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Show processing plant was to be built exclusively for the processing of uranium ores, not for storage’ purposes alone. Many environmental factors were not considered and important stakeholders were not involved. There are many concerns and needs that must be considered. Ground water is of instrumental importance. We need to know what chemicals and minerals are tested. Little or no modeling has been done to adequately demonstrate the protection of valuable groundwater. The company has not obtained a Utah Groundwater Quality Permit. It refuses to obtain one. We need to know if leaks are possible and we need to know their possible long term impacts to downstream users at the communities of White Mesa and Bluff. This information should be open to the public. Similar operations, such as at Beatty, Nevada in 1994 and’ 1995, had leaked and this information had been concealed from the public. So let us be wary. We need to know what leachate detection systems are in place, how often they are monitored, and a record of their results. We need to know the rationale in opening a nuclear waste dump in such a spectacular region of the nation. The canyon country, a very special place. qualifies as a World Heritage site. based on its natural and cultural heritage. We need to know the effect on drinking water from pollution sources. The Ute people at White Mesa already need to carry water from Blanding for their own personal use. Testimony shows that the quality of their water is already bad. And along with this, we need to know the hazards of blowing winds that carry chemically-coated sand and dust from the dump site to the communities of San Juan County. We need to know just how often NRC and State regulators are to be on the site to inspect the facility. We need to know just how this compares to the oversight responsibilities placed on Envirocare by NRC and the State. Will the White Mesa mill be regulated as tightly as Envirocare? We need to know just how much money is in the surety and what the closure costs will be, and what is included when closure actually takes place. What will be the effect when International Uranium decides to run and leave us with the mess? We need to know the rationale in opening a nuclear waste dump in such a spectacular region of the nation. This canyon country, a very special place, qualifies as a World Heritage site based on its natural and cultural heritage. Many business firms, dependent upon the naturalness and beauty of the region and the tourist trade, would be adversely affected. We need to recognize the Navajo and Ute concerns. These people have been left out of the process even though they have inhabited the region for many hundred of years. Even the initial EIS did not consider these people's cultural needs. The cultures and antiquities of the more recent historic period were also not considered. Obviously, their needs and rights have not been met. There has been no environmental justice for them at all. We need to determine to what extent cultural and archeological resources are threatened. The area, the White Mesa Archeological District, contains many burial sites and other sacred sites. Additional survey work needs to be done, and the effect on archeological sites need to be determined. The limited studies already done are not complete enough. Because of the sacredness of these lands to the Indians, this area must be responsibly protected. As some excavations took place during earlier development, these sites are of - immediate concern. The Avikan site, nearby, is a very spiritual place to many. Transportation of toxic and radiological material is of high concern. As the region is not immune to accidents, several questions must be answered. We need to ask whether state trucking regulations are adequate in reducing spills on Utah’s highways. We need to determine whether there is an overabundance of these shipments through Grand and San Juan Counties now. In years ahead, such shipments may need to be further restricted or regulated. Emergency narrow highway system. Ice and snow may be vital factors in winter months. The increase of truck traffic, intermeshed with increasing tourist traffic, will be a major problem especially for Moab. There also is a need to place special identifying marks on all vehicles carrying toxic and radiological material as safety is of paramount importance. It needs to be determined whether emergency crews are available and are prepared to handle such accidents. The need to protect water sources and drainages are evident. There are solutions. The NRC should now intensively review the issuance of this new license amendment request. We need to step back now and look at the situation under a new light. We need a moratorium on any further waste acceptance. We need to analyze the cumulative effect and amount of radiological material and hazardous ores that have been shipped to the site since 1996. As citizens we need, and have a right to know, just how much of this matter has been processed each year and how much of that came from alternate feed materials. We need to know the remaining chemical and mineral makeup of the tailings. There needs to be intensive discussion and study among all interested citizens and stakeholders before further licensing actions. The NRC and the State must assure us that they we will be fully informed before it permits the acceptance of any further waste materials. We and the State must also question NRC on the appropriateness of allowing a company to review and decide on its own whether it can properly receive such materials, like a fox guarding the hen house. The NRC and the state should be the agencies to decide the-matter -not the mill owners. And International Uranium should be prohibited from receiving any more waste material until the NRC has reviewed its own past decisions. If it is shown that proper procedure was not followed, then the material already received at White Mesa should immediately be shipped to another site - a site that is appropriately licensed. And above all, a new EIS needs to be completed. It’s a matter of citizen rights and environmental justice. CONTACT THE ZEPHYR VIA E MAIL @: zephyr@lasal.net THE WORLD WIDE WEB ADDRESS IS: www.canyoncountryzephyr.com HIGH DESERT DIGITAL Creator and Sponsor of Virtual Moab, The Canyonlands Area Information Index ryt Will take your business beyond ordinary web sites. Offering 3D Animation, Digital Video, Real Audio and Secure Commerce Servers for Online Transactions. We specialize in design, management, and hosting of web sites. 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