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The mineral uranium is primarily used by the nuclear power industry to produce energy, although it can also be
used to make nuclear weapons. In Texas, uranium has been mined for decades. Uranium used to be strip-mined, much as coal is mined. This mining process results in tailings. These tailing
materials are placed in ponds, which often have neither natural or synthetic liners. Some ponds have leaked, contaminating soils and subsurface aquifers, as well as emitting radioactive gases
into the atmosphere.*
There are currently no above ground uranium mining sites in Texas, and all mines have or are undergoing
reclamation and clean-up activities.* In addition, four tailings and waste sites—where the uranium was milled and extracted from the ore—in Karnes and Live Oak counties are being closed and covered to prevent further contamination of subsurface aquifers or radioactive waste emissions. During the operation of mill sites, the tailings ponds are used as receptacles for the by-products of the ore process. During closure, the mill site and other facilities are decontaminated and any material is placed in the tailing ponds. The tailing pond is then dewatered and the impoundment is surrounded by a clay cap and radon barrier. Three of the tailing sites—run by Chevron, Exxon, and Conoco—are being supervised by the Texas Department of Health with support from the TCEQ. The Department of Energy supervised cleanup of a fourth tailing pond in Falls City, Karnes County, an area that produced and processed uranium for the defense industry.* The Department of Energy site has cost about $35 million, 90 percent of which has been covered by the federal government.* The tailings pond sites have resulted in groundwater contamination, including one confirmed case at the Chevron facility in 1996.* In 1997 the Texas legislature transferred the jurisdiction to regulate the recovery and processing of uranium and thorium, as well as the disposal of uranium by-products, from the TCEQ to the Texas Department of Health.*
Since 1975, 38 sites that use injection wells, rather than a strip mining operation, have been permitted to
mine uranium (In several instances these permits have been combined, meaning the total number of sites is less). The injection process does not result in tailings. However, only two of these
sites—one in Kleberg County and another in Duval County owned by Uranium Resources Inc.—were mining as of November 1997, and none were mining by September of 2003.* Most in situ mining facilities have been closed down and cleaned up and are awaiting a final inspection survey from the Texas Department of Health before being decommissioned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while others have never been built and have had their permits canceled. In fact, there are only a handful of permitted uranium mines that could still mine uranium if market conditions allow it in the future. *
These in situ or "solution" mines are considered by state agency regulators to present fewer environmental
problems than strip-mines because liquids are pumped underground to dislodge uranium, which is then pumped out through wells. Temporary settling ponds that store water, sand and precipitate,
and drilling liquids must be lined but do not have to be covered.* However, spills, accidents, and leaks can still occur at such facilities. Waste generated by in situ uranium facilities can be sent to authorized disposal facilities or to tailing sites. Previously, uranium mining operations in Texas were sending their waste to Envirocare of Utah or to one of several tailing impoundments in Utah and Wyoming that are still open to receive by-product waste.*
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LIST OF URANIUM MILLING AND MINING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL RECOVERY
LICENSEES AND APPLICATIONS, 2003
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COMPANY NAME
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MINE NAME
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COUNTY
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STATUS
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TAILING PONDS
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Exxon Corporation
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Ray Point
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Live Oak
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Post-Closure Observation
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Conoco, Inc.
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Conquista
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Karnes
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Post-Closure Observation
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Rio Grande Resources Co. (formerly Chevron)
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Panna Maria
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Karnes
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Under Reclamation/Closure
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Department of Energy Site (Solution Engineering)
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Falls City Tailings
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Karnes
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Post-Closure Observation
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IN-SITU MINES
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Caithness Mining
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McBryde
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Duval
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Permit Canceled ('89)
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Silver Lake
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Jim Hogg
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Not mined
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Chevron Resources
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Palangana Dome
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Duval
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Plugged
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Conoco, Inc.
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Trevino
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Duval
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Permit Canceled ('89)
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Everest Exploration
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Hobson Plant
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Karnes
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Plugged and Revoked ('89)
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Gruy
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Jim Hogg
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Drilled, Not Mined
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Tex-1
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Karnes
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Las Palmas
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Jim Hogg/Duval
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Mt. Lucas
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Intercontinental Energy Inc.
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Lamprecht
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('96)
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Zamzow
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('97)
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Pawnee
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Bee
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Plugged and Revoked ('96)
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Malapai Resources (Cogema Mining)
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Holiday
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Duval
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Plugged/Restoring
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El Mesquite
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Duval
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Plugged/Restoring
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West Cole
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Webb
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Plugged and Revoked ('03)
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O'Hern
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Webb
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Plugged and Revoked ('03)
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Mestena Uranium
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Alta Mesa
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Brooks
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Not Active
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Newfuels/Mobil Oil
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Brelum
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Duval
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Plugged and Canceled ('85)
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Brelum II
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Duval
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Not Mined, Canceled ('85)
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Nell
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Live Oak
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Canceled ('85)
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Piedre Lumbre, 200-205 (3 permits)
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Duval
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Not mined, Canceled ('85)
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Uranium Resources, Inc.
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Benavides
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Duval
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Longoria
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Duval
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Kingsville Dome
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Kleberg
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Restoring
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Rosita
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Duval
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Restoring
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Vasquez
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Duval
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Not active
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Alta Mesa
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Brooks
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Permit Revoked ('03)
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USX Corporation
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Burns Ranch
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Live Oak
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Canceled ('85)
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Boots/Brown
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Burns/Moser
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Pawlick
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Live Oak
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Plugged and Revoked ('99)
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Clay West
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Live Oak
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Plugged
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Westinghouse Electric
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Benham
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Live Oak
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Not Mined, Revoked ('90)
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Bruni
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Webb
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Plugged
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Source: Railroad Commission of Texas, and Underground Injection Control, TCEQ, "Class III Permits and Status," September 30, 2003.
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