Uranium mining boom sweeps Texas

Michaelsen thought he had won. But when the TCEQ commissioners took up the issue a few months later, they once again rejected all of the judge's findings.

In a 19 page order Published in September, the commission concluded that “faults within 2.5 miles of the proposed disposal wells are not sufficiently transmissive or vertically extensive to permit migration of hazardous components out of the injection area.” Old oil wells nearby, the commission found, “are likely properly plugged and will not provide a pathway for fluid movement.”

“The UEC has demonstrated that the proposed disposal wells will prevent the movement of fluids that would cause pollution” of an underground drinking water source, the order granting the injection disposal permits states.

“I felt like it was rigged, a setup,” Michaelsen said, holding his 4-inch-thick binder of research and case files. “It was a predetermined decision.”

There are still a series of permit renewals before the Goliad mine can begin operating, and local authorities are also opposed to it. In August, the Goliad County Commissioners Court adopted a decision resolution against uranium mining in the county. The groundwater district is seeking to challenge the permits again before the administrative court. And in November, the neighborhood continued TCEQ in Travis County District Court seeking to vacate the agency's permit approvals.

Because of the lawsuit, a TCEQ spokesperson declined to answer questions about the Goliad County mine site, saying the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.

A final round of permits remains to be renewed before the mine can begin production. However, after years of frustration, district leaders are not optimistic about their ability to influence the decision.

Only about 40 residences immediately surround the Goliad Mine site, according to Art Dohmann, vice president of the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District. Only they could be affected in the short term. But Dohmann, who served on the groundwater district board for 23 years, worries that uranium, radium and arsenic produced in the mining process could leach away from the site over the years.

“The groundwater is moving. It’s a slow pace, but once that arsenic is released, it’s there forever,” Dohmann said. “Within a generation, this is going to affect downstream areas.”

The UEC did not respond to a request for comment.

Currently, the TCEQ is evaluating opportunities to further expand and encourage uranium production in Texas. This follows instructions given last year, when Nuclear Caucus lawmakers added a line item to the TCEQ's biannual budget. a study of uranium resources to produce for state lawmakers by December 2024, ahead of next year's legislative session.

According to the budget item, “the report shall include recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes and possible economic incentive programs to support the uranium mining industry in this State.”