Michaelsen thought he had won. But when TCEQ commissioners answered the question a few months later, they again dismissed the judge’s findings.
In a 19-page order issued in September, the commission concluded that “faults within 2.5 kilometers of the proposed wells are not sufficiently permeable or wide vertically to allow migration of hazardous components out of the injection site.” The old oil wells nearby, the commission found, are “probably sufficiently plugged and will not provide a path for fluid flow.”
“UEC has demonstrated that the proposed disposal wells will prevent the flow of fluids that could lead to contamination” of an underground drinking water source, the order granting the injection disposal permits said.
“I felt like it was rigged, a setup,” Michaelsen said, holding his 4-inch-thick binder of research and records from the case. “It was a decision made in the can.”
Another set of permit renewals remains before the Goliad mine can begin operations, and local authorities are fighting it. In August, the Goliad County Commissioners Court ruled against uranium mining in the county. The groundwater district wants to challenge the permits again in administrative court. And in November, the county sued TCEQ in Travis County District Court seeking to overturn the agency’s approval of permits.
Because of the lawsuit, a TCEQ spokesperson declined to answer questions about the Goliad County mine site, saying the agency does not comment on litigation.
The final set of permits is yet to be renewed before the mine begins production. However, after years of frustration, regional leaders are not optimistic about their ability to influence the decision.
There are only about 40 residential properties around the Goliad mine site, according to Art Dohmann, vice president of the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District. They are the only ones who may be affected in the near term. But Dohmann, who has served on the district’s groundwater board for 23 years, worries that uranium, radium, and arsenic from the mining process will leave the site as the years go by.
“The underground water is moving. It’s a low level, but once that arsenic is released, it’s there forever,” said Dohmann. “In a generation, it will affect the downstream areas.”
UEC did not respond to a request for comment.
Currently, TCEQ is exploring opportunities to expand and promote uranium production in Texas. It follows an order issued last year, when lawmakers from the Nuclear Caucus added something to the TCEQ’s annual budget allocation mandating a study of uranium resources to be released to state lawmakers by December 2024, before next year’s legislative session.
According to the budget, “The report should include recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes and possible economic stimulus programs to support the uranium mining industry in this state.”
Source link