citizens and officials continue to resist
efforts by uranium companies to gain permits from TCEQ to mine.
The Kleberg County experience is one of the best documented examples
of how uranium exploration, mining, and efforts to restore groundwater typically proceed.
Coastal Bend Sierran and South Texas Opposes Pollution (STOP) board member Dr. Mark Walsh’s
history of the uranium experience in Kleberg County from 1980 through 2009 follows:
Brief
History of Uranium Mining in Kleberg County from 1980-2009
1983
Uranium Resources, Inc.
(URI) began leasing land and exploratory well drilling in 1983
and permit application procedures were initiated.
Many citizens and ranchers were concerned
about how much water was needed to mine uranium thus lowering the water table. In addition, they were worried about the danger of
groundwater contamination and about other health related issues, e.g. radon gas. At public
meetings, URI assured the citizens that the groundwater would be restored to its original
quality after mining, the aquifer would be stabilized and the surface reclaimed all as
stipulated in the mining permit.
1988
Mining permit granted
by TNRCC (Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission).
1989 The
permit called for a mining plan timeline (4-5 years) which included;
- 2 years for mining, -15 months for
restoration, - 6 months for stabilization, and
- 6 months for surface reclamation
Mining began in Production Area 1 in
1988, in Area 2 in 1996 in part of Area 3 in 1998.
1989-‘96 Mining
remained in standby mode due to the depressed economic market for uranium.
1998
Restoration
Activities
Water
restoration began in Production Area 1 in June 1998. Restoration
was incomplete but ended in March 2004.
Restoration
began in Area 2 in June 2002 and is ongoing but incomplete.
No restoration
has been conducted in Area 3.
Required
stabilization has not been accomplished in any Production Area.
Surface
reclamation has not been accomplished in any Production Area.
1999 Mining
ceased due to depressed market for uranium and URI threatened bankruptcy.
TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) approved use of
financial bonds for restoration expenses.
Bonds were restored after a successful lawsuit.
2003
URI
mined uranium in neighboring Duval County and transported it to Kleberg County for
processing.
This
activity was not mentioned in the original URI permit but TCEQ approved the activity
without
consulting Kleberg citizens or County Commissioners. Waste
products from Duval County
uranium
mining are deposited into the deep injection well in Kleberg County.
2004 Settlement
Agreement signed by URI and Kleberg County on December 3.
URI agreed to pump and treat 240 millions
of water per year. This requirement was not achieved in 2005 or 2006. After mining Production Area 1, URI agreed to
restore baseline production wells to their pre-mining standards before they would proceed
to Area 3. In 2007 URI violated this
part of their agreement with the County.
2005
Public Hearing in Kingsville
was granted to STOP (South Texas Opposes Pollution) and
other
concerned citizens by TCEQ and scheduled for August 1-5.
STOP
presented numerous issues for consideration to TCEQ’s assigned State Office of
Administrative
Hearings (SOAH) judge. The judge accepted only
two of STOP’s and citizen
issues,
i.e. installation of more monitoring wells to detect excursions and to restore water
quality
in Area 1 before proceeding to mine in Area 3.
2006
Commissioners met in
February 2006 to discuss the decisions of the SOAH
Administrative Judge.
After some discussion with the TCEQ
executives, URI and STOP the Commissioners overruled the Administrative Judge on both
findings. This seems to indicate that citizen
involvement in Public Hearings as outlined by TCEQ is meaningless.
2006
Re-mining in Areas 1 and 2
resumed in April.
Surprisingly TCEQ approved re-mining for
Production Area 1, even though it was in official restoration for years.
2007 Mining
began in a new section of Production Area 3 on February 1, 2007.
This was in violation of the 2004
Settlement Agreement contract with Kleberg County.
URI did not pump and treat 240 million
gallons of water in 2005 or 2006, nor restore all the production wells in Area 1 to their
original water quality standard which also violated the Settlement Agreement.
2007
On September. 24, 2007, URI sought
a judicial declaratory interpretation to clarify the
Settlement
Agreement with Kleberg County.
URI, Inc. claimed that Kleberg County
falsely interpreted the conditions of the Settlement Agreement. Kleberg County says URI falsely interpreted the Settlement Agreement
requirements. The judicial move prevented Kleberg
County from filing an injunction to shut down uranium mining in Prod. Area 3 and thus
permitted URI to continue mining in Area 3.
2008 Uranium
Mining Workshop conducted on May 17 by Dr. Rich Abitz
Dr.
Abitz explained that URI does not accurately measure pre-mining baseline water quality
nor
are contamination excursions reported validly. He
stated that prior to mining, when a lot
of
exploration wells are drilled which disturbs the rock formation, and when drilling fluids
are
injected
into the aquifer, the oxygen levels in the water is raised. This will begin the release of
uranium
into the underground water. Regarding groundwater restoration, he stated that he had
never
seen mining companies even come close to restoring water quality to pre-mining levels.
2009
URI scaled back mining operations due to the
depressed economic market for uranium.
2009 District
Court ruling on the declaratory judgment concerning the Settlement Agreement
between
Kleberg County and URI remains unresolved.
Conclusion:
After
over 20 years of uranium mining in Kleberg County and billions of gallons of fresh
water
used to restore the aquifer, some wells have been restored.
However, some wells have
become
re-contaminated due to persistent chemical reactions in the underground water.
At
the moment restoration to meet permit requirements in Production Areas1, 2, and 3 has
not
been achieved. A stabilization period of 180 days as required by TCEQ has not been
achieved. Surface reclamation has not been completed in
Production Areas 1 and 2.
Note: Contrary to claims made
in all TCEQ mining permits that the underground water will be
be
restored to its original quality or better, many experts state it is impossible to
restore
the water to its pre-mining quality. Even
mining companies have admitted they will
not
be able to restore the water. There is no
available research to show that water
restoration
in the aquifer to its original pre-mining quality has been successful in Texas or
throughout
the United States. As a matter of fact, “An
examination of 32 permits from closed
South
Texas in-situ leach mines showed the in each case, companies were permitted to leave
behind
minerals such as uranium, molybdenum and selenium at higher levels in the
groundwater
than were listed in the original permit.” (Corpus
Christi Caller-Times,
November 5, 2006)
******************
Most past and current uranium activity in
Texas involves counties within the Coastal Bend Sierra Club (CBSC) area. TCEQ ‘s
records reveal that groundwater, in the past 20- 30 years of mining at Texas sites, only
once has been restored to the quality agreed to when permits were granted.
Investigative journalist Greg Harman has
written an excellent summary of South Texas uranium mining in the September 16, 2009, SA Current. Greg’s article includes interviews with
citizens in most Texas counties which have had uranium activity over the past 30 years.
Through the following SA Current link, video and audio interviews with a University
of Texas medical scientist, a Kleberg County whistleblower, and a Panna Maria, Texas
Catholic priest can be found by accessing Greg’s story and recent blogs. Click on http://www.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=70530.
Submitted
by Venice Scheurich and Mina Williams, 9/21/2009
Website Design: Cheryl McGrath