Source: United States Attorneys General 7
The United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) and General Electric Company (GE) have agreed to a consent decree with the United States, Navajo Nation, and the State of New Mexico under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as the Superfund law.
This agreement requires UNC and GE to excavate and remove approximately one million cubic yards of uranium mine waste from the Northeast Church Rock Superfund Site, located on the Navajo Nation, and transfer it to the UNC Mill Site, a federally licensed uranium mill and tailings disposal facility located adjacent to Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico. The Navajo Nation and the State of New Mexico are also parties to the agreement as co-plaintiffs with the United States. The cleanup is expected to cost nearly $63 million and take more than a decade to complete.
“Today’s settlement will achieve tangible remediation of the Mine and Mill Sites and protect human health from radioactive wastes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Consistent with this administration’s enforcement principles and priorities, the settlement follows CERCLA’s text, focuses on the affected locations, and assigns the cost of cleanup to the settling defendants, not taxpayers.”
“This agreement ensures that the companies responsible for the contamination will bear the cost of cleanup, not the community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico. “It is a decisive measure reflecting years of inaction, and while nothing erases the damage done, this cleanup is necessary to protect public health and right a persistent wrong.”
“This extraordinary cleanup agreement will improve the lives of the Navajo people, benefiting their children, grandchildren, and future generations,” said Regional Administrator Josh F.W. Cook of EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “The consent decree will ensure the removal of contaminated mine waste from their community and make their land suitable for future residential use.”
“This agreement represents extensive cooperation between EPA, the Navajo Nation, and the state of New Mexico. Each partner plays a critical role in working toward a safer environment for communities of Western New Mexico,” said Regional Administrator Scott Mason of EPA’s South Central. “With this historic settlement, we are ensuring cleanup progress will continue at the NECR mine site while improving existing protections at the UNC mill site.”
“This settlement sends a message that federal, sovereign, and state governments can come together to improve the lives of both New Mexican and Navajo Nation residents,” said Secretary for the New Mexico Environment Department James Kenney. “It’s the result of our regulatory partners’ unwavering commitment to addressing the longstanding risks faced by communities impacted by uranium mining waste.”
The Northeast Church Rock Mine operated from 1967 to 1982 and served as the principal source of uranium ore for the UNC Mill. These mining operations left behind uranium mine waste piles, several former ponds and former mill tailings storage areas. Although EPA has required several shorter-term cleanup actions to be completed at the NECR Mine site, conditions at the site continue to present a risk of releases of hazardous substances to the air, surrounding soils, sediments, surface water and groundwater.
The UNC Mill site is a former uranium mill which operated from 1977 to 1982, generating mill tailings containing radionuclides and other hazardous substances. Disposal of about 3.5 million tons of tailings took place in on-site impoundments. Studies performed under EPA oversight have demonstrated that the transfer of Northeast Church Rock mine waste to the UNC Mill site, and placement of the waste over the tailings disposal area, would improve the cover and enhance erosion controls at the Mill site.
The agreement is the culmination of two decades of coordination between EPA’s Pacific Southwest and South Central Regional offices, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of the Interior, state and Tribal stakeholders, and UNC and GE. EPA continues to work closely with federal partner agencies, Navajo Nation, and adjacent states to address impacts from uranium contamination at 523 abandoned uranium mines on or near Navajo land. This EPA work includes the assessment and cleanup of abandoned uranium mines, consultation with Navajo elected officials, and gathering input from affected communities throughout the cleanup process.
EPA investigated the case.
ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section is handling the case.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree will be available for viewing on the Justice Department’s website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.