S.D. Uranium Mining Rules Stalled

The panel had planned to make a decision on the rules but decided to delay it until a special meeting April 2-3 in Rapid City.

Board members want to know more about the in-situ mining process, in which oxygenated water and baking soda are injected underground to collect uranium oxide. The slurry is pumped back to the surface, dried and later processed into uranium pellets.

The pellets are used to fuel nuclear power plants. Demand for uranium has pushed prices to about $70 a pound; it was just $7 a pound five years ago.

Firms that want to mine for uranium in South Dakota will first have to get state groundwater permits from the Water Management Board and then mining permits from the Board of Minerals and Environment.

The proposed groundwater rules would require an application for a permit at least 270 days before construction of injection wells. Underground water supplies used for drinking purposes could not be injected. Monitoring plans would have to be developed and mitigating procedures used in instances when injected fluids are flowing toward water that can be used for human consumption.

Restoration of groundwater quality also is spelled out.

The Water Management Board hopes to have the rules finished within 75 days. The complexity of the proposed rules raised many questions Wednesday, and the board decided it needs more time to study them.

"I don't have any idea what safety precautions are built into the process ... especially what steps are taken to make sure it works the way it's supposed to work," said Rodney Freeman, a board member from Huron.

"We're not sure where we fit into this process, how we fit," added another board member, Francis Brink of Aberdeen.