Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Site LTS&M Planning

1. Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project SiteLTS&M Planning Donald Metzler U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Moab Federal Project Director LTS&M Conference Grand Junction, CO November 16, 2010

2. 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)

3. 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

4. Moab UMTRA Project Site Arches National Park Moab U.S. Highway 191 Colorado River Rail Load Out Tailings Pile N

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 installedin tailings material to monitor transient drainage • Observation wells to be installed around cell perimeter

13. Moab Project Information gjem.energy.gov/moab