Montrose - Daily Press

TELLURIDE - A Telluride conservation nonprofit filed a legal challenge on January 26 in Montrose District Court to the proposed Energy Fuels (EF) Pinon Ridge yellowcake uranium mill, based on their belief that EF cannot prove they have the capacity to exploit and utilize water beneficially, and that they cannot avoid polluted water discharges from the mill.

The filing of a “statement of opposition” by Sheep Mountain Alliance (SMA) of Telluride, preceded a separate filing last Tuesday by two groups in Moab, Utah based on similar issues.

Both actions are based on Colorado water rights law and are distinct from the current hearings and process to issue a state environmental permit by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The next CDPHE hearing will be in Montrose on February 17.

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According to the SMA brief, the water rights challenge allows them to carry out future actions, such as litigation, if EF does not comply with state law which places multiple requirements that EF must fulfill prior to having the right to use captured rain, and to pump ground water for use at the mill.

Excerpting from Colorado state statutes, the law requires that “Applicants must demonstrate the legal and physical availability of the water�-(show that rights are not) speculative�-prove that waters can and will be diverted, stored or otherwise captured, possessed and controlled and will be beneficially used�- with diligence within a reasonable time under their claimed conditional water rights..”

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Comments

evn1 wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:27 PM:

" chicken... Thourougly devoid of realities the rest of us face! I havnt had health insurance for years and yes I'm perfectly healthy but I couldn't let my kids go without. My wifes insurance saved us when we were pregnant. Couldn't have covered that huge bill for years!I know just don't have kids then. Right. Its healthier! I don't even live in the west end, just thinking about those who do. I'm not complaining, $19 an hour driving up hill beats wallmart and surely what offer your two employees! mine and mill jobs beat that wage plus they offer benifits. "




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brother wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:23 AM:

" Barry pushed out 18 billion in loan garantee for two nuclear plant in Georga that were passed into law in 2005 but never funded. The plants are estimated at 14 billion. They will never be built. Some group has started looking for some slug, salamander, whatever has a different shade of color than the billions of other slugs in the state. All Barry did was put money in the pot for his buddies the trial lawyers to get. They'll run Southern Power out of business and need a bail out fed take over. "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 16, 2010 6:05 AM:

" Health insurance is a waste of of money. Instead We invest in prevention. Health insurance only treats after your sick and does noting to prevent .
Theres no profit in healthy people and its far cheaper to prevent than attempt to cure after the fact, especially with modern medicines we got a drug for you idelogy.
Nutrition, excersise, do much more to insure ones health than a company can, so no we dont offer health insurance. Peaceoutchickenman "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 16, 2010 5:51 AM:

" Insurance definition...a means of guaranteeing protection
Health definition.. the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit especially freedom from physical disease or pain.
Cont "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 16, 2010 5:42 AM:

" Is the short term boom really worth the bust? Think about who really wins in the long run, not the person who worked hard for their family anticipating a decent living, making ends meet through tough times If going gets tough for the corprations they bailout, and leave folks in a position that could be worse than before they came and ran.
They have nothing to lose, we lose a lot as they only care about profit, not whats best for workers or enviorment.. Peaceoutchickenman "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 16, 2010 5:31 AM:

" One in 25 deaths around the world is caused by alcohol consumption, and booze is now as damaging to global health as tobacco was a decade ago, according to a new study in the British medical journal the Lancet.
Your drug of choice vs. my drug of choice...How many deaths can you show me that are a result mj use? Next time you open a Coors think about that. Peaceoutchickenman "




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evn1 wrote on Feb 15, 2010 7:22 PM:

" Boom and bust far outweighs bust and bust! No jobs since the 50s In the west end other than driving to telluride! Just sad that's all. Its easy to say the proposed development might be bad if you have established work and income. Hard to come by work that has good pay and benifits these days, that is why mines and mills are appealing to some of us. Chickenman do you offer a good wage, family health & dental to your employees? If so keep cluckin along. If not... "




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Other local residents.. wrote on Feb 15, 2010 3:17 PM:

" Chickenman! You were the one to judge...your always quick to let everyone know how close minded they are! (see comment below) Plus...I'll see your two employees, raise you 20 employees + a couple of million....you are the one sir that doesn't have all of the facts before he spews! You are the self proclaimed tree huggin pot smoker not me! Oh, and I prefer Coors...GO COLORADO! "




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brother wrote on Feb 15, 2010 2:37 PM:

" Judy J it is basketball!!! The reson people care about the basketball is because it is happening. The mill will never happen and it has nothing to do with what the people of Montrose county want. The developers of the mill will be sued ot of exsitance by group after group.

The Union Carbid mill in Urvan paid almost half the counties taxes in the 1950's "




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Real Energy wrote on Feb 15, 2010 8:44 AM:

" Regardless of what our President thinks you CANNOT legislate change. Solar and wind power generation are not yet cost effective and unrealistic in most areas. As energy costs go up and manufacturing prices come down it will become viable but it's not right now. Nuclear is a inexpensive, reliable, and fairly clean "alternative" energy source. "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 15, 2010 8:22 AM:

" Maybe a potsmokin treehugger, but what have YOU done to stimulate the local econmy?
With what braincells I got left I employ 2 people, pump several hundred thousand dollars back in the local community annualy, by buying localy, pay taxes, have never been unemployed. Ive always worked hard and saved for what I needed, no debits, even in these tough times am totaly thriving..So enjoy your next several Budlites and get your own life together before you judge TheChickenman Peaceoutchickenman "




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JudyJ wrote on Feb 14, 2010 9:55 PM:

" I loved reading these few comments about the proposed uranium mill. Then I checked the people's comments about the recent football game, and find there are SO many more people concerned about football. Jeez! Where are our priorities? "




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evn1 wrote on Feb 14, 2010 4:50 PM:

" No jobs in west end means labor prices in telluride won't go up! I think people who are part of these environmntal groups have little worry of keeping food on their tables, no problems paying for health insurance and mortgages. The rest of us have these very real problems. Jobs jobs jobs! "




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Local Uranium Supporter wrote on Feb 14, 2010 3:12 PM:

" I would rather look at the mill knowing how many (hundreds) people it would employ directly and indirectly than thousands of acres of ugly solar panels which would employ a half dozen people to clean them. No thanks. Solar panels are not made from all natural products and are not all made here in the US or disposed of in the US. The West End wants the mill. We can decide our own future. "




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Other Local Resident wrote on Feb 14, 2010 2:40 PM:

" Chickenman...if you and your MJ smokin, tree huggin buddies would get together and buy some solar systems, etc...it would certainly help the local companies who are trying to offer these services actually make a business case...they need demand, and there is very little demand...stop talking and start doing! "




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facts wrote on Feb 13, 2010 10:59 PM:

" I China theTelluride group would be warned then beaten and jailed, then just vanish. Hard to keep track of that many people. "




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Wired Science wrote on Feb 13, 2010 10:52 PM:

" If China’s carbon usage keeps pace with its economic growth, the country’s carbon dioxide emissions will reach 8 gigatons a year by 2030, which is equal to the entire world’s CO2 production today. Reports the journal Science.

Coal power has been driving the stunning, seven plus percent a year growth in China’s economy. It’s long been said said that China was adding one new coal power plant per week to its grid. But the real news is worse: China is completing two new coal plants per week. "




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New York Times wrote on Feb 13, 2010 10:41 PM:

" Already, China uses more coal than the United States, the European Union and Japan combined. And it has increased coal consumption 14 percent in each of the past two years in the broadest industrialization ever. Every week to 10 days, another coal-fired power plant opens somewhere in China that is big enough to serve all the households in Dallas or San Diego.

To make matters worse, India is right behind China in stepping up its construction of coal-fired power plants — and has a population expected to outstrip China's by 2030. "




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Nov 10 2009 wrote on Feb 13, 2010 10:32 PM:

" GE Energy confirmed this week that it plans to close its 35-megawatt (MW) Glasgow, Delaware solar module production facility in the next nine months. The company said that the facility can no longer produce modules at a competitive price and that it will stop manufacturing its crystalline silicon modules in January.

GE later announced that is was moving to China. This follows similar moves. By evergreen solar and BP "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 10, 2010 5:18 AM:

" There are a few small alternative energy outfits hereabouts why not more? Probaly the closed minded attitude of folks round here and the mining industry wants no part of alternative choices for more sustainable clean energy like solar and wind power.My point is we need to sooner or later get away from fosil fuels and not so enviormently friendly energy sourcesi ncluding uranium. Peaceoutchickenman "




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Local Resident wrote on Feb 9, 2010 11:20 PM:

" Chickenman....which solar manufacturers, solar plants, wind energy companies do you know are setting up shop in Montrose County?

Can uranium mining be environmentally concious? "




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Local Resident wrote on Feb 9, 2010 11:16 PM:

" Chickenman....uranium is a fossil fuel? "




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scurrilous prairie dog wrote on Feb 9, 2010 11:46 AM:

" Whenever Telluridiots stick their noses in a project it all goes to crap. Take a good look at the Valley Floor. It is now a prairie dog town, and looks horrilble, But here they come dictating to smaller communities how to invest their land and water resources. They need to check the board in their own eyes before they pick at a speck in those of their neighbors. Telluride feels we should resolve to be their serf class. "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 9, 2010 9:37 AM:

" Dont you think its time to perfect solar, wind and alternative sources of energy?
We have the technology already and if we researched and perfected alternative sources that are more sustainable, more enviormently sound, we still could create jobs today that will be there tommorow, not here today gone tomorrow..We need to get away sooner than later from dependency on fossil fuels and work twords the future Peaceoutchickenman "




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Local Resident wrote on Feb 8, 2010 9:38 PM:

" Chickenman...I agree...but, can we not have both industry and environmental stewardship? Have we just settled for one or the other? "




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Tom Shearer wrote on Feb 8, 2010 10:35 AM:

" President Obama in his state of the union address called for an new effort in nuclear power. He did this in full knowledge that all of progressive minions will put forward leagal action after leagal action until project is dead from leagal fee's. The President knows there will never be a shovel turned on any of these projects. The only jobs will be lawyers and law school professors. "




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Chickenman wrote on Feb 8, 2010 8:26 AM:

" We need all the help we can get to safeguard our resources.
Remember this company is also not local.When has any outfit like this ever done whats best for the local community?Sure there may be a few jobs created, probaly outsourced.If its boom and bust were left holding the mess.If they poluted with uranium our water thats it. We need all the help we can get when safeguarding something as precious as our water.Water is life. Peaceoutchickenman "




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Local Resident wrote on Feb 7, 2010 9:35 PM:

" What do you, the locals, think about these outside groups filing these claims? Some of the questions I ask myself are: do they have alternative employment options in mind? Do they truly have the environment at heart or their own million dollar 'viewsheds'? Is this just plain outside interference in our local dealings? "




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