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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.

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