Officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are conducting an environmental review of a proposed uranium project in western New Mexico.
Commission staff began their three-day visit Tuesday. They're reviewing plans related to a proposal by Hydro Resources Inc. to develop an in-situ leach mining operation near the Navajo community of Church Rock.
Hydro Resources plans to construct well fields and a uranium recovery plant. The solution mining process involves injecting water into the ground and using chemicals as part of a drying process to release the uranium.
Environmentalists and some Navajos have been critical of the efforts to restart uranium development in the region. They point to past soil and water contamination.
The NRC is looking at Hydro Resources' plans for protecting groundwater and other resources as well as the health of workers and the public.