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Important information regarding Uranium

Monday, 25 August 2008 20:57 | PDF | Print
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments on a Draft Generic Environment Impact Statement until Oct. 7, 2008.
The Generic Draft Environmental Impact Statement for In-Situ Leach (ISL) Uranium Milling Facilities looks at the potential impacts from construction, operation, aquifer restoration, and dismantling of In-Situ Leach mining operations. The Draft is only available on the computer at [Click Here ] This leaves out all those with no computers or access to computers.
As an environmental organization, we have always been concerned about ISL mining as our research has shown that the aquifers can never be fixed once the mining has occurred. In New Mexico, their underground water laws had to be changed after ISL mining occurred. The operation also has the potential to destroy cultural resources such as burial sites and sacred sites by the heavy equipment used, and in building the waste ponds that are needed. Even though the Tribes have declared their reservations to be Nuclear Free, the contamination is generated off the reservations and travels onto the reservations through ground water. Also in the construction of the milling (mining) sites, radioactive radon gas and dust is generated and also travels to the reservations. There are more environmental concerns regarding bird, wildlife, and other animals and plants.
In support of the Treaty, the areas that are being planned for more uranium mining through the ISL process are within the 1868 and 1851 Treaty territories. Article VI of the US Constitution clearly states that “treaties…are the supreme law of the land.” Federal employees take an oath to uphold the Constitution. By allowing these activities to happen, they are also violating their oaths to the Constitution.

These concerns need to be addressed in the comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We have requested, along with a number of other environmental organizations, that the comment period be extended. We have also requested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission conduct two public meetings for tribal people: one on the Standing Rock Reservation and one on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As soon as those meetings are finalized, we will let you know. In the meantime, please send your written comments to:
Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch
Mailstop: T6-D59
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington DC 20555-0001
Electronic comments may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “Uranium Recovery GEIS in the subject line.
We have a lot of information regarding Uranium and Radioactivity and how it is impacting the Treaty territory. Presentations can be scheduled with Charmaine White Face by calling (xxx) 399-1868. Donations for travel costs are the only expense. Other donations for Defenders organization are used in General Operations and are tax deductible.

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Mission Statement

"Defenders of the Black Hills is a group of volunteers without racial or tribal boundaries whose mission is to preserve, protect, and restore the environment of the 1851 and 1868 Treaty Territories, Treaties made between the United States and the Great Sioux Nation."

Speaking about radioactive fallout, the late President John F. Kennedy said,

"Even then, the number of children and grandchildren with cancer in their bones, with leukemia in their blood, or with poison in their lungs might seem statistically small to some, in comparison with natural health hazards. But this is not a natural health hazard and it is not a statistical issue. The loss of even one human life, or the malformation of even one baby who may be born long after we are gone, should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent."

July 26, 1963 upon signing the ban on above ground nuclear tests

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