GOLIAD – The county needs to be concerned about the quality of its water after uranium mining is completed, a lawyer said Monday.

Texas historically allows uranium mining companies to amend the levels of minerals in restored groundwater once mining operations are complete said Jim Blackburn, Goliad County’s lawyer concerning uranium mining.

These levels are routinely greater than those established during the mining permit process, Blackburn told the commissioners court.

According to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality records, 51 requests for “amended restoration tables to make them higher” have been granted out of 80 uranium mining production areas. The data include uranium mining permits issued during the last “20 or 30 years,” Blackburn said.

“I think this study is quite important in terms of giving you information about what the past practices have been. I think this is a reason for concern about the mining process and the certainty about the administration of the mining process so far by the state,” Blackburn said.

A UEC statement contends the company “is committed to meet or exceed all applicable environmental regulations in restoration of Goliad County recovery sites, a process that is carefully monitored by responsible state authorities.”

The state commission sets restoration values for groundwater after mining. Restoration values may be amended from the original permit and are subject to public notice and contested hearings, said Lisa Wheeler, a state commission spokeswoman.

Blackburn said the state agency’s track record is consistent.

“Not a single request to make the clean-up level values higher has ever been denied, according to the records we have researched so far,” Blackburn said.

Seeking clarification, Goliad County Commissioner Ted Long asked, “So at 51 out of 80 mine sites, the water is worse than it was before it started?”

Blackburn confirmed the numbers.

Of the 29 remaining mine sites, many still operate and don’t yet have final restoration values. Blackburn said he thinks this is the most comprehensive report ever compiled on uranium mining restoration.

Blackburn provided charts showing original restoration levels, amended restoration levels and last sample concentrations for uranium, radium, sulfate and arsenic for a dozen Texas mines.

“By and large, even the original restoration values are higher than the drinking water standards. The levels that were left are higher than the drinking water standards,” he said.

Long asked if the original baselines for these reports were established after exploration began.

“That is my understanding,” Blackburn said. “Frankly, the reason we’ve got the federal lawsuit filed is that we think the baseline has been artificially elevated by the contamination during the exploration process, which gives you a false starting point to begin with. That’s very much an issue, and I think the single biggest problem with this permit application that you have facing you.”

The commissioners have filed a lawsuit against Uranium Energy Corp., which seeks a mining permit in Goliad County.

Blackburn also emphasized that the uranium mining companies submit data for establishing baselines for restoration during the permit process and also submit the last sample data. The state does not conduct these tests.

Commissioner Jim Kreneck said, “It’s like the fox watching the hen house.”