Bump and update: From the Cañon City Daily Record (Rachel Alexander):
“Today’s vote is absolutely amazing,” said Matt Garrington, of Environment Colorado, which helped develop the bill. “Never before have we seen such strong bipartisan support on uranium legislation.”[…]
“Uranium processing has left behind a dirty, dangerous legacy in Colorado,” Garrington said. “Today, the Colorado House told the uranium industry that business as usual is not acceptable. This legislation is an important step to help protect Colorado’s air and water from toxic, radioactive uranium pollution.”
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):
By a vote of 62-2, HB1348 sponsored by state Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, advanced. Its next stop will be a Senate committee…
Cotter officials testified before a House committee that the bill would be “a poison pill” for the plant, while Canon City residents testified that the poison from the uranium processing plant has been tainting groundwater there for decades. “I vehemently disagree that this would close the Cotter mill,” McFadyen said. “It doesn’t affect their current operation, and only requires them to clean up the mess they’ve made before accepting new waste they aren’t already permitted to process.”[…]
Under the bill, uranium processors would be required to clean up existing contamination before they are permitted to accept new materials, as Cotter has proposed to do beginning later this year. Company officials have said the expansion would create up to 100 jobs at the uranium processing site that now has 31 employees.
The bill also would require annual reports from processors to residents of areas near groundwater plumes of uranium contamination. They would include updated reports on the status of the contamination and the steps taken to address them. Another portion of the bill requires uranium processors to carry bonds sufficient to pay for cleanup of contamination, rather than saddling taxpayers with the cost.
From State Bill Colorado (Debi Brazzale):
House lawmakers agreed Monday that increased oversight to ensure groundwater is not contaminated from uranium processing is a good thing for Colorado’s water supply, and gave their final approval to House Bill 1348 before it moves to the Senate for consideration. The measure requires that prior to obtaining a license to begin or expand uranium processing operations, the applicant has to show that the existing site is not in violation of existing environmental or public health laws…
Republican Marsha Looper of Calhan told the committee that most of her district derives its water from groundwater, and said the measure is crucial to the state’s agriculture industry. “Water is a precious resource for our state. We need to do our utmost to protect this important resource,” said Looper. Looper went on to say that the processing of uranium ore has a terrible track record when it comes to groundwater contamination. According to Looper, Durango and Grand Junction are seeing increased levels of contamination decades after the uranium operations have ceased. Looper said she welcomes the additional accountability the measure would provide.
More HB 10-1348 coverage here.