BY EMMA PENROD
State regulators and operators of the White Mesa uranium mill near Blanding confirmed the facility's license does not require owner Energy Fuels to notify residents of a nearby Ute Mountain Ute reservation in the event of an accidental release of radioactive materials or other emergencies.
The news drew audible gasps during a Thursday hearing at state Department of Environmental Quality offices, as state agencies consider renewing the White Mesa mill's operating license, which expired in 2007, and review several other requests from the facility.
In the audience was a small contingent from the Ute Mountain Ute reservation town of White Mesa, which has a population around 300 residents and is located less than five miles from the mill.
"I feel like White Mesa does not really exist in their minds," said town resident Ephraim Dutchie, who drove more than 300 miles to attend the four-hour hearing...
"I felt that somebody from White Mesa should come up and show them that we do care," Dutchie said, "and that we want this mill to be shut down."