A cleanup plan for the mine was unveiled . TWO SHAFTS PROVIDE ACCESS TO UNDERGROUND WORKINGS. Stephen Etsitty, the executive director of the agency, said he was hopeful that progress was finally being made, but acknowledged that the scope and technical complexity of the operation at Red Water Pond Road was unprecedented. On September 24, 2018, General Electric (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML18360A424 and ML18267A235) requested an amendment to their reclamation plan approved as described in License Condition 34 as well as the reclamation timelines defined in License Condition 35. Fluviatile Channel Sandstone And Carbonaceous Material (Humate). Northeast of Church Rock, New Mexico, in the Coyote Canyon Chapter, dozens of cars and trucks took Highway 566 and drove 12 miles north of Red Rock Park, then turned onto a dirt road that led to a . April 2017 - Water testing demonstration with high school students in Gallup, NM. The mill is a licensed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) facility and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site. The average ore grade processed was approximately 0.12 percent uranium oxide. Surface reclamation is complete, except for the area of the south tailings cell covered by two evaporation ponds, which are part of the ground water corrective action plan. 7,192 Feet Overlooking the NECR Mine facing Northeast | Click to Enlarge The Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR) is a former uranium mine located at the northern end of State Highway 566 approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup, NM in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. Sedimentation issues in the diversion channel have been communicated to the licensee as they relate to license termination. Today, the site near Red Water Pond Road holds one million cubic yards of waste from the Northeast Church Rock Mine, making it the largest and most daunting area of contamination on the reservation. To further this goal, EPA has developed a Community Involvement Plan which describes the various ongoing outreach activities. Disposal plan : In a license amendment issued February 15, the NRC authorized UNC's plan to dispose of approximately 1 million cubic yards of waste from the mine at the . For Zone 1, the corrective action system, which was initiated in 1984, was decommissioned in July 1999 with the approval of the NRC, US EPA, and New Mexico Environmental Department. Cleanup The license amendment decision also includes a Record of Decision (pdf) describing the proposal and summarizes the NRCs environmental impact statement. The UNC Mill Site is a non-operating uranium mill and tailings disposal site located approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup in McKinley County, New Mexico (Figure 1). Secondary: NE Church Rock #4, State: New Mexico The design review team consists of EPA Regions 6 and 9, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NNEPA, New Mexico Environmental Department (regulatory agencies), and the Department of Energy. The project includes improvements to the existing tailings impoundment and nearby infrastructure. 72, Guangfu S. On February 15, 2023, the NRC published its Record of Decision (ML23040A439) documenting issuance of a license amendment (ML23023A118) to UNC. This soil was brought back to the mine site waste pile which was regraded, covered, and vegetated to stabilize the contamination during the long planning process for the much larger cleanup of approximately 1.4 million tons of contaminated soil on the NECR Mine Site. The Church Rock proposal comes despite the EPA's 10-year plan requiring that traditional ecological knowledge and Din Fundamental Law , a set of . A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. w/the Navajo Tribal Community Members of the Red Water Pond Rd. (2,192 Meters). Info Year: 1979, Record Type: Site How Would Earth Be Different If It Spun In The Other Direction? The lack of community voices and input is concerning, Yazzie said, because the northeast Church Rock mine cleanup will set the stage for how community members are included in future cleanups. In a gold rush, people came to this area to look for fortune and soon township sprung up and prospered. The mill, designed to process 4,000 tons of ore per day, extracted uranium using conventional crushing, grinding, and acid-leach solvent extraction methods. Subscribe today for ourWeekly Newsletterin your inbox! Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest . EPA oversaw UNC/GE investigations of the Mine Site and initial time-critical cleanup actions to remove approximately 200,000 tons of contamination found in the residential area. MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Uranium ore processed at the site came from the Northeast Church Rock and the Old Church Rock mines. In accordance with Commission direction in Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) M220422A, A Meeting with the Navajo Tribal Community Members of the Red Water Pond Road and SRM M220422B, Discussion of the Ten-Year Plan to Address Impacts of Uranium Contamination on the Navajo Nation and Lessons Learned from the Remediation of Former Uranium Mill Sites, the Commission stated,[t]o give the Commission and the NRC staff additional time to consider the UNC Mill Site proposal, the staff [will] not issue the Final Environmental Impact Statement or the Final Safety Evaluation Report until further direction is provided by the Commission. However, UNC remained unrepentant. The team also includes a representative from the community assisted by a technical support representative from the Technical Assistance Services for Communities contract administered by EPA. The gushing waste backed up sewers, and radioactivity spiked in the water, soil, and air. In a license amendment issued Feb. 15, the NRC authorized the company's plan to dispose of approximately 1 million cubic yards of waste from the mine at the tailings site in McKinley County, New Mexico, northeast of Gallup. Under a plan being developed by General Electric and the E.P.A., the waste would be transported to a former uranium mill just off the reservation already considered a Superfund site and stored in a fortified repository. Lassen County comprises the Susanville, California, micropolitan statistical area.A former farming, mining and lumber area, its economy now depends on employment at one . The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. These tailings cells and burrow pits were reclaimed between 1989 and 1995, and they each include a radon barrier as NRC directed. Always respect private property. This community has organized into a non-profit organization, the Red Water Pond Road Community Association, recognized by the Navajo Nation. Complete Concurrence Process with appropriate Federal and State entities. The Navajo Nation requested EPA take the lead for the NECR Cleanup. The comment period was originally set to close on December 28, 2020; however, due to a request by Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, dated December 21, 2020 (ADAMS Accession Number ML20357B084), the comment period was extended to May 27, 2021. Home Office: P.O. Lassen County (/ l s n / LASS-n) is a county in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California.As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730. ----- was developed to help assure that remedial actions occur in a timely and effective manner. The Navajo Reservation is located less than a mile north of the Site. Its like a homing device, said Tony Hood, 64, who once worked in the mines and is now a Navajo interpreter for the Indian Medical Center in Gallup. Accessed through two main underground shafts, around 3.5 million tons of ore were extracted in the years the mine was active. This soil was brought back to the mine site waste pile which was regraded, covered, and vegetated to stabilize the contamination during the long planning process for the much larger cleanup of approximately 1.4 million tons of contaminated soil on the NECR Mine Site. The Northeast Church Rock mine, which served as the principal uranium source for the UNC mill, is located mostly on Navajo Nation land, less than a mile away from the mill. On March 19 and 21, 2019, the NRC staff conducted public meetings in Gallup, New Mexico to develop the scope of the EIS. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Official websites use .gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a plan by United Nuclear Corp. to dispose of mine waste from the Northeast Church Rock mine site in New Mexico at the company's nearby existing uranium mill tailings site. Hogans and corrals were built with mine wastes, as were roads. The community is frustrated, I know Im frustrated wed like it to go quickly, Mr. Blumenfeld said. October 2009 - Overlooking the NECR mine facing Northeast. Exposure to elevated levels of uranium can cause kidney damage. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The LAR includes a review of the site surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology and current environmental monitoring for the site. A final Environmental Impact Statement, published in January, assessed the potential impacts of excavating the waste and transferring it to the mill site for disposal. Eastern. . The EPA states that this program "allows EPA to clean up hazardous waste sites and to force responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for cleanups led by EPA.". AN OVERVIEW OF THE N.M. Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. The NRC's regulatory jurisdiction does not extend to the mine itself. Sign up today to get weekly science coverage direct to your inbox. Between 2008 and 2012, federal agencies spent $100 million on the cleanup, according to the E.P.A. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS In September 2010, the EPA issued interagency comments to UNC on the SWSFS. Pictures and text in this section come from Facebook and Instagram. The previous reclamation plan for the TDA was reviewed and approved by NRC on March 1, 1991. Overlooking the NECR Mine facing Northeast | Click to EnlargeThe Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR) is a former uranium mine located at the northern end of State Highway 566 approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup, NM in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. Over one thousand tons of radioactive mill waste and 93 million gallons of acidic and radioactive tailings Other mining features included several vent holes, support buildings, roads and water extraction wells and treatment facilities. But before the latest round of cleanup can begin, an application to remove the waste pile must be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will then conduct environmental and safety reviews. Specifically, this AR supports the September 29, 2011 Non-Time-Critical Action Memorandum for the cleanup of the NECR Mine in McKinley County, New Mexico (Pinedale Chapter, Navajo Nation). The main purpose of engaging community members is to give them the opportunity to become involved in EPAs activities and also help shape the decisions that are made that affect their community. UNC began developing a Site Wide Supplemental Feasibility Study (SWSFS) as directed by EPA on June 24, 2005. has said that it could take at least eight years to dispose of a huge pile of uranium mine waste that has sat near Red Water Pond Road since the 1980s waste that must be removed before the area can finally be free of contamination. Nobody told us it was unsafe. The Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR) is a former uranium mine located at the northern end of State Highway 566 approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup, NM in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. They ruined our land, Ms. Nez said. Its just taken so long to get there.. Image Credit:Barbara Ash/Shutterstock.com. Physiographic Section: Navajo Section, Name: Sandstone Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. UNC was aware of cracks forming from at least 1977. The project includes improvements to the existing tailings impoundment and nearby infrastructure. 2010 Chapter Meeting in Church Rock Chapter House to discuss NECR cleanup plan. To address contamination that had migrated off the NECR Mine Site into the adjacent residential area, EPA, in partnership with NNEPA, has overseen several time-critical actions where UNC removed approximately 200,000 tons of contaminated soil. Navajo Nation: Cleaning Up Abandoned Uranium Mines. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. April 2017 - EPA, Navajo EPA, and Red Water Pond Road Community Classroom Presentation to high school students in Gallup, NM on Navajo Abandoned Uranium Mines. In December 2010, US EPA approved the application of alkalinity stabilization on Zone 3, which was discontinued in less than 2 years. Navajo lands, including the Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR), one of the highest producing uranium sites on the Navajo Nation.8 On July 16, 1979, a large spill occurred within the UNC mill, when the dam that was holding the uranium mill tailings disposal pond was breached.9 However, UNC failedto insulate the walls of the dams to prevent the acidic tailings from eating away at them, and the ground they were built on was unstable, raising the risk of the dams cracking and crack they did. The Church Rock mill aimed to process 4,000 tons of this ore a day, grinding it down and soaking it in sulfuric acid to extract the uranium oxide, leaving behind a slurry of radioactive waste called tailings. Quivira Mine Skyline Mine. > Clastic Sedimentary Rock On March 7, 2019, the NRC staff sent a formal acceptance letter, (ADAMS Accession Number ML19044A592) which contained an initial schedule for the review. Speaking in Navajo . Secondary: N.E. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property. These unregulated water sources were sampled as part of EPA's work on the multi-agency Five-Year Plan to . (928) 323-4908, Priscilla Tom(tom.priscilla@epa.gov) All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. 71, Ln. The Northeast Church Rock Mine is a former uranium mine about 17 miles northeast of Gallup, N.M. in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. NECR Typical Hollow Stem Auger Drilling | Click to EnlargeNortheast Church Rock Mine was operated by United Nuclear Corporation (a company owned by General Electric) from 1967 to 1982. The estimated cost is nearly $45 million. Age Type: Host Rock High levels of radiation were found over 161 kilometers (100 miles) down the river, as far away as the Petrified Forest National park. Organizes periodic public meetings at local chapter houses or in Gallup, NM, Participates in regularly scheduled calls and meetings with the Red Water Pond Road Community Association, Provides technical assistance to the Red Water Pond Road Community Association through an EPA national contract, Technical Assistance Services for Communities, Presented with NNEPA and the Red Water Pond Road Community Association representatives to high school classes in Gallup, NM, Participated in the Eastern Agency Navajo Abandoned Uranium Mine Open House in April 2017, Distributed a Community Involvement Plan with input from the community in 2017, Facilitated voluntary alternative housing efforts during construction activities, Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands Program, Red Water Pond Road Community Association, Others as suggested by community members and local officials. 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