&EPA Northeast Church Rock Mine Site Update U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Region 9 • San Francisco, CA • December 2018 Background The Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR) is a former uranium mine located at the north- ern end of State Highway 566, approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup, New Mexico in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) oper- ated the NECR mine from 1967 to 1982. During mining, approximately 3.5 million tons of ore was extracted, making it one of the highest producing uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. Due to the proximity of resi- dents to the mine site, this mine was identi- fied as the highest priority for cleanup by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) out of over 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. What Has Been Done? • Over 200,000 tons of contaminated soil has been removed from the residential area and brought back to the mine waste pile. • The mine waste pile has been temporarily covered and stabilized until it can be removed. USEPA, working with the Navajo Nation and the State of New Mexico, has decided to move the waste to the UNC Mill site. • UNC/GE completed a design for the NECR cleanup which has been approved by USEPA. What is Happening Now? In September of 2018, UNC/GE (General Electric) submitted a request for a license amendment (which includes the completed design) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a repostory for the NECR mine waste at the UNC Mill Site. NRC is currently reviewing the request. ¦Q McGee Qujyira* Church ' Red Watn'.Rond Rd V Kerr-McGee Quiwira Church'**' Rock IE Church LEGEND Mine Site j Step Out Area (contamination already removed) km UNC Mill Site Disposal Cells ~~ ~ Evaporation Ponds ~ Structures UNC Mill South Navajo Nation Boundary Northeast Church Rock Mine, Kerr-McGee Quivira and UNC Mill Superfund sites map. ------- What Will Happen Next? NRC must approve the request for a license amendment at the UNC Mill Site before the NECR Mine Site cleanup construction can begin. The NRC estimates two to five years for the required NRC license amendment. Cleanup construction is anticipated to take approximately four years to complete. GE contractors take samples on the Northeast Church Rock Mine site. Who is Involved? • The company conducting the cleanup is UNC. UNC is owned by General Electric. • USEPA oversaw the design with the help of a design review team. • The design review team included USEPA, Navajo Nation EPA, State of New Mexico Environmental Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Department of Energy. The team also included a local resident appointed by the Red Water Pond Road Community Association, who was assisted by a technical support representative from the Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) contract administered by USEPA. How Can You Learn More? Priscilla Tom USEPA Eastern Region Abandoned Uranium Mine site USEPA page: https://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium- Community Involvement Coordinator cleanup/eastern-region-abandoned-uranium-mines (415) 972-3377 USEPA United Nuclear Corporation Mill site page: tom.priscilla@epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/superfund/united-nuclear Sara Jacobs Five Year Plan to Address Impacts of Uranium USEPA Contamination 2014-2018: Remedial Project Manager http://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium-cleanup (415) 972-3564 jac.obs.sara@epa.gov Binod Chaudhary Navajo Nation EPA (928) 871-7820 bchaudhary@navajo-nsn.gov ------- |