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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Begaye
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
3/5/07
HB
SHORT TITLE Uranium Mining Risks and Impact
SB SJM 64
ANALYST Hanika-Ortiz
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$0.1
$0.1
$0.1
Non-
Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to SJM 10, HB 1204; Duplicates HJM 66
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)
New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)
Department of Health (DOH)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Joint Memorial 64 recognizes health and environmental risks and impacts of uranium
mining and processing in New Mexico communities, and therefore requests that state agencies
assess areas contaminated by past uranium mining and report to the Governor and Legislature.
The report must be prepared by the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Department
of Environment, the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and also with the
Navajo Nation and Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna. The report, which is due by October 30,
2007, must also include recommendations for environmental restoration, public health studies,
and other measures needed to address impacts of past uranium mining.
Until the report is submitted, state, federal and local agencies are asked to refrain from issuing
any approvals for uranium exploration and mining.
pg_0002
Senate Joint Memorial 64 – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The requests involved in Senate Joint Memorial 64 will require significant resources from state
agencies. All three agencies involved, the Department of Health, the Environment Department,
and the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, stated in their agency analyses
that the additional workload would require additional state agency staff time and or additional
contract funding in order to properly perform the assessments. House Joint Memorial 66 does
not discuss any funds with which to carry out such a comprehensive assessment.
Senate Joint Memorial 64 requires state agencies to suspend the permitting and licensing of
uranium mining and processing facilities pending the completion of the assessment. That
suspension would stop the discharge permit issuance and renewal process for several facilities
for an indefinite period of time. Such an assessment could take a large amount of time to
complete. A suspension of permitting and licensing activities could pose an undue fiscal and
regulatory burden on applicants. Legal challenges by applicants could also be brought forward
thus bringing an additional fiscal burden upon the state.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The uranium mining boom from the 1950s to the 1980s left behind hundreds of sites with
significant environmental and health impacts. Many of these sites, particularly the larger mines
and mills, have been reclaimed, or are being reclaimed, under the authority of various state,
federal and tribal authorities. However, a number of sites have not been reclaimed, due to lack
of federal or state jurisdiction under existing state and federal laws. Because there is no
comprehensive inventory of the number of sites remaining to be reclaimed, it is unclear exactly
how many there are and what their environmental or public health impacts may be. An
assessment of these sites would assist agencies in determining where additional remediation
work is necessary.
According to the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, over the past few months
it has begun developing a database of closed uranium mines using prior work by New Mexico
Tech and other agency information. The Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department is
currently using existing resources to work on this database. The assessment requested in Senate
Joint Memorial 64 could build upon this project, however without additional funding this project
will be difficult to complete in any reasonable time period.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Additional administrative resources in the form of staff hours and contract staff will be necessary
to properly complete a comprehensive assessment. Senate Joint Memorial 64 includes no
funding of which to handle these additional resources.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Relates to SJM 10 and HB 1204
Duplicates HJM 66
AHO/nt