Decommissioning Projects, USA - UMTRA Title I
(last updated 14 May 2008)
Contents:
Arizona · Colorado · New Mexico · North Dakota · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Texas · Utah · Wyoming
Site Index
Ambrosia Lake ·
Belfield and Bowman ·
Burrell ·
Canonsburg ·
Durango ·
Falls City ·
Grand Junction ·
Green River ·
Gunnison ·
Lakeview ·
Maybell ·
Monticello ·
Monument Valley ·
Naturita ·
Rifle ·
Riverton ·
Shiprock ·
Slick Rock ·
Spook ·
Tuba City
> See also:
Monument Valley · Tuba City
Aerial view: Google Maps 
· Terraserver
U.S. DOE releases Final Environmental Assessment and FONSI Documents for Groundwater Restoration at Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) announces the availability of the final Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site and the Finding of No Significant Impact documents for the site.
> Download DOE LM release April 11, 2005 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, Final, DOE/EA-1313, March 2005 (2.2MB PDF)
U.S. DOE issues Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Groundwater Restoration at Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management in conjunction with the Navajo Uranium Mill Tailing Remedial Action Program announces the availability of the draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site.
The proposed compliance strategies are mostly based on natural flushing and passive remediation through phytoremediation.
> Download DOE release Nov. 10, 2004 (PDF)
> Download DOE release Dec. 8, 2004 (PDF)
> Download Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, DOE/EA-1313, Nov. 2004 (1.54MB PDF - Navajo AML)
Environmental Assessment of Groundwater Cleanup Available for Review
"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of the Ground Water Compliance Activities at the Monument Valley Mill Tailings Site.
This Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts for the proposed action, which is to conduct active remediation using a pump-and-treat methodology coupled with phytoremediation (using plants to clean up the contaminant). Groundwater would be extracted and fed into a distillation system. The treated groundwater would then be re-injected into the aquifer. DOE determined this compliance strategy as appropriate for the contamination that exists in the groundwater as a result of the milling operations at the former Monument Valley mill tailings site."
Any public comments on the Environmental Assessment should be submitted no later than November 15, 1999.
> View DOE GJO release (Oct. 25, 1999)
> View Monument Valley general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Concerns about hazards from alleged illegal waste dump near former Tuba City uranium mill
The Navajo Nation claims former mill owner Rare Metals Incorporated allegedly dumped some waste from the mill off the site illegally in the 1960s. And just as with the tailings at the mill, it believes that waste is leaking contaminants into the groundwater below, threatening nearby wells.
Bill Walker, a private geologist on the tribe's payroll, says he's linked the waste at the dumps to the mill with the help of some telltale chemicals Rare Metals used in the milling process. He's found the same chemicals in the dumps. He's also found a plume of contaminated water beneath the old landfill, but is still working on linking the two.
El Paso Natural Gas Company, which bought Rare Metals Incorporated, says the Energy Department still bears some responsibility for the mill and its waste. El Paso sued the Energy Department insisting it take responsibility for the dump sites in May 2007. The government has yet to file a formal response.
(Gallup Independent Aug. 2, 2007)
Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Cleanup Strategy
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Tuba City Uranium Mill Tailings Site near Tuba City, Arizona. The Environmental Assessment identifies the proposed ground-water compliance strategy that will be used at the former uranium-ore processing site near Tuba City.
> View Grand Junction Office press release (Oct 14, 1998)
> Download Tuba City Environmental Assessment (PDF)
> View Tuba City general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Durango · Grand Junction · Gunnison · Maybell · Naturita · Rifle · Slick Rock
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Former Durango uranium mill site becomes dog park
In mid-December 2003, 5 acres [2 ha] of grassy field at the former Durango uranium mill site have been dedicated an off-leash dog park. The site is located on the Animas River at the town's southwestern edge. Tests were performed to ensure that any dogs digging their new surroundings wouldn't uncover its past.
The tests show it is safe, at least to a depth of a few feet.
(Denver Post Dec. 25, 2003)
Final Environmental Assessment Document and FONSI released for Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site
The compliance strategy for the mill tailings area is to allow natural flushing of the aquifer to decrease contaminant concentrations.
The compliance strategy for the raffinate ponds area is no further remediation in conjunction with the application of supplemental standards for the ground-water constituents.
> Download DOE GJO release Nov. 14, 2002 (160k PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance (1.2M PDF)
> Download Finding of No Significant Impact Statement (0.57M PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Ground
Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) announces the availability of the draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Project Site. The targeted compliance strategy for the mill tailings area is to allow natural flushing of the aquifer to decrease contaminant concentrations. In conjunction with this strategy, DOE would ensure that in-place institutional controls are maintained and would continue ground water and surface water monitoring.
Any public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than October 16, 2002.
> Download DOE release Sep. 12, 2002 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Durango, Colorado, UMTRA Project Site, Draft, September 2002 (1.3M PDF)
> View Durango general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
Aerial view (Disposal site): Google Maps · Terraserver
Uranium mill tailings materials removed during road construction in Grand Junction
The city has hauled 1,200 to 1,300 cubic yards of radioactive mill tailings out of Colorado Avenue since March 26, 2008. And there's more to go.
Old mill tailings are being dug up as the city installs a new storm drainage system and constructs a new road and sidewalks on Colorado Avenue.
From 1951 to 1966, individuals and contractors hauled uranium mill tailings away from Grand Junction's Climax uranium mill to use as backfill in various construction projects.
The city had a policy to bed new utility lines with mill tailings, said Paul Oliver, environmental protection specialist at the state health department.
"Mill tailings are very fine grain, there are no sharp edges and it was free," Oliver said. "People didn’t know back then the dangers of radon."
(Grand Junction Free Press May 14, 2008)
Critique of Institutional Controls for Cleanup of Vicinity Properties
The Environmental Law Institute has issued a research report on the effectiveness of institutional controls as a means to control hazards from contamination of vicinity properties with uranium mill tailings.
Excerpt from executive summary:
"The voluntary nature of the UMTRA program has resulted in anomalous gaps in the protection against future risks provided by institutional controls. The database of vicinity properties prepared by DOE contains substantial information about any tailings left in place at sites cleaned up under the program. It contains no information, however, about tailings at properties whose owners refused to be evaluated or cleaned up under the program. This means that there will be no records to show where the potentially highest risks are located, while properties where no risk remains, because all tailings were removed, will be extensively documented."
Institutional Controls Case Study: Grand Junction , Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, 1999 37 p.
No groundwater cleanup for Climax Uranium Millsite
"The U.S.Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the Environmental Assessment of the Ground Water Compliance Activities at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite).
This Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts for the proposed action of no remediation and application of supplemental standards. DOE determined this compliance strategy as appropriate for the residual contamination that exists in the groundwater as a result of the milling operations at the former Climax Uranium Millsite in Grand Junction, Colorado. This determination is based on site and regional conditions revealing that shallow groundwater is naturally poor quality and not fit for potable use. The DOE Finding of No Significant Impact documents that no significant environmental impacts will occur from the chosen groundwater cleanup strategy and that there will be no need for an Environmental Impact Statement." (emphasis added)
> View DOE GJO release (Oct 25, 1999)
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite), Sept. 1999 (PDF)
> Download Finding of No Significant Impact - Ground Water Compliance at the Grand Junction UMTRA Project Site (Climax Uranium Millsite), Sept. 1999 (PDF)
> View Grand Junction general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents
Available for UMTRA Ground Water Project Site at Gunnison, Colorado
The Environmental Assessment states that DOE plans a passive ground-water remediation strategy through natural flushing coupled with institutional controls and continued monitoring to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ground-water standards.
> Download DOE release Aug. 21, 2002 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment (1.2M PDF) · FONSI (240k PDF)
> View Gunnison general site info · DOE–GJO groundwater info .
Aerial View: Google Maps · Terraserver
BLM issues Public Land Order for Maybell tailings disposal site (where claim stakes were found...)
On March 27, 2008, the Bureau of Land Management issued an order permanently transfering 160 acres of public land to the Department of Energy for its Maybell West Uranium Repository, in accordance with the terms of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-604), as amended. However: "The Secretary of the Interior shall retain the authority to
administer any existing claims, rights, and interests in this land that
were established before the effective date of the transfer."
Federal Register: April 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 76) p. 21152
(download full text )
Claim stakes found on Maybell tailings disposal site
"Three claim stakes were found inside the perimeter fence several hundred feet west and southwest of the disposal cell. BLM confirmed that they are uranium exploration claims staked by Western Fuels Incorporated (PL-4). BLM also confirmed that all BLM property withdrawn and transferred to DOE for the disposal site includes subsurface rights. Two private parcels of land purchased in fee simple by the State of Colorado and acquired by DOE for the site are currently being researched to determine if subsurface rights were included with the transfer."
(2006 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, December 2006, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
Aerial View: Google Maps · Terraserver
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents Available for UMTRA Ground Water Project Site at Naturita, Colorado
> Download GJO release Apr. 23, 2003 (PDF)
> Download: Final EA (1.2M PDF) · FONSI (PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Naturita, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
A compliance strategy is being proposed of no further remedial action of the ground water with the application of alternate concentration limits for uranium and vanadium.
Public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than March 24, 2003.
> DOE GJO release Feb. 20, 2003 (PDF)
> View Naturita general site info · DOE GJO groundwater info
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Last of historic uranium mill tailings properties in Colorado transferred
On July 1, 2004, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced that the last uranium mill tailings reclamation site in Colorado has been cleaned up and the property transferred to the City of Rifle.
The department's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division has managed the cleanup of the Rifle West (New) Mill Site under the provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) program. The act gave Colorado authorization to clean up these sites in 1978. Authorization for surface soils cleanup ended in 1998, while ground and surface water authorization continues indefinitely.
> View CDPHE release July 1, 2004
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Siginificant Impact documents available for New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site
> Download GJO release July 29, 2003 (PDF)
> Download Environmental Assessment (3.1MB PDF) · FONSI (160k PDF)
Draft Environmental Assessment Document for New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project Site Available for Public Comment
The targeted compliance strategy for the New Rifle site is natural flushing in conjunction with institutional controls and monitoring.
> Download GJO release June 2, 2003 (PDF)
New Groundwater Compliance Strategy Proposed for Vanadium at New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Site Based on Pilot Study Results
DOE is proposing a compliance strategy of no remediation for vanadium in the alluvial aquifer, in conjunction with application of an alternate concentration limit for vanadium and establishment of
institutional controls for the site.
> Download Grand Junction Office Perspective, July 2002 (PDF) , p. 6-7
Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the New Rifle, Colorado, UMTRA Site Available
The draft Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed compliance strategy of natural flushing with institutional controls to meet the ground water cleanup standards to mitigate human health risks for all contaminants except vanadium.
> View GJO release Nov. 28, 2001
> View Rifle general site info · GJO groundwater info
Aerial View: Google Maps · Terraserver
DOE releases Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Documents for Slick Rock, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project
"The Environmental Assessment states that DOE's compliance strategy for both sites is to allow natural flushing to reduce the levels of contaminant concentrations in the ground water to acceptable levels within the 100-year time frame allowed by law. In conjunction with the compliance strategy, DOE will ensure that institutional controls are maintained to prevent future use of the ground water. Institutional controls protect public health and the environment by limiting access to a contaminated medium. DOE will also continue monitoring ground water and surface water at the Slick Rock sites."
> Download DOE GJO release March 13, 2003 (PDF)
> Download Final EA (4.5MB PDF) and FONSI (250k PDF)
DOE releases Draft Environmental Assessment Document for Slick Rock, Colorado, UMTRA Ground Water Project
The targeted ground water compliance strategy is natural flushing.
Any public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment should be made no later than January 21, 2003.
> GJO news release Dec. 19, 2002 (PDF)
License for Long-Term Custody
"On August 31, 1998, the Division of Waste Management placed the Slick Rock, Colorado, uranium mill tailings disposal site, located at Burro Canyon,
Colorado, under general license, consistent with the provisions of
10 CFR 40.27. The Slick Rock disposal site was reclaimed by the Department
of Energy (DOE) under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). The Slick Rock site will be the fifteenth of
nineteen disposal sites scheduled to be completed by DOE and licensed by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under UMTRCA. At this Time, three
disposal sites, Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, and Naturita and Maybell,
Colorado, remain to be licensed by NRC following completion and submittal
by DOE of the appropriate documentation. When these three sites are
licensed by NRC, DOE will have completed the surface cleanup and
reclamation phase of the uranium mill tailings remedial action project. The
nineteenth site, at Grand Junction, Colorado, is not scheduled for
completion until 2023, since it will remain open to accept additional
contaminated materials found at vicinity properties."
[NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending September 4, 1998]
> View Slick Rock general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Ambrosia Lake · Shiprock
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
License for Long-Term Custody
"On September 25, 1998, staff from the Division of Waste Management (DWM) licensed the Department of Energy (DOE) as the long-term custodian for the
Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, mill. With the licensing of this site, DWM has
completed all its obligations for Fiscal Year 1998 as required by Title I
of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act. Two DOE sites remain to
be licensed. DOE anticipates having these sites ready for licensing in the
first quarter of Calendar Year 1999. When the two remaining sites are
licensed, the DOE Title I program for reclaiming abandoned uranium mills
will be complete. DOE will continue its program to restore and monitor
contaminated groundwater at the sites over the next couple of decades."
[NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending October 2, 1998]
> View Ambrosia Lake general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Navajo EPA raises concerns on migrating groundwater contaminant plume at Shiprock UMTRA site
By letter dated Jan. 16, 2004, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency raises serious concerns on the groundwater contaminant plume migrating from the Shiprock uranium mill tailings site to the northwest:
"The past six years of data indicate that the terrace plume is migrating to the northwest along the
area between Shiprock High and 2nd Wash. [...] This area has seen concentrations of nitrate, selenium, sulfate, and
uranium steadily increase since 1998. The concentrations for each of these parameters now exceed the MCLs, benchmarks, and cleanup goals. [...]"
UMTRA Ground Water Shiprock, New Mexico, Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Available
> View DOE GJO News Release Oct. 31, 2001
> Download Environmental Assessment (4.1M PDF) · FONSI (100k PDF)
UMTRA Ground Water Shiprock, New Mexico, Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Review April 25, 2001
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) and Navajo UMTRA
Program announce the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment of Ground Water Compliance at the Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Site.
> View DOE GJO News Release April 18, 2001
Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement for Ground Water Remediation Activities at Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Site
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.66, No.58, p.16451 (March 26, 2001)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) hereby provides notice as
required by 10 CFR part 1022, to conduct ground water remediation
activities within the 100-year floodplain of the San Juan River at the
Shiprock New Mexico Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Site,
with possible impacts to wetlands. The site is located within the
boundaries of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Activities are scheduled
to commence in 2002, and consist of installation of extraction wells
and pipeline to pump contaminated ground water from the alluvial
aquifer to an evaporation pond on the terrace, in accordance with 40
CFR part 192, ''Health and Environmental Protection Standards for
Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings''. A floodplain/wetlands assessment
has been prepared as an appendix to the environmental assessment (EA)
that analyzes the potential environmental effects of this action.
DATES: Written comments are due to the address below no later than
April 25, 2001."
> View Shiprock general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
Belfield and Bowman
No cleanup for Belfield and Bowman tailings sites
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.63, No.51, p.13039-
13040 (Mar 17, 1998)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: In 1979, the Secretary of Energy designated
inactive uranium milling sites, including two sites at Belfield
and Bowman, North Dakota, for cleanup under the Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. In 1995, the State of
North Dakota requested that the designations of the Belfield and
Bowman sites be revoked citing its belief that there will be
minimal risk to the public and the environment if the sites are
not cleaned up and the State's inability to pay its 10 percent
share of the cleanup costs required by UMTRCA.
The Department of Energy is proposing to revoke the designations
of these sites because of the low risks to the public and the
environment at the sites, DOE's lack of authority to clean up
the two sites without costsharing by the State, and the
existence of alternative authority to regulate the sites
following revocation of the designations. Following revocation,
these two sites will no longer be eligible for cleanup under the
provisions of UMTRCA.
DATES: Public comments will be accepted on this proposed action.
Comments should be submitted by April 16, 1998.
If the Department does not receive any comments on this proposed
action that would cause it to reconsider its proposal, the
revocations shall be effective on May 18, 1998; and the Belfield
and Bowman, North Dakota, processing sites and associated
vicinity properties will no longer be eligible for remedial
action by the Department of Energy under the provisions of
UMTRCA."
> View Environmental Assessment of No Remedial Action at the Inactive Uraniferous Lignite Ashing Sites at Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota , EA-1206
> View Belfield and Bowman site info
Lakeview
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
DOE proposes "no further action" for groundwater cleanup at Lakeview
DOE's proposed compliance strategy for addressing the contamination in the groundwater associated with past milling activities at the Lakeview Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) site is "no further action". This proposal is based on the widespread, naturally occurring arsenic content in the water. According to DOE, this contamination was not a result of the milling activities that took place at the Lakeview former processing site.
A public meeting to discuss the proposed compliance strategy will be held on July 21, 1999.
(DOE GJO news release July 8, 1999 )
Riprap rock cover on reclaimed uranium mill tailings deposit does not meet longterm durability requirement
A riprap layer is often placed atop reclaimed mine tailings
repositories to provide long-term erosion protection. Rock
quality tests performed on samples taken from the cover of the
reclaimed UMTRA uranium mill tailings impoundment near Lakeview,
Oregon, indicated that the rock was suitable for erosion
protection; the durability evaluation, however, suggested that
the rock may disintegrate in 130 to 272 years. This is less than
the applicable 200 - 1000 year longterm criteria.
Source:
Riprap rock durability versus rock quality: A case study;
by C.I. Thornton, S.R. Abt, T.L. Johnson. In: Tailings and Mine
Waste '97, Rotterdam/Brookfield 1997, ISBN 90 5410 857 6, p.
283-289
> View Lakeview general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Canonsburg ·
Burrell
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
U.S. DOE to repair stream bank near Canonsburg uranium mill tailings disposal cell
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) will repair sections of the stream bank of Chartiers Creek near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, damaged by floodwaters from Hurricanes Frances and Ivan. Restoration is scheduled to begin the first week of March 2005. Two areas along the Chartiers Creek stream bank at the Canonsburg Disposal Site were damaged during the floods. One area is in the northern portion of the site adjacent to the disposal cell. The disposal cell and drainage structures at the site were not damaged by the floods.
> Download DOE-LM release March 2, 2005 (PDF)
U.S. Department of Energy Stabilizing Southern Bank of Chartiers Creek
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) is stabilizing the southern bank of the Chartiers Creek stream bank between the Strabane Avenue bridge abutment and the Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad Bridge abutment near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. This work is being performed under the DOE Long Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program, which is charged with providing for the long-term care and maintenance of former millsites and associated properties.
The purpose of this stabilization is to prevent further erosion and sloughing of the stream bank into Chartiers Creek. Several active monitor wells are located in the former millsite area and are an integral part of the on-going ground water compliance strategy for the site. The stabilization of the stream bank is part of the commitment made to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission when the site was licensed in 1996. The remedial action project at Canonsburg, in which uranium mill tailings and associated materials were removed and stabilized in an on-site engineered disposal cell, was completed in 1985.
> View DOE GJO release (Dec. 5, 2000)
> View Canonsburg general site info · DOE-GJO groundwater info
Aerial View: Google Maps · Terraserver
Beaver dam removed at Burrell tailings disposal site
"In 2005, inspectors found that the slough along the south side of the disposal cell, fed by ground water, had backed up as a result of a beaver dam on the slough west of the site boundary. The dam caused water to back up half way up the security fence. In November 2005, DOE coordinated with State wildlife officials to remove the beavers in accordance with State regulations, and then breached the dam. Water levels in the slough have returned to normal (PL–3). A smaller beaver dam remains that has caused some ponding of water, but is not currently considered problem enough to warrant removal; the water had not risen to the elevation of the contaminated materials within the cell."
(2006 Annual Site Inspection and Monitoring Report for Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title I Disposal Sites, December 2006, U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management)
Falls City
Relaxed Groundwater Standards
The Environmental Assessment of the Groundwater Compliance Activities at the Falls City, Texas, Uranium Mill Tailings Site, and the Finding of No Significant Impact are available to public. The Environmental Assessment for the Falls City site analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action for applying supplemental (=relaxed) standards, which is the compliance strategy determined appropriate for residual ground water contamination that exists in the shallow ground water as a result of the former milling operations. It was determined that the proposed action will not result in the need for an Environmental Impact Statement and it complies with the Environmental Protection Agency's Ground Water Regulations (40 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 192).
(see DOE GJO release Apr.15, 1998 )
> Download Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Falls City, Texas, Uranium Mill Tailings Site , U.S. DOE, DOE/EA-1227, March 1998 (PDF)
> View Falls City general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Green River · Monticello
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
License for Long-Term Custody
"On August 20, 1998, the Division of Waste Management (DWM) placed the Green River, Utah, site under a general license consistent with the provisions of
10 CFR 40.27. The Green River disposal site was reclaimed by the Department
of Energy (DOE) under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Act of 1978.
DOE is in the process of completing the Title I program. Four sites are left to
be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Work at two of these
sites is complete, and DWM is awaiting information from DOE to complete
licensing. DWM anticipates that the licensing of the Ambrosia Lake, New
Mexico, and Slick Rock, Colorado, sites should be complete in
September/October. The remaining two sites at Maybell and Naturita,
Colorado, will be licensed in early 1999 once DOE completes reclamation
work." (NRC Weekly Information Report For the Week Ending August 28, 1998)
> View Green River general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
Study finds higher cancer risks for residents near former Monticello uranium mill
A new study, released by the state Department of Health and prepared by epidemiologist John Contreras, found an elevated risk of lung, bronchial and stomach cancers among Monticello residents during several five-year time periods from 1973 to 2004. Completed in December 2007, the study is one of several completed since 1997 by federal and state agencies in response to residents' fears. Contreras said on Feb. 29, 2008, that the cancers have been linked to exposure to toxins released during uranium and vanadium processing, but the 2007 study is unable to draw a direct link. "We can't definitively say ... that the significantly elevated incidence of cancer is associated with the mill," Contreras said. Still, the new findings are welcome news to Monticello residents, who have long claimed that the mill made people sick.
(Salt Lake Tribune Feb. 29, 2008)
> Download Cancer incidence study, a follow-up study of cancer incidence in Monticello City, Utah - 1973-2004, December 27, 2007 (1.7M PDF, Utah DOH)
> View related reports and links (Utah DOH)
Database to be extended for study on cancer incidence among residents at former Monticello uranium mill site
State health officials have launched a new phase of their health probe in Monticello, where residents suspect a government uranium mill is to blame for decades of cancer cases and deaths. "We hope that these next steps will bring us closer to understanding the cancer incidence in Monticello and any possible connection to the mill," said David N. Sundwall, state health executive director.
Sundwall's team promised in May 2006 to look for ways to fill in information gaps in the state's data about cancer in the area.
It turns out that standard health study practices excluded much information. They would not allow the Health Department to count the cancers of people who had moved out of the southeastern Utah community and people who had died before the cancer registry began.
The health department plans to complete its data-gathering by the year's end.
(The Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 4, 2006)
Study finds no increased cancer incidence among residents at former Monticello uranium mill site
The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) report, compiled by its office of epidemiology, concluded that the incidence of cancers in zip code 84535 (Monticello and surroundings) is "not statistically significant." However, the report cautioned that the health department's study is just preliminary and did not include cancers diagnosed prior to 1973, the year the Utah Cancer Registry began, and that it also didn't include cases diagnosed outside Utah.
The mill operated on the south side of town from 1943 to the beginning of 1960, processing both vanadium and uranium.
The uranium ore, trucked in from hundreds of mines in the area, was pulverized into fine yellow dust that was blown by the prevailing winds across the town, and was tracked home by workers to unsuspecting family members. After shutdown of the mill, the tailings piles became a favorite playground for children, and provided "sand" for sandboxes, brick mortar and road base.
The town first noticed what might be cancer clusters in the 1960s when seven young people living within blocks of each other died of leukemia. Since then, there have been at least 18 other leukemia cases, according to a health survey prepared by grass-roots group Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure (VTME). VMTE's list includes more than 416 cancers; the UDOH's study included 141.
(Deseret News May 25, 2006)
> Download Health Consultation - An Investigation of Cancer Incidence in Monticello, Utah - Monticello, San Juan, Utah, May 17, 2006, Prepared by Utah Department of Health (1.4M PDF - Utah DOH)
> View related reports and links (Utah DOH)
DOE Inspector General criticizes DOE's oversight over reclamation of Monticello uranium mill tailings site (Utah)
"The Department entered into a cooperative agreement with the
City [of Monticello] in June 1999 that, among other things, required the restoration of the mill site and certain associated areas. [...]
Our audit disclosed that the Department did not effectively monitor
or control certain aspects of the restoration of the Monticello Mill
Site. The restoration of the site was completed as required;
however, the City did not adequately maintain the site, and it
suffered significant erosion. The Department took action to correct
erosion problems that were of immediate concern, but it did not
ensure that the City used funds provided under the agreement for
long-term maintenance of the mill site."
> Download Audit Report - Restoration of the Monticello Mill Site at Monticello, Utah, DOE/IG-0665, October 2004 (PDF)
DOE invites public comment on proposed cleanup approach by natural attenuation for Monticello OU III tailings site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a Proposed Plan that presents the preferred remedial alternative for Operable Unit III of the Monticello Mill Tailings Site near Monticello, Utah. Operable Unit III encompasses contaminated surface water and ground water at and hydraulically downgradient of the former Monticello millsite. DOE believes that monitored natural attenuation with institutional controls provides the best balance of tradeoffs among the cleanup alternatives being considered.
> Download DOE GJO release Nov. 24, 2003 (PDF)
Comments will be accepted through January 15, 2004.
> View DOE GJO Monticello projects
EPA deletes parts of Monticello Mill Tailings site from National Priorities (Superfund) List
Federal Register: August 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 156), p. 48314-48321
(download full text )
"... This partial
deletion pertains to a portion of the Site designated as the Operable
Unit (OU) II Non-Surface and Ground-Water Impacted Peripheral
Properties, which are located within OU II of the Site. The OU II Non-
Surface and Ground-Water Impacted Peripheral Properties are 22 of the
34 total properties that comprise OU II. These 22 properties were
selected for deletion from the NPL because the primary contaminants of
concern, radioactive materials in soils and sediment, have been removed
to levels protective of human health and the environment, and because
no radiological or nonradiological contamination is present in surface
water or ground water located on these properties. [...]
DATES: This direct final partial deletion will be effective October 14,
2003, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 12, 2003. ..."
Cleanup of 424 Monticello Vicinity Properties completed
Excerpt from Notice in Federal Register Vol.64, No.250, p.73423-73427 (Dec. 30, 1999)
(download full
notice ):
"SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Region 8, announces the deletion of the Monticello Radioactive
Contaminated Properties Site (Site), located in Monticello, Utah, from
the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution and Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA
promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA).
EPA, with the preliminary concurrence of the State of Utah Department
of Environmental Quality (UDEQ), has determined that responsible
parties have implemented all appropriate response actions required and
that no further response at the Site is appropriate.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 28, 2000,
unless EPA receives significant adverse or critical comments by January
31, 2000."
Interim ROD for the Monticello Surface and Ground Water Remedial Action Project
"On September 29, 1998, an Interim Record of Decision (ROD) for the Monticello Mill Tailings Site Surface and Ground Water Operable Unit III (OU III) was signed by the Environmental Protection Agency, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and the U. S. Department of Energy." [...]
> View DOE GJO release (Nov. 17, 1998)
> View Monticello site info
Riverton · Spook
Relaxed groundwater standards
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) announces the availability of the final Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance at the Riverton, Wyoming, Uranium Mill Tailings Site document, and Finding of No Significant Impact.
The Environmental Assessment analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action for applying supplemental standards at the Riverton site; supplemental standards is the compliance strategy determined appropriate for residual ground-water contamination that exists in the shallow ground water as a result of the former milling operations.
> View DOE GJO release (Oct 14, 1998)
> View Riverton general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
Adoption of "No action" approach leaves 3.8 million m3 of contaminated groundwater uncleaned
from: NRC Weekly Information Report for the Week Ending October
10, 1997:
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
"Completion of Groundwater Reclamation at Spook
Mill
On October 8, 1997, Division of Waste Management staff concurred
on the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Groundwater Compliance
Action Plan (GCAP) for the Spook Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial
Action Project site at Spook, Wyoming. The groundwater
restoration phase of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action
(UMTRA) Project was initiated by DOE's final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). As set forth in the GCAP,
DOE's approach requires No remedial action to the groundwater at
the Spook site since there is No apparent risk to human health
or the environment because there is No known exposure pathway.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff determined that the
"No action" approach for this site satisfies the
requirements set forth in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), and the standards in 40 CFR 192,
Subparts B and C for the cleanup of groundwater contamination
resulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of
uranium. NRC had previously concurred on the surface cleanup of
the Spook site and licensed it for long-term care. With the NRC
concurrence on the GCAP, remedial action for this site as
required under the UMTRCA is considered complete. Spook is the
first uranium mill tailings site where NRC has concurred on all
of the actions required of DOE for both surface and groundwater
remediation since the DOE PEIS was issued."
> View Environmental Assessment of Ground-Water Compliance Activities at the Uranium Mill Tailings Site, Spook, Wyoming , EA-1155
> View Spook general site info · DOE GJO groundwater site info
> View background information on Uranium Mill Tailings Management - USA