Developers of a proposed uranium recovery operation in southwestern South Dakota and their opponents have asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review last month's decision by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
The parties' petitions were filed with the NRC on Tuesday. Each side will have 25 days to respond to the other's petition. The five-member commission will rule directly on the petitions.
At the end of April, the ASLB ruled in developer Powertech's favor on five of seven challenges raised by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a group known as Consolidated Intervenors who oppose the company's plan to tap underground uranium reserves using a method called in situ recovery. In situ recovery involves the injection of oxygen-enriched water into the ground to free uranium and carry it to the surface.
Powertech is now a subsidiary of Azarga Uranium, an international corporation, that plans to use local groundwater to extract uranium from the Dewey-Burdock areas of Custer and Fall River counties.
People are also reading…
Last month's ruling by the ASLB sided with Powertech on most of the opponents' contentions. However, it did determine that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's staff failed to properly conduct a government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The board said the staff failed to work with the tribe to identify sites of cultural, historic and religious significance within the proposed wellfield.
Powertech was also ordered to make more of an effort to find and properly seal old drill holes to prevent contamination.