Bureau of Land Management Reverses Go Ahead on Uranium Mine

        On November 21, Selma Sierra, Utah State Director of the Bureau of Land Management, reversed a decision by the Richfield Office approving Denison Mines' Plan of Operations for the Tony M. Mine in Garfield County, Utah. The Mine, located West of the White Mesa Mill, near Blanding and about 15 miles north of Lake Powell Utah, is expected to be one of the largest underground uranium mines in North America.

        The Tony M. Mine was anticipated to reach full production by mid-2008, producing 18,000 tons of ore per month. The company is also working uranium mines in the Colorado Plateau District where more than 10,000 tons of ore are produced per month and are being stockpiled at the White Mesa Mill, with processing set to begin in early 2008.

        The Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Center for Water Advocacy (CWA), based in Moab, asked the BLM to reconsider its approval of that portion of the Mine on public lands due to concerns regarding compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal environmental laws.  Harold Shepherd, who is the Executive Director with CWA, said that “Because the Tony M. Mine is the BLM’s first uranium mine approval in Utah in decades and due to its huge size, it is important to thoroughly study the environmental impacts in a manner that will set a precedent for the handling of future proposals in Utah.”  Sarah Fields, with the Sierra Club in Moab, agreed that “Based on the agency precedent and the serious inadequacies in the BLM’s current analysis, the BLM should set a fairly high standard for mining in Utah, particularly so that we can prepare for the wave of uranium mining proposals that are anticipated for public lands in the Southeastern region and the impacts these mines may have on the environment.”

        Seemingly in agreement with such concerns, the Utah Director found “that the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed action is deficient in several respects" and vacated the Richfield office’s decision.  The Director also remanded the matter to the field office so that the EA can be amended “in coordination with the Utah State Office Environmental Coordinator and a new decision record issued.”  According to the BLM’s State Office in Salt Lake, at this point, Denison will be instructed to stop all activity related to the mine on BLM lands until a new EA is issued.