An abandoned uranium mine sits unreclaimed along the San Miguel River. Photo by Jennifer Thurston 

We are approaching the deadline for public comment regarding the Department of Energy’s  (DOE ) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) evaluating their Uranium Leasing Program (ULP) for Western Colorado. This document will govern uranium leasing over 25,000 acres in Mesa, Montrose and San Miguel Counties for the next 10 years. Under DOE’s preferred alternative, scores of existing leases could operate alongside 19 new mines during peak operations, fully implementing the leasing program.

WCC believes any future uranium development should only be done in a manner that protects public health, safety and welfare. Please join us in telling the DOE that we can do better for Western Colorado. 

After reviewing this document and attending numerous public hearings, we think the DOE can offer us a better alternative. Instead of gambling our public lands on an uncertain uranium industry, we can put people to work now cleaning up old mine sites and developing our solar energy potential.

Our region has already carried the disproportionate burdens of an industry that has left behind a legacy of toxic waste and radioactive contamination that is still being remediated by taxpayer money. We do not have to choose this again. We can choose a future that depends on clean jobs and sustainable economic development and the DOE can help make this a reality.

Please take action now and tell the DOE that they should prioritize putting people to work cleaning up uranium’s past before starting up new mining operations in our communities. Click here to sign our letter to the DOE!  Comments are due by July 1, 2013!

For more information, contact WCC Organizer Emily Hornback at (970) 256-7650.