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Article has a decent map showing the location of the mill and briefly discusses the site which was declared a SuperFund Disaster Site in 1984. Cotter has not been good about cleaning up the contaminated tailing ponds that are unlined and leaking into the groundwater.
Governor Hickenlooper wants Cotter to clean up the site before they start any new operations and there is said to be a law on the books to make that happen, but we know how that goes when big money wants its way.
Bit of background: The world is running out of Uranium for power plants, and the supply of reprocessed nuclear weapons material will run out in the near future. Meanwhile, many nations are building nuclear power plants which means that Uranium mining will resume at various sites around the world to meet the expected demand for fuel rods, the price of which is expected to rise to nicely profitable levels.
There are a bunch of postings about Canon City, the mill, and the pollution, to find those posts, use the Search Tool with this the key term: Canon Uranium
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^There's no way in hell that Cotter Corp will be able to do this. There current license only allows for the following:
Authorized Radioactive Material and Uses
6.A. The licensee is authorized to accept, receive, possess, handle ores and other Department
approved classified materials for the commercial processing and recovery of uranium. The
total quantity of all such materials is limited to:
Western Slope native ores 660,000 yd3 no greater than 0.42% U3O8
Uranium ore from New Mexico doesn't exactly fit this criteria and any attempt to modify the license would require Cotter to clean up it's little mess before doing so. In addition, Cotter's license expires in January of 2012, requiring them to submit a renewal application and all requirements for such a renewal have so far included cleaning up their little mess before any kind of processing can resume on the site.
Cotter is the worst kind of mining company in existence; routinely flouting the law and trying to act like the environmental regulations of the last thirty years don't apply to them.
Cotter is the worst kind of mining company in existence; routinely flouting the law and trying to act like the environmental regulations of the last thirty years don't apply to them.
Agreed. Their track record is pretty poor all right.
I should probably add that Cotter Corp hasn't mined **** in the last two decades nor have they really attempted to do so. So, calling them a mining corporation is probably a stretch.
I DETEST Cotter Corp and what they have done to Canon City! It is completely beyond my comprehension how this can continue to be allowed, or even considered by any level of government. The Uranium processing plant is simply TOO CLOSE to a populated area.
The map of Canon City in the article shows a good representation of the area affected - namely, Lincoln Park, the south part of Canon City. And what a shame it is! Lincoln Park is absolutely pastoral and beautiful with panoramic views of the valley and surrounding mountain ranges. It chaps my ass that Cotter has been allowed to get away with this crap!
Unfortunately, it is entirely possible that Cotter Corporation will be allowed to do precisely what they wish to do, which may include the re-opening of the mill as a "heap-leach" processing facility.
Sadly, the definitions of both mining and milling in Colorado law are full of so many grey areas that Cotter may very well retain their existing licenses to do both. Pushing past state regulators and taking part in unwise and dangerous activities has been the nature of Cotter's relationship with the Colorado Department of Health since the 1950s. For more information, please take a moment and review this recent article in the Denver Post ([url=http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19174721?source=pkg]Cotter mill's ties to Colorado regulators may have become toxic - The Denver Post[/url]). The company must complete application for a new operating license by December 31st of this year. There will be a time for public comment and review then. And the day after tomorrow (November 2nd, 2011) there will be a public meeting in Canon City concerning the status of the existing Superfund site in Lincoln Park (which Cotter Corporation created). The meeting will be at Harrison Elementary school in Canon City at 6:00, hosted by the Health Department. Please join us, and help us show our concern for our community by demanding straight answers to honest questions.
If a resident of Cañon City I think I'd take a rather strong interest in what Cotter Corp. was up to.
As for what all this uranium is intended for, people might want to take a longer look at what is happening in Fukushima, Japan. As bad as that recent tsunami was but ancient history 300 years from now when the radioactive cesium released will have at last run its course. That country is experiencing severe problems in this regard. To the extent many there, despite Japan's high reliance on nuclear electricity, to make the decision Germany did to close all nuclear facilities.
Jobs are fine, but it doesn't do anyone much good if the only ones existing for workers willing to imperil their health to put a cap on some disaster.
Citizen input doesn't mean as much as activist input, that's where a project can really be decided as activist groups have the financial resources to put projects, legit or not, through the legal wrangle. Cotter has tried to push so many things through without public knowledge, has wantonly flouted the law so much, that I don't see how they are able to get an operation license renewal.
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Not much of a job or future
