Utah environmental regulators met with White Mesa residents Monday to discuss the White Mesa Mill and a pending license amendment request from Energy Fuels.
The meeting was held at the White Mesa Community Center by Utah’s Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control, which oversees the mill. Regulators said the company is seeking to expand rare earth processing at the facility, which has also long processed uranium.
Adam Wingate, uranium recovery section manager for the Utah division, told attendees that Energy Fuels submitted its application in November. He said the proposal includes new buildings, new roads and two proposed new cells north of the existing mill.
But Wingate said the state has not made a decision on the request, and that regulators are still early in their review. According to a slide presented at the meeting, Energy Fuels has not yet submitted details about the two proposed new cells. The division also says it asked the company in April for more information on cultural resources, facility design and emissions controls, and financial assurance.
A formal public comment process has not started yet. Regulators said that process would come later, after Energy Fuels submits the required information and the state completes more of its review.
White Mesa residents and Ute Mountain Ute representatives raised concerns about emergency notification, past communication failures, groundwater contamination, cultural-resource protections and whether the community would have meaningful input before any decision is made.
Several speakers said White Mesa residents have not always been directly notified about incidents involving material transported to the mill or activity near the facility. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s environmental director, Scott Clow, pointed to a previous roadside spill near the mill involving an in-situ leachate waste delivery, saying the community learned about it through the newspaper rather than direct notification.
Regulators said Energy Fuels has transportation emergency response plans, but also said the state is still working on broader radiological emergency planning and communication with local, county and tribal officials.
The White Mesa Mill is located near Blanding, Utah, north of the White Mesa community. It is the country’s only operating conventional uranium mill, according to Reuters. Energy Fuels has also been developing rare earth production at the site, and reported commercial production of separated rare earths there in 2024.
The mill has been the focus of long-running concern from White Mesa residents and environmental groups over contamination, waste storage, transportation and the facility’s proximity to the community.
Utah regulators said they are trying to involve White Mesa residents earlier in the review process. Residents and tribal representatives said better communication needs to include direct notification, clearer emergency contacts and stronger consideration of cultural sites before any expansion is approved.
