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Two conservation groups have joined several local landowners in a lawsuit to try to force the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to rescind a decision to permit natural gas drilling near the site of a 1969 atomic blast test in western Colorado. The suit, filed in the state District Court of Denver County on December 18, seeks to prevent Denver-based EnCana Oil and Gas from drilling five directional wells from a well pad within three miles of the Project Rulison site near the town of Battlement Mesa in Garfield County. The plaintiffs in the suit say that the COGCC in November issued EnCana permits to drill the wells without holding hearings on the potential of drilling so close to the site where the Atomic Energy Commission detonated a 43-kiloton nuclear bomb 8,4000 feet below ground.

Two regional uranium leach-mining projects are under review by federal and state officials. In South Dakota, Powertech Uranium Corp. reports advancing on its permitting requirements for its Dewey-Burdock project. The state Board of Minerals and Environment issued the Canadian company exploration permits for the area near Edgemont in Fall River and Custer counties in 2007. Currently, Powertech proposes drilling 30 more holes to establish the location of its planned in situ leach mining operation.

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing in Chadron last week, intended primarily to take public comment on a proposal for use of a generic Environmental Impact Statement in issuing permits for In-Situ Leach (ISL) mines such as the Crow Butte Resources mine near Crawford, provided a primer on the ISL process for an audience of about 35 people, and a discussion forum for several of those involved in challenges to Crow Butte's proposed expansion project. Among the details to emerge from the meeting was acknowledgment by the NRC that, although ISL mine permits call for returning groundwater to its original condition when mining is done, some of the "baseline parameters" have proved unachievable by mining companies.

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing in Chadron last week, intended primarily to take public comment on a proposal for use of a generic Environmental Impact Statement in issuing permits for In-Situ Leach (ISL) mines such as the Crow Butte Resources mine near Crawford, provided a primer on the ISL process for an audience of about 35 people, and a discussion forum for several of those involved in challenges to Crow Butte's proposed expansion project. All types of bellows and expansion joints to fit your piping systems including metal, fabric, rubber, thin wall, thick wall, slip type, rectangular, and stock bellows. www.usbellows.com Public Storage Official Site - $1 for First Month. 2000 Locations. Instant Quotes. www.PublicStorage.com Criminal Lawyer - Pleasanton Free Consulation. Felony/Misdemeanor. Stanford & Berkeley Law Grads. www.bonjourandthorman.com Ads by Yahoo! Among the details to emerge from the meeting was acknowledgment by the NRC that, although ISL mine permits call for returning groundwater to its original condition when mining is done, some of the "baseline parameters" have proved unachievable by mining companies.

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing in Chadron last week, intended primarily to take public comment on a proposal for use of a generic Environmental Impact Statement in issuing permits for In-Situ Leach (ISL) mines such as the Crow Butte Resources mine near Crawford, provided a primer on the ISL process for an audience of about 35 people, and a discussion forum for several of those involved in challenges to Crow Butte's proposed expansion project. Among the details to emerge from the meeting was acknowledgment by the NRC that, although ISL mine permits call for returning groundwater to its original condition when mining is done, some of the "baseline parameters" have proved unachievable by mining companies.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will conduct public meetings in Gillette and Casper this week regarding a generic permitting process for in-situ leach uranium mining. The agency is preparing for an onslaught of permit applications to launch at least 14 new in-situ leach uranium mine operations across the West, most of them in Wyoming. In response, the commission launched a generic environmental impact statement meant to address general issues regarding in-situ uranium mining.

Nation's Financial Crisis, Pending Takeover of Constellation Raise Concerns WASHINGTON, D.C. - A coalition of environmental and public interest groups today called on Maryland regulators to place a moratorium on the permitting of a new $9.6 billion nuclear reactor in light of the nation's worsening financial crisis and serious concerns about the stability of the company building the project. Constellation Energy Group, which is seeking permits to build the reactor at Calvert Cliffs, Md., was tied financially to Lehman Brothers Holdings, the giant investment firm that filed for bankruptcy Monday. By Wednesday's market close, Constellation shares had lost nearly 58 percent of their value, trading at less than $25 a share. In January, Constellation's stock was trading at a 52-week high of $107.97.

AUSTIN - Dallas-based Luminant said Friday it is applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two new reactors at its Comanche Peak nuclear power plant near Glen Rose. It's an early step in a multiyear permitting process. It would take nine to 10 years until the reactors are up and running if they are approved, counting permitting and construction time, said David Campbell, chief executive officer for Luminant.

A consortium of environmental groups will continue its challenge to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's pending approval for an early site permit that would allow construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy contends the commission overlooked key issues - such as the impact of huge volumes of water the new reactors would use - in determining there are no significant environmental impacts that would prevent an early site permit from being issues.

It hit 117 degrees here in Las Vegas, but what's heating up longer term is another kind of heat -- radiation. The Department of Energy applied for its long-sought permit to open a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. DOE proceeded, as it always has on this project, with reckless disregard of the fact that isn't nearly ready to answer the questions that will arise. Just before the filing, the State of Nevada revealed that it had identified between 250 and 500 legal flaws in the permit process, any one of which could be the basis for a legal challenge.

TVA releases billions of gallons of heated water into the Tennessee River each year, and the electricity-producer is on a path to release more, but the state-issued permit that allows the agency's Watts Bar nuclear plant to dump warmed water back into the river expired two years ago. TVA has asked the state to renew the plant's permit, but state environmental officials said last week they want more information about the water temperature there before they sign off on it.

Some of the biggest sand and gravel companies in the state have been allowed to operate for years without mining permits, and a whistle-blower says that's against the law. We took what we found to state regulators in charge of the sand and gravel operations. A recently retired regulator says the law requires a shut-down of gravel pits, an interpretation disputed by his former boss. But the agency has shut down little guys, mom-and-pop-sized companies that don't have permits. Several big companies have been given extra time to straighten out the paperwork year after year after year.

Rep. Mike Noel says his HB379 is aimed at reducing frivolous lawsuits by environmental groups. But critics say it violates the constitutional rights of Utah businesses and individuals as well. The measure would require anyone seeking a stay of an "environmental action" -- the granting of a new permit for a power plant, a road or mining, for instance -- to post a bond to cover any damages the delays might cause. The new requirement would cover permits issued by the state departments of Environmental Quality, Transportation, Natural Resources or the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

'It's premature to saddle ratepayers with potential construction costs' before project has permits and utility has decided to build, Missouri governor says. Gov. Jay Nixon said Friday he opposes legislation that would pave the way for AmerenUE to build a second nuclear plant in Callaway County. The St. Louis-based utility, which sells electricity to 1.2 million customers in Missouri, should focus on getting the necessary federal permits before seeking authority to charge consumers for construction costs while the plant is being built, Nixon said.

A coalition of environmental groups is asking federal regulators to put the brakes on the proposed expansion of the Fermi nuclear power plant in Monroe County on the grounds that it is unnecessary and poses threats to the environment and human health. Beyond Nuclear, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan and the Sierra Club, are all representing locals who live within 50 miles of Fermi and therefore have legal standing to intervene in the reactor permitting process. According to Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Scott Burnell, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a panel of administrative law judges, will determine whether the groups' contentions should be introduced as part of the hearing on the permit. There is one operational nuclear reactor at the electricity-generating complex in Monroe County's Frenchtown Township, known as Fermi 2. Fermi 1 shut down in 1972.

It's time to get back to work, anti-uranium activists say. For the residents across northern Colorado who are opposed to a proposed uranium mine near Wellington, the holidays were a time off. Out of the public eye, and off the radar it may be, but the uranium mine they say threatens their ground water hasn't stopped. Indeed, it may be just beginning. Powertech Uranium Corp. - a Canadian firm - is busy collecting ground, air, water and soil samples from its Centennial site, about seven miles from Wellington, 16 from Greeley and 11 from Fort Collins, in hopes to apply for permits in May to establish an in-situ leach mine, said Richard Clement, president and CEO of Powertech. In-situ mining pumps treated groundwater into the ground to dissolve and collect uranium, which is brought back to the surface. Clement said the permitting process will take about a year but that the site should be ready to go in mid-2011.

Xcel Energy says a monitoring well at its nuclear power plant in Monticello detected a radioactive element at higher levels than allowed under one of the company's permits. The monitoring well showed levels of tritium, a mildly radioactive type of hydrogen, that were below the Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standards. But the amount exceeded what is allowed under Xcel's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. In reporting the incident to state and federal regulators on Thursday, Xcel said no elevated levels were detected in any other monitoring wells. The company also says there's no indication tritium has been released off the power plant site. Officials are investigating the source of the tritium.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has told the Canadian developer of a planned uranium mine in southwest South Dakota that it must fix several deficiencies in its application or the proposal will be rejected. Powertech Uranium Corp. is operating under a state permit to drill exploratory holes and hopes to start mining in 2011 near Edgemont if it can get all the required federal and state permits. NRC spokesman David McIntyre said the agency met with the company on Thursday. He said Powertech indicated that within a week, it will indicate if it plans to withdraw the application, fix the problems and resubmit it or wait for the NRC to reject the current request. It's not a fatal blow, but it could delay the project that seeks to take advantage of higher uranium prices, he said.

The radioactive-waste corridor in Tooele County could widen because of a Friday ruling by the Utah Supreme Court that gives a competitor of EnergySolutions the chance to argue its right to build an adjacent disposal site. The 3-2 decision paves the way for Cedar Mountain Environmental to challenge Tooele County's adoption of a 2005 ordinance that significantly reduced the land area in which radioactive waste sites are permitted. It also gives Cedar Mountain the chance to appeal the county's decision to allow EnergySolutions to amend its conditional-use permit. "This clears the way for those prior land-use decisions made by Tooele County to come under review," said James Lawrie, who represents Cedar Mountain.

A uranium-mining company has asked a federal appeals court to review an April decision that a proposed uranium mine site in western New Mexico is on Native American land. Durango auto dealer custom residential construction Katie Ogier - The Wells Group Lewisville, Texas-based Uranium Resource Inc. said Monday it asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver for an "en banc review" of the decision that sided with the Environmental Protection Agency. Monday was the deadline for making the request. A 2-1 decision made on April 17 by a three-judge panel requires URI subsidiary Hydro Resources Inc. to obtain a groundwater injection permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, which delays the company's plans to mine for uranium near Church Rock. The company already has a state groundwater-injection permit.