DENVER, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Department of Energy officials violated environmental laws by approving exploration and mining for uranium in Colorado, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge William Martinez's ruling, filed Tuesday, said the DOE "acted arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to analyze site-specific impacts" on the environment, The Denver Post reported Thursday.
Martinez ordered DOE officials to stop all exploration and mining activity on 31 sites, affecting about 25,000 acres southwest of Grand Junction near the Dolores and San Miguel rivers. The sites were leased in 2008 to six mining companies.
Previous mining for uranium posed problems for Colorado, requiring it and other Western states to pay about $577 million in settlements to workers exposed to radiation.
"We've been saying, since 2006, that these environmental studies need to be done before the Department of Energy acts to re-invigorate uranium mining and milling in western Colorado. Now a federal judge's order is in place," said attorney Travis Stills, who argued the case for the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
Laura Kilpatrick, manager of the DOE Office of Legacy Management's uranium leasing program, said the agency launched a full environmental-impact study in July involving ecologists and engineers.
"There's not a soul who thought they did not do everything that was required," she said.
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