Kleberg County To Face Off With Uranium Mining Company - Again

Kleberg County to face off with uranium mining company - again

http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6047920

7th February 2007

KLEBERG COUNTY - A battle is brewing between Kleberg County leaders and a local uranium mining company that wants to expand to new areas. County officials claim the company still needs to clean up the older sites first.

The company mines uranium by pumping water into the ground, running it through uranium- filled rock, pumping it back to the surface, and finally extracting the uranium. The community out there is concerned about what's left in the ground water after the company is done mining.

Uranium Resources Inc. has been in Kleberg County (Texas) for about 20 years, producing the yellow cake uranium ore, and recently expanded to their third area of mining, called production area number 3.

A 2004 agreement says URI can't move on to PA 3, until they've fully cleaned up PA 1. The company said they've done that, but county leaders disagree, and Tuesday the commissioners' court voted to higher an attorney for the case, claiming the company's actions have forced them into this position.

"They said we're going to mine anyway. Here's our attorney, " County Judge Pete De La Garza said. "(The county) can't be without an attorney, and that's what we're probably going to do, hire an attorney."

URI officials were on hand at the commissioner's court workshop, along with many of the plant's employees.