Not In My Well! — Goliad County Resists Uranium Mining

GOLIAD COUNTY, Texas The inhabitants of Goliad County are known for their fight.

A little over 170 years ago, they defeated a Mexican garrison and signed the first declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas.

They are also known for their martyrs.

Months later, the Mexican army executed 341 revolutionaries after a battle near here, thus raising the fury that eventually led to Texas’ independence.

But they have also suffered nature’s wrath.

One of the deadliest storms in Texas history, a tornado, killed 114 people in Goliad 105 years ago.

Fast-forward to now.

The residents, most of whom are Anglo, are on the front lines of a project that may threaten not only their livelihoods but also the lives of those across the state.

Under different circumstances, such as maybe a “hot war” as opposed to another “cold war,” the residents of Goliad County might have been more open to uranium mining in the northern central part of their county.

But, no, the uranium will be sold on the world market to whoever forks over the biggest dollars.

“We’re not too sure where it’s going to go,” said Raulie Irwin, board member of the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District.

Plus, the lease owner of the proposed mining site has spooked the residents with its less than trustworthy behavior.

First, Uranium Energy Corporation came into the county promising to be “good stewards of the environment.”

Then, a month prior to UEC’s test drilling, local landowners complained to the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District that their water wells were contaminated with red gunk.

The company had obtained a lease to pump water for their test drilling, which ran from last May to this June.

However, the company and the landowners had failed to obtain a baseline test for water quality before the drilling began into the Evangeline aquifer.

Four of the 360-some-odd holes were later tested positive for radon 222 and radium 226, which at any radiation level can lead to cancer and birth defects.

But the company still insists that the contamination had nothing to do with their test wells, pointing to the results of a Texas Railroad Commission investigation:

“To date, the Commission’s investigation of your complaint has not revealed any practice or activity at UEC’s Uranium Exploration Permit No. 123 that is out of compliance with the Texas Uranium Mining Regulations or the Uranium Surface Mining and Reclamation Act. We consider this investigation to be closed.”

Then, there was the question of the company’s lease to pump water for its tests.

UEC had to stop operations for a time in order to obtain a water permit for industrial use.

It had been pumping water with a water lease for agricultural use.

Water is a necessity for the company because at stake is perhaps billions of dollars.

The Goliad project area is said to have up to 15 million pou