MUSGRAVE ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION
October 13, 2007 - Congresswoman states intention to help stop proposed project to crowd of 300+ angry landowners and stunned Powertech managers at end of Nunn community meeting; cites population density, groundwater contamination risk, effect on agriculture, and declining property values
The beginning of the end for Powertech's Centennial Project?
October 15, 2007, Updated December 1, 2007
Representative Marilyn Musgrave (CO-04)
speaking to concerned landowners in Nunn, CO
Powertech officials looking grim as continuous stream
of landowners disparage proposed uranium mining project.
Lane Douglas - Project Manager (L), Richard Blubaugh -
VP of Environmental Health & Safety Resources (R)
Greeley Tribune
Musgrave, residents,
speak out against uranium project
Bill Jackson
bjackson@greeleytribune.com
October 14, 2007
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., came out in
opposition to a proposed uranium mining operation in northern Weld County on
Saturday following a meeting in Nunn that drew 250-300 people.
"I want to come out with a public statement expressing
my opposition to this," Musgrave said at the conclusion of the more than two
hour meeting at the Nunn Community Center.
The Centennial Project, north of Nunn, contains 5,760
acres of land which Powertech Uranium Corp., a Canadian company, has
purchased the mineral rights. The company estimates 9.7 million pounds of
uranium lie beneath that land.
Most of the people who spoke in opposition to the plan
expressed concern about ground water contamination, the possibility of radio
active material escaping into the water and air, and the devaluation of
land, which many claimed has already started.
Musgrave, after listening to the comments -- which
included response by Powertech officials -- said she decided to oppose the
plan because Powertech has no track record in in-situ drilling, which will
be done by forcing a carbonated water solution into the strata of rock to
mobilize the uranium. Many fear that would contaminate water in the massive
Dakota-Cheyenne aquifer. The aquifer spreads beneath Nunn, Greeley, Windsor,
Fort Collins, Wellington, Sterling, Fort Morgan, Longmont and Boulder.
Musgrave said she was also concerned that taxpayers
could be forced to clean up any contamination of the site which.
A panel featuring Lilias Jarding of Coloradoans Against
Resource Destruction, Kent Peppler, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers
Union, Dr. Cory Carroll of the Larimer County Medical Society and Jeff
Parsons, an attorney with the Western Mining Action Partnership, gave an
overview of the project.
Jarding said there are 32 sites in Texas that have not
been "returned to their original condition" from a similar mining operation,
while Carroll expressed fear of health concerns to patients he sees on a
regular basis. Parsons reviewed the permitting process Powertech must go
through before any operation, and said Weld County is in a position to deny
any of those permits. Peppler said his farm organization has not taken a
stance, but members were gathering information.
Carroll, whose organization is opposed to the project,
said water contamination is his major concern.
Residents of the area, however, left no doubt about how
they feel about the proposal.
Gary Voshel ranches west of Nunn and lives near where
the mining would take place. He said he could not understand how he is
limited to the amount of water he can pump from his wells, while Powertech
seems to be able to pump 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"This is going to impact my life, my family's life and
the livestock I have," he said. "I don't need any looters or polluters on my
ranch."
Lane Douglas, the project manager for Powertech,
attempted to alleviate the concerns and said the company intends "to prove
to every regulator that we well not have an adverse effect on the area. If
we can't do that, then we won't be given a permit."
What's next
A rally at the State Capitol in Denver today will
feature Larimer County lawmakers who will announce proposed legislation to
address the proposed uranium operation in northern Weld County. That rally
will begin at 2 p.m. at the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol, 200 W.
Colfax Ave., Denver.
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20071014/NEWS/110130192
Audio file from KRFC 88.9 FM story by Bob Beck
To vote on the question "Do you support the proposed mining for uranium in Nunn, Colorado?" in an online poll on Rep. Musgrave's website, click here.
