Bolster reported earlier but here in a local newspaper in early August 2025 that Wyoming could eventually host the nation’s largest uranium production facility to use two different mining methods. Environmentalists worry that expedited permitting in the nuclear sector could threaten “safety, environmental quality and public trust,” [who have no basis for objections and are still pandering fear of nuclear anything.]
Inside Uranium Energy Corp.’s Irigaray Central Processing Plant located in
Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. (Uranium Energy Corp.)
Uranium Energy Corp.’s Sweetwater uranium project has become the first mining proposal in Wyoming to be fast-tracked under thje White House Administration's encouragement to increase U.S. mineral production. The company announced Aug. 5 that it planned to expand its uranium mining operations in Wyoming’s Red Desert as a result of the expedited permitting process. The federal government expects to post a permitting timetable for the project by Aug. 15.
Through other White House edicts, the dismantling of environmental regulations and the spending bill congressional Republicans passed in July, the second White House administration has made it easier for extractive industries to receive permits for mining on public lands. The White House Administration has classified uranium as a “critical mineral” for the U.S., which imported 99% of its fuel for nuclear energy in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
John Burrows, energy and climate policy director at the Wyoming Outdoor Council, saw the fast-tracking news as evidence of a pattern in the state’s nascent nuclear industry.
“Across the nuclear supply chain, we’re seeing permits getting expedited and we’re having concerns around safety, environmental quality and public trust,” he said.
Last month, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission accelerated its review of an advanced nuclear reactor being built in Kemmerer, Wyoming, with an end-of-year completion goal. TerraPower, the company behind the new technology, was co-founded by billionaire Bill Gates.
Uranium Energy’s Sweetwater permits were fast-tracked by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. The White Administration's March executive order required the executive director of the council to publish such projects on a special dashboard.
“I am excited to welcome the Sweetwater Complex to the FAST-41 transparency dashboard in support of the White House Administration's goal of unlocking America’s mineral resources,” said Emily Domenech, the council’s executive director, in a statement accompanying Uranium Energy’s announcement. “The uranium that this project can produce would be game-changing for our nation as we work to reduce our reliance on Russia and China, strengthen our national and economic security, and reestablish a robust domestic supply chain of nuclear fuel.”
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council was established in 2015 under President Barack Obama and made permanent in 2021 by President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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