MONTROSE – Opponents to a proposed uranium mill in Paradox Valley plan a protest before a public meeting Wednesday in Montrose.

Marie Moore of the Paradox Valley Sustainability Association said protesters will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday outside Friendship Hall on the Montrose County fairgrounds to oppose the mill.

The Montrose County Planning Commission will hold its second public hearing in the hall at 6 p.m. on whether to recommend a special use permit to Energy Fuels Corp. The final decision on the permit will be up to the county’s board of commissioners.

At the first public meeting on the permit, on May 19, in Nucla, more than 200 people showed up, both for and against the mill, and feelings were strong on both sides. The West End Planning Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the county planning commission, voted in favor of the bill, 4-1.

The valley is depressed economically, leading some residents to pine for the old days of mining glory, but concerns over possible radioactive pollution has others up in arms.

Moore, a resident of Paradox, said the debate over the mill has affected the fabric of society, that it has soured some friendships and created tension, even within some families.

“I know husbands and wives who feel absolutely the opposite about it and it’s causing problems, so they had to agree not to talk about it,” she said.

Moore said she was one of the first people to come out against the mill and has felt ostracized for it, and was turned down when she tried to join the local volunteer fire department.

“The five people voting against me are all adamantly for the mill,” she said.

All this anger is a new experience for Moore, who has lived in the valley for 17 years.

“I haven’t seen much animosity until this,” she said. “I haven’t had anyone treat me in a bad way the whole time I’ve lived here, until now.”

Moore said her main concern is not only about the mill polluting the environment, but continuing the “boom and bust” cycle of the mining days over more sustainable kinds of businesses.

Existing businesses in the valley are suffering just because of the prospect of the mill, she said. An organic farm could lose its license and real estate transfers are at a standstill.

“I wanted to build a health resort and had people interested in helping with the infrastructure,” she said. “Now they’ve backed out.”

Others disagree about the economic impact. At the previous hearing on the special use permit for the mill, Montrose businessman Rick Weaver said putting the mill near uranium deposits in the valley makes sense.

But Moore said the uranium ore in the valley is “low-grade,” meaning that it has a low ratio of ore extracted to uranium content and will create too much nuclear waste.

“Only 1 percent of ore would be turned into yellowcake and 95 percent would be waste product,” she said.

The last uranium mill in the area, in Uravan, was only recently completely cleaned up by the Environmental Protection Agency, after 20 years of work and a cost of $120 million, with the removal of 13 million cubic yards of contaminants and treatment of 380 million gallons of liquid.

If Energy Fuels CEO George Glasier gets to build the mill, it will produce yellow cake uranium for nuclear reactors and processed vanadium, while the Uravan mill produced most of the uranium for development of the atomic bomb.

Glasier brought a team of experts to the May public meeting on the permit, and they claimed the state of the art of uranium milling will keep from polluting the air and groundwater.

Moore said she doesn’t believe those claims, and others are more worried about jobs.

At the earlier meeting, Tammy Sutherland of Naturita told the planning commission that even though her father died young after working in uranium mines, that jobs are needed now on the county’s West End and she is in favor of the mill.