By George Ledbetter, Chadron Record editor Thursday, January 17, 2008

CHADRON, Neb. -- Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing and safety division will continue hearing arguments today on the proposed expansion of the Crow Butte Resources uranium mine near Crawford after an all-day session here Wednesday.

Two individuals and three organizations are arguing against allowing the 2,100-acre expansion of the existing in situ leach mine southwest of Crawford, saying mining endangers water quality in the adjacent area and as far away as Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

A panel of three administrative law judges heard arguments first on whether the petitioners had
standing to contest the mine's plan, and later on the first of six specific objections to the expansion.

Seeking to block the mine expansion are Tom Cook of Chadron and Debra White Plume of Pine Ridge, S.D., the Slim Buttes Agricultural Development Corp., Owe Aku, a nonprofit Oglala Lakota cultural group from Pine Ridge, and the Western Nebraska Resources Council.

Canadian-owned Cameco Corp. owns and operates the Crow Butte mine, which recovers uranium from
underground sandstone layers by pumping a solution of water and bicarbonate into the ore body, then pumping out the solution and recovering the dissolved uranium. The existing mine, which has been in operation since 1991, produces about 800,000 pounds of yellowcake uranium each year. The material is used in the nuclear fuel industry.

The mine's proposed expansion lies about a half-mile north of Crawford.

The company said in its permit application that the new area would yield between 500,000 and 600,000 pounds of uranium oxide per year and be active for about 11 years.

The people and groups opposing the mine have an interest in the issue because they rely on underground water supplies, which could be contaminated by the mine's expansion, said David Frankel, attorney for Tom Cook, the Slim Buttes development group and the Western Nebraska Resources Council. Cook lives about 20 miles from the Crow Butte mine, and family gardens planted by members of the Slim Buttes Agricultural Development Corp are 30 to 40 miles away, he said. "Water does travel," he said. "If there is mining that contaminates well water, that defeats the purpose of the organization."