Desert spreads endlessly beyond the horizon, where crystalline azure meets rusted bronze. This is red rock country. Moab, Utah is known for its breathtaking scenery. Red rock arches, labyrinth-like canyons, the clever Colorado River. This paradise permeates the soul and the soil. But something else sleeps in the soil: uranium tailings.
Uranium was discovered near Moab in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t significantly mined until 1952 when Charlie Steen, a geologist, discovered large quantities of uranium in Lisbon Valley, south east of Moab. Enough Uranium was mined that a sign in town declared that Moab was “The Uranium Capitol of the World!”
In southeast Utah rests a peaceful town located on the banks of a peaceful river. Here the Green River flows between two canyons, Gray and Labyrinth, allowing for farming and ranching in an arid desert. Driving through Green River, Utah doesn’t take but a few moments, including a stop to purchase some mouth-watering melons, for which Green River is famous. But Green River now has a new claim to fame.
Transition Power Development LLC (TPD) has proposed construction of a 2 unit nuclear power plant known as the Blue Castle Project situated just outside of the peaceful town. In order to maintain the 2 unit nuclear power plant, massive amounts of water would be required. The Kane County Water Conservancy District (KCWCD) has filed a water-rights application in order to facilitate the project. The application requests 29,600 acre-feet of water, which would be diverted from the Green River, a part of the Colorado River drainage.
By Timothy B. Hurst •
March 10, 2009
Shell Oil’s plan to acquire a junior water right for eight percent of Colorado’s Yampa River average April-to-June flow for oil shale development has been opposed by some twenty-five parties, all submitting letters of opposition to the Colorado Water Court in Steamboat Springs.
By Becky Striepe •
January 6, 2009
One in 12 American’s water supply comes from the Colorado River. Increased mining and drilling for oil, natural gas, and uranium on its shores is threatening that supply.
[Creative Commons photo by Wolfgang Staudt]
The areas along the river are already suffering from drought, and getting at the resources there uses and pollutes the precious remaining water. Research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography estimates that the river could dry up in as little as 13 years.
By Timothy B. Hurst •
October 5, 2008
After being chided over remarks he made in August about renegotiating the Colorado River Compact, John McCain said at a recent campaign stop that he would “never, ever” try to take more of Colorado’s water. But has the damage already been done in this water-sensitive state?
By Timothy B. Hurst •
August 21, 2008
John McCain has again said something to cause his fellow western-state Republicans to wince at his political inexpedience and apparent naivete, stating last week that he wants to renegotiate the Colorado River compact to re-appropriate water from the upper basin states where the river originates and give it to lower basin states like California, and his home state of Arizona. Even though the Senator has now recanted and begun damage control, Democrats are hoping that this one will cost him, [...]
By Max Lindberg •
June 25, 2008
It All Depends On Who You Ask
Las Vegas Water Offical Warns Radioactive Levels Rising
Sunday’s news was a bit disconcerting, when I read a small story at Tri-State Online. Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority was quoted as saying measurable quantities of uranium are showing up in Colorado River water, something difficult and expensive to remove before passing it on to consumers in Las Vegas.
She blames upstream uranium mining, especially in the Moab, Utah area, so I decided to take a look and see what’s happening up there.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no operating uranium mines in or near Moab, UT, or anywhere in the state of Utah. So, I felt Ms. Mulroy was referring to the uranium mill tailings just outside Moab, where they’ve been for decades after the failure of the Atlas Minerals Corporation mill.
Lake Mead has a 50-50 chance of becoming a dry lake bed by 2021, according to new research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego.
Marine physicist Tim Barnett and climate scientist David Pierce reached that conclusion after analyzing the region’s current and planned water usage and taking into account the ongoing impact of climate change.
Furthermore, they acknowledge their projections are based on conservative estimates … meaning [...]
By Max Lindberg •
December 14, 2007
It’s been going on since 1922, seven western states staking their claims on Colorado River Water. For years, a sometimes divisive battle has raged as Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico all said they weren’t getting their share of the precious liquid.
It came to an end in Las Vegas, when representatives of the seven states inked their signatures to a 20 year water-use agreement that now supersedes the 1922 pact.
The plan resolves several legal issues among water agencies and formalized rules fostering cooperation during drought conditions now ongoing in the region. The states are promising consultation and negotiation before litigation on Colorado River water issues. What a concept.
Three lower-basin states, Arizona, California and Nevada will use the Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam to store water they won’t use or need right now. Thirty million people depend on water in that region, especially in Southern California, where 26 cities and water districts serve about 18 million customers.
