March 11, 2009 - 8:24 p.m.
AUSTIN - Residents who want to talk to industry experts about uranium mining now have a 24-hour resource.
With Uranium Energy Corp.'s uranium exploration and proposed uranium mining in Goliad County, residents have questioned the safety of the in situ recovery process. Others wonder how mining would affect their water wells.
So, the Texas Mining and Reclamation Association's Uranium Committee established a 24-hour hotline for South Texas residents, according to the group's news release.
"Knowledge can help minimize misunderstanding," Shannon Lucas, executive director, said via the release.
Residents call and leave a recorded message, then a representative will call within 24 hours and connect the resident with an expert. Experts can discuss anything from regulations and groundwater restoration to site reclamation and landowner rights, the release continued.
The uranium committee is a pro-industry group that attempts to balance developing resources with the environment and public welfare.
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/local/story/429384.html
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In Texas, no water testing is required prior to exploration. Exploration is regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission, which is absurd, and the mining is regulated by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Since exploration began in Goliad County, over 70 citations have been issued by TRRC for leaving boreholes open and leaving radioactive tailings on top of the ground. In the meantime, the torrential rains of 2007 poured down the holes. Did rainwater oxidize the ore down there? The answer: unknown. When baseline testing did occur, the numbers were through the roof.
Goliad County has sued UEC for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act as eight wells were rendered useless, full of red, putrid, slimy iron bacteria. Since the exploration has stopped, the wells have cleared up. TRRC ruled the investigation closed, pointing the finger to "natural occurrences" regarding the contaminated wells. Time will tell.
As far as the hotline, that's a joke...nothing more than an invitation for unwary landowners to bite on the worm, so to speak. I've left a good set of real questions in response to this article at the Victoria Advocate. I try to stay objective, but it's very, very hard to do.
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