Lummis Presses Moniz on Missing Plan to Protect Wyoming's Uranium Miners

Press Release

Tuesday during the House Science, Space and Technology hearing, Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Cynthia Lummis(R-Wyo) pressed Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz about a long-overdue uranium plan. The plan, required by law to be completed by June 30, 2012, is intended to outline how the DOE plans to manage its surplus uranium stockpile. Nearly a year late, the DOE has yet to submit the plan. The DOE has a unique ability to directly influence uranium prices, and thereby the viability of uranium mining in Wyoming, by deciding when and how much excess uranium to release into the market.

The previous plan, issued in 2008, had capped transfers or sales of DOE uranium into the market to no more than 10% of demand. However, in May of 2012 the Administration abandoned that plan by transferring 9000 tons of depleted uranium into the market, significantly exceeding the 10% cap. For an industry already reeling from the shock of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the DOE's action resulted in a further slide of uranium prices, leading to layoffs in Wyoming and the shelving of mining operations.

"The DOE has the authority and the power to make or break uranium production in this country," Chairman Lummis said. "The ability to dump into the market untold amounts of uranium, without warning and with meager justification, is the Sword of Damocles hanging over Wyoming's uranium miners. I have high hopes that Secretary Moniz can help clean up the mess left by his predecessor. That is why I invited Secretary Moniz to visit Wyoming to meet the hardworking uranium miners that suffer the dramatic effects of his decisions."

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