October 19, BREAKING NEWS: SMA and our conservation partners won a sweeping legal victory on Oct. 18 when a federal judge ordered a halt to the Department of Energy’s Uranium Leasing Program.  The court issued an injunction to suspend all drilling, mining, exploration, and existing and future uranium leasing over a 42-square-mile area on the Western Slope.

Read the press release.

Read the court ruling.

The lawsuit was originally filed to stop the DOE’s implementation of a 10-year leasing program that was authorized without conducting a full environmental analysis of the impacts to the environment, water and air quality, wildlife and Western Slope communities.  The DOE refused to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement and instead issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in 2007.  That decision was overturned by the court ruling.

In August, as the final court ruling was still pending, the DOE announced that it would conduct a Programmatic EIS and held a series of public meetings in the Uravan Mineral Belt.  Sheep Mountain Alliance and our conservation partners along with many individuals submitted extensive comments during the scoping process in early September.

The new PEIS provides an important opportunity for the public to take a role in determining the future of the region. The renewal of uranium mining from Gateway to Dove Creek threatens to deplete the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers, spread toxic and radioactive contamination, and will have widespread impacts on our environment, air quality, wildlife, local communities and recreational opportunities.  The PEIS process will last several years and will have a major impact on the Western Slope, the DOE lease tract areas, and adjacent public lands.

Read the earlier press release about the lawsuit filed by SMA and four other conservation groups.

Read the official PEIS notice in the Federal Register. The PEIS is described at the DOE Information Center Website.

The DOE 31 lease tracts in the Uravan Mineral Belt between Gateway and Dove Creek, and 29 are currently leased; the region still bears witness to the legacy of historic uranium mining and milling through the many sites contaminated by toxic and radioactive waste.