EPA withdraws uranium mining groundwater rule

The Trump EPA has formally withdrawn an Obama-era proposed groundwater protection rule for uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) mining -- a measure that long faced significant opposition from congressional Republicans, industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). EPA Oct. 19 announced the withdrawal of the proposed rule titled “Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings,” with Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler saying in a statement that the proposed regulation, issued late in the Obama administration, “would have...