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Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Site
LTS&M Planning
LTS&M Conference
Grand Junction, CO
November 16, 2010
Donald Metzler
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management
Moab Federal Project Director
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Moab Site Background Former uranium-ore
processing facility (1956-1984)
Transferred to DOE ownership in 2001
400-acre site; 130 acres covered by uranium mill tailings pile
Largest uranium mill tailings pile (16 million tons) in the world to be relocated
Regulated by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
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Project Scope
Relocate 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings and other contaminated materials from the Moab site by rail to Crescent Junction, Utah, for permanent disposal
• Being remediated under Title I of Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
Actively remediate ground water at the Moab site Remediate vicinity properties that exceed regulatory
standards
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Moab UMTRA Project Site
Arches National Park
Rail Load Out
N
Moab
Colorado
River
Tailings Pile
U.S. Highway 191
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Status
Currently shipping up to 144 containers per train, two trains per day, Monday through Friday
Through October 2010, about 2.5 million tons of mill tailings (15.5 percent of the total) shipped and disposed
Project end date currently at 2025; substantial additional annual funding required to meet 2019 legislated end date
Crescent Junction disposal cell
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Moab Site Cleanup Requirements
Surface (soils) remediation• Moab site soils are being cleaned up to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) standards in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)192
– 5 picocuries per gram (pCi/g) in top 6 inches and 15 pCi/g in subsurface
Ground water remediation• Biological Opinion identifies a
limit of 0.3 mg/L ammonia in surface water
• Anticipate active ground water remediation to be complete concurrent with surface remediation
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Supplemental Standards
40 CFR 192 allows the development of alternate cleanup levels, or supplemental standards, based on an assessment of risk to human health and the environment for specific exposure scenarios
At Moab site, may be applied along utility corridors, under roadways, and for ground water
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Current Activities with Future in Mind
Tamarisk removal• Near ground water well field
Erosion control• Along hillside up to rail
load out area
• To assist with storm runofffrom U.S. Highway 191 and Moab Wash
Revegetation of disturbed areas with native species
Fauna study
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End State Vision
Land ownership and use• DOE will transfer ownership at completion of cleanup
– Water rights on Colorado River―Could be sold separately
• Park-like setting
Coordination with stakeholders
• Other federal agencies – National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management
– Discussing possible land transfer mechanisms and infrastructure and facilities disposition
• NRC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Corps of Engineers
• Local government and community groups– Mill Tailings Project Steering Committee will likely act as reuse
organization to represent community’s interests
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Crescent Junction Disposal Site
Land withdrawal• 2008: 500 acres permanently transferred to DOE
• 2009: 20-year renewal of 936 acres held in temporary withdrawal, remaining 864 acres returned to public domain
Cell aligned in a east-to-west direction and roughly rectangular, about 5,200 feet long by 2,400 feet wide
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Crescent Junction Site Specifications
Cell excavated in phases; second phase begun in January Tailings thickness: 25 feet below the surrounding grade
and 25 feet aboveground Up to 10-foot-thick, multi-layered cover composed
of native soils and rock
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Crescent Junction Site LTS&M Planning
Permanent land transfer area will be fenced Disposition of 28-mile construction waterline from
Green River Standpipes to be installed
in tailings material to monitor transient drainage
Observation wells to be installed around cell perimeter
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Moab Project Information
gjem.energy.gov/moab