Two regional uranium leach-mining projects are under review by federal and state officials.

In South Dakota, Powertech Uranium Corp. reports advancing on its permitting requirements for its Dewey-Burdock project.

The state Board of Minerals and Environment issued the Canadian company exploration permits for the area near Edgemont in Fall River and Custer counties in 2007. Currently, Powertech proposes drilling 30 more holes to establish the location of its planned in situ leach mining operation.

The process involves injecting chemically treated water into the holes to dissolve the uranium, then pumping out the solution to collect the uranium for processing.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources reports that Powertech also has started the process to obtain a large-scale mine permit. The state is reviewing the proposed mining area to determine if it has special, exceptional, critical, or unique characteristics that would require additional regulation or perhaps exclude drilling. It is the first step in the mine permitting.

The department has established a section on its Web site for the Powertech project. For details, go to www.state.sd.us/denr/DES/Mining/PowertechPage.htm.

For those who lack Internet access, printed copies of exploration and mine permit applications are available for public review at the Custer County Register of Deeds office in Custer and the Fall River County Register of Deeds office in Hot Springs. Copies of the applications also may be obtained by contacting the Minerals and Mining Program, 523 East Capitol, Pierre, S.D., 57501 or by calling DENR at 773-4201.

Meanwhile, after a recent two-day field hearing in Chadron, Neb., federal officials continue to review whether to grant groups and individuals a formal standing in the license-renewal process for a uranium mine near Crawford.

The panel of four Nuclear Regulatory Commission administrative judges heard testimony and toured parts of the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during that hearing. No time frame was set for a ruling about whether opponents can join the case.

Thirteen individuals and organizations oppose the plant, saying it damages the environment and threatens health of area residents and their water supply.

The Crow Butte Resources mine involves drilling well holes, injecting chemically-treated water to dissolve the uranium, pumping that enriched liquid out to retrieve the uranium, replenishing the water and repeating the process.

The so-called "in situ" mining process has operated since the early 1990s and produces about 800,000 pounds of uranium, which is recovered at plants in Canada, where it is used in electricity-generating plants.

Company representatives contend that the mining process is safe and does not cause contamination.

Crow Butte is operated by Cameco Corp. of Canada, the world's largest producer of uranium.