DRC-2020-003461 - 0901a06880bf4431

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P.O. Box 248
Towaoc, Colorado 81334-0248 Div of Waste Management
[phone] and Radiation Control
FEB 1 8 2020
Ty L. Howard, Director
Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
P.O. Box 14480
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4880
February 18, 2020 DRC-ZO2O-00340
Re: Energy Fuel Resources (EFR) - Radioactive Material License Number UT 1900479: License
Condition 9.7
Dear Director Howard:
I am writing in response to your letter dated January 21, 2020. Thank you for contacting the Ute
Mountain Ute Tribe regarding this matter.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is reviewing and trying to understand the implications of the
Division's proposed revision of License Condition 9.7. The Tribe remains unclear on the process
and procedures by which the state purports to take over the federal role with regard to cultural
resources on White Mesa Mill lands, particularly in the absence of any announced federal
process.
The Tribe requests formal consultation with the Division to discuss the proposed revision and
the need to protect cultural resources. We also request a public meeting be held in White Mesa
for the benefit of all concerned communities. We would be pleased to host and organize that
meeting if we had a commitment from your office that you and other key staff attend.
The extensive and significant cultural resources on White Mesa must be adequately respected
and protected. The Tribe is concerned that existing protections have not been followed or
enforced and opposes any relaxation of protections for the previously inventoried, as well as
future discovered, cultural resources. All sites, whether inventoried during the original
licensing, the BLM land exchange, or subsequently, should be accurately referenced and
protected. The home of the White Mesa Utes is rich with Tribal history, tradition and culture
that is connected to the sites in and around mill property. As we look forward, let's work to
protect what is there for everyone's benefit.
We look forward to consultation with the Division on this important matter.
Sincerely,
Peter Ortego, General Counsel, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Cc: Manuel Heart, Tribal Chairman, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Tribal Council, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Terry Knight, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Nichol Shurak, Tribal Historic Preservation Administrator, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe