May 29, 2013

DOE Extends Public Comment Period for Uranium Program Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that the public comment period for the Draft Uranium Leasing Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (ULP PEIS) has been extended to July 1, 2013.

Under the Uranium Leasing Program, DOE’s Office of Legacy Management manages 31 tracts of land in Mesa, Montrose, and San Miguel counties in Colorado – approximately 25,000 acres – that are leased to private entities for uranium and vanadium mining. No mining operations are active on these lands at this time.

DOE is preparing the ULP PEIS to analyze the reasonably foreseeable potential environmental impacts, including the site-specific and cumulative impacts, of a range of selected alternatives for managing the program. The comment period was extended in response to a public request for more time to review the document.

The draft environmental impact statement can be found on the ULP PEIS website, http://ulpeis.anl.gov, and on the DOE National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) website at /nepa.

DOE hosted four public hearings in late April in Grand Junction, Montrose, Telluride and Naturita to take public comments on the Draft ULP PEIS. In addition to the public hearings, comments may also be submitted by mail or electronically via the website or e-mail at the addresses listed below:

U.S. mail:
Ray Plieness, PEIS Document Manager
Office of Legacy Management
U.S. Department of Energy
11025 Dover Street, Suite 1000 Westminster, CO 80021
Website: http://ulpeis.anl.gov
E-mail: ulpeis@anl.gov

DOE will consider all comments postmarked or received during the comment period in preparing the Final ULP PEIS and will consider any comments received after the comment period to the extent practicable.

Additional information on the DOE Uranium Leasing Program is also available on the DOE Legacy Management website at /lm/services/property-management/uranium-leasing-program.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact:
Bob Darr, S.M. Stoller LMS Public Affairs
720-377-9672
ULinfo@lm.doe.gov