Ruling Backs NRC's Power In Uranium Mine Reviews, Shifting Focus To EPA

摘要

An appellate court ruling affirming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) process for granting a uranium mining license under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other laws could boost efforts in the West to increase "in-situ" uranium mining and bring greater focus to EPA's subsequent role in permitting the facilities.rnThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit's March 8 ruling in Southwest Environmental Research & Information Center (SERIC), et al. v. United States et al. is the first time a federal court has ruled on the adequacy of the NRC's process for in-situ uranium mines. At the mines, a solution is injected underground to dissolve uranium from rock so that it can be recovered. The process is controversial because it can contaminate aquifers but the mines can also aid growth in low-carbon nuclear energy because uranium is used in nuclear power plants.