"Earlier this month, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals approved a controversial permit for uranium mining operations at sites in Church Rock, New Mexico. The operation includes a site associated with the largest release of liquid radioactive waste in United States History -- a catastrophe which continues, a generation later, to negatively impact the lives and health of Navajo people residing near the spill site.

Over a decade after Navajo leaders and community groups first challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) issuance of a mining permit to Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI) for uranium extraction in Church Rock, the appellate court decided on March 8th to uphold the NRC's decision. The court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that since the site already emits more radiation than federal regulations allow, a license for a new operation is impermissible because even the most miniscule amounts of new radiation emitted would exceed regulatory limits. Instead, the court affirmed both the NRC's decision under the Atomic Energy Act to only review an isolated portion of radiation from the site, as well as its corollary finding that the cumulative impacts of radiation emitted from the site are acceptable under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The dissenting opinion roundly criticized the majority. Judge Lucero wrote that "[b]ecause the majority's decision in this case will unnecessarily and unjustifiably compromise the health and safety of the people who currently live within and immediately downwind from Section 17 [the mine site], I must respectfully dissent. . . . The NRC's erroneous decision and the majority's endorsement of that decision will expose families [living near Section 17] to levels of radiation beyond those deemed safe by the NRC's own regulations, jeopardizing their health and safety.""

Get the Story:
Caitlin Sislin: Toxic legacy for tribes (High Country News 3/26)

10th Circuit Decision:
Morris v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (March 8, 2010)

Related 10th Circuit Decision:
Hydro Resources v. US (April 17, 2009)

Related Stories:
10th Circuit split on uranium activity on Navajo Nation (3/9)
10th Circuit will hear Indian Country case again (8/25)
Mining company weighs move in Indian Country case (4/23)
10th Circuit rules in Indian Country status case (4/20)
Navajos sue to stop uranium mine in New Mexico (2/13)
Indian Country ruling a victory for Navajo Nation (3/1)