Tronox Navajo Area Uranium Mines
FY2020 FINANCIAL REPORT
&EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
February 2022
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Contents
1.0: Tronox Settlement Background . 4
2.0: US EPA Tronox Settlement Financial Expenditure
Breakout FY2011 through FY2020 5
2.2: Interest Earned on Tronox Special Accounts 10
3.0: Tronox and Quivira NAUM Approved Project Descriptions
for FY2011 through FY2020 13
4.0: Tronox and Quivira NALJM - Workforce Development Opportunities 15
Common Acronyms used in Report
AUM
Abandoned Uranium Mines
NAUM
Navajo Area Uranium Mines
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
NNEPA
Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
NNAML
Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands
GSA
Geographic Sub-Area
RSE
Removal Site Evaluation
EE/CA
Engineering Evaluation / Cost Analysis
TCRA
Time Critical Removal Action
AAM
Alternate Analyis Memo
89 Front Cover: Cove Transfer Station.
2 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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1.0
Tronox Settlement Background
Background
On January 21, 2015, the Tronox Settlement
agreement resolving fraudulent conveyance claims
against Kerr-McGee Corporation and related
subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
went into effect. Pursuant to the settlement
agreement, Anadarko paid $5.15 billion plus interest
to the litigation trust on January 23, 2015.
As a Result of the Tronox Settlement:
US EPA received a distribution of 20% (~$917
million) for the cleanup of 54 uranium mines that
were operated, and subsequently abandoned,
by Kerr-McGee on and near the Navajo Nation
territory;
US EPA also received a distribution of 2% (~$92
million) for the cleanup of Quivira Mine Site; and
• Navajo Nation received a distribution of 1%
(~$45 million) in connection with the Shiprock
Uranium Mill Site.
From the late 1940s to the 1980s, Kerr-McGee Corporation mined more than seven million tons of uranium
ore on or near the Navajo Nation. More than 50 mines are being addresses in the Cove, Lukachukai area, Teec
Nos Pos, Coyote Canyon, Casamero Lake, Ambrosia Lake and Beca/'Prewitt Chapters.
US EPA Tronox funds can be used to support
activities related to the assessment and cleanup
of the 54 Tronox Settlement mines and
contamination caused by the mines. Examples
of these activities include:
• Informing and involving the community
about cleanup activities
• Investigating hazardous substances levels in
water, soil, sediment, and indoor air
• Implementing land use controls such as
fences and signs to warn people about
dangerous areas
• Protecting cultural and biological resources
in the mine areas
• Constructing access roads to the mines for
cleanup operations
4 :: FY20 Tronox Report
0 Mt Taylor.
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2.0
US EPA Tronox Settlement Financial Expenditure
Breakout FY2011 through FY2020
The approximately $1 billion in funds that US EPA
received for the clean-ups at 54 Tronox Navajo
Area Uranium Mines (NAUM) has been deposited
into a US EPA Superfund Special Account. In
accordance with Section 122(b)(3) of CERCLA,
the Agency established a special account to receive
funds pursuant to an agreement with a Potentially
Responsible Party (PRP). Special accounts are
site-specific, interest-bearing sub-accounts housed
within US EPA's Hazardous Substances Superfund
(Superfund Trust Fund). Charges to a special account
must be consistent with the terms of the settlement
pursuant to which the funds are received.
Prior to Covid, US EPA, the Navajo Nation, and the
state of New Mexico normally meet several times
a year to discuss prioritizing response actions and
funding projects at each specific Tronox NAUM site.
In FY20, the only meeting occurred on February 26,
2020. The agencies strive to develop a coordinated
and prioritized project list along with estimated
funding requirements for the following calendar
year. Information about individual project proposals
are presented and discussed and this project list is
memorialized in an annual memo, titled "Approval
and Annual Funding Projections for Implementation
of Tronox Settlement Memo. The memo is presented
to the US EPA Region 6's Branch Chief, Assessment
and Enforcement Branch, Superfund and Emergency
Management Division, for concurrence and then
to the US EPA Region 9's Assistant Director,
Superfund and Emergency Management Division,
for signature. Once projects are approved, a special
account name/number is created for that project to
track expenditures. Table 2.1 on page 7 summarizes
approved Tronox projects by special account name,
budget, expenditures, and balance.
These expenditures are further broken out into the
following expenditure categories.
Payroll: US EPA costs associated with assessment
and cleanup of the mine/mine areas including US
EPA field staff, administrative, technical support,
legal, contracting and management.
Travel: Travel cost associated with the management,
assessment, and cleanup of the mine/mine areas
specified in the Tronox Settlement.
Contracts: Contracting costs associated with the
assessment and cleanup of the mine/mine areas
specified in the Tronox Settlement.
Expenses: Expense costs for equipment, property,
supplies, and materials associated with the
assessment and cleanup of the mine/mine areas
specified in the Tronox Settlement.
Grants: Grants associated with the management,
assessment and cleanup of the mine/mine areas
specified in the Tronox Settlement.
Interagency Agreements: US EPA has entered into
interagency technical services agreements with US
Army Corps of Engineers and US Geological Survey
to support work on mine/mine areas specified in the
Tronox Settlement.
Figure 2.2 on page 8 is a graphical representation of
Tronox Expenditures by Category FY2011 through
FY2020.
February 2022 :: 5
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Accounting Line Active Project Names/Descriptions
Names
Descriptions
Tronox NAUM
(Region 6)
Overall planning and logistical support for Removal activities and settlement implementation,
including salary and travel, Phase II San Mateo Creek Basin groundwater study, and state grants.
Tronox NAUM
East GSA
Assessment of Tronox mines in the eastern area of Ambrosia Lake to complete an RSE and
Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA). Includes contracting, salary, and travel specific
to this project.
Tronox NAUM
West GSA
Assessment of Tronox mines in the western area of Ambrosia Lake to complete an RSE and EE/CA.
Includes contracting, salary, and travel specific to this project.
Tronox NAUM
Central GSA
Assessment of Tronox mines in the central area of Ambrosia Lake to complete an RSE and EE/CA.
Includes contracting, salary, and travel specific to this project.
Tronox NAUM SI8 Mine
Residential Removal
A time critical radon abatement project for a residential structure adjacent to the Section 18
Tronox Mine in Ambrosia Lake. Includes contracting, salary, and travel specific to this project.
Project was completed in FY18 Quarter 1.
Tronox NAUM
Section 10
Assessment of the Section 10 Tronox mine in Ambrosia Lake to complete an RSE and EE/CA.
Includes contracting, salary, and travel specific to this project.
Tronox NAUM
Sections 32 and 33
A joint project between Region 6 and 9 to assess the Sections 32/33 Tronox mines in the Smith
Lake sub-district in the Casamero Lake area to complete an RSE and EE/CA.
Tronox Abandoned
Uranium Mines on
the Navajo Nation
(bankruptcy settlement)
(Region 9)
Tronox NAUM activities (2011 - 2015) prior to the 2015 settlement that included quarterly
meetings with Navajo Nation EPA; settlement implementation planning; accounting and
contracting strategy; community involvement;Tronox portal development, Northern Agency
ASPECT data collection, and grants.
Tronox NAUM Cove
Transfer Station
Construction activities to mitigate surface erosion at the former transfer station located in the
Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation, in eastern Arizona.
Tronox NAUM
Mesa 1 Mine
Mesa Mine 1 Preliminary Site Assessment conducted in 2014-15, to determine risk to human
health and the environment. A RSE was conducted in FY 2018.
Tronox NAUM
Activities included quarterly meetings with Navajo Nation; settlement records review; settlement
implementation planning; Navajo Nation Mines Portal Database; Northern Agency ASPECT
Gamma survey; Annual Quarterly reports;Tronox Northern Agency RSEs;Tronox Northern Agency
EE/CAs; Cove Mesa V Main Access Road Improvement/Design; Cove Mine Access Assessment;
Northern Agency Cultural Resources Survey; community involvement; and Navajo Nation grants.
Tronox NAUM Cove
Sitewide Conceptual
Model and Data Gaps
Assimilate information from previous studies and actions of the site; research, gather and analyze
other existing data and documents that could be used to develop the conceptual site model; break
the site out into investigation areas based on known information; provide pictorial representations
of the site; depict exposure pathways and receptors; provide recommendations for paths
forward for each of the investigation areas; and, suggest general areas for data gap investigations.
Tronox NAUM
Quivira Mines
Activities at the Quivira Mines include: the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis; and discuss the
removal options with Navajo Nation, community members, and other stakeholders.
Tronox NAUM
Cove Area Air Study
Activities include sampling station construction, site restoration, and funding a year-long grant to
allow Navajo Nation EPA staff to retrieve field samples.
Tronox NAUM
Mesa II Mine
Activities include a time critical removal action (TCRA), sampling support and EE/CA. The
TCRA was to repair the erosion of the burial cell and reestablish a functional drainage channel
to avoid further erosion of the burial cell. Air monitoring and soil screening was conducted
during the removal action to provide sampling support and ensure that work practices and
dust suppression methods used during the TCRA prevented the off-site migration of dust with
radionuclides.
Tronox NAUM
Mesa V Mine
Activities at the Mesa V Mine include the EE/CA, and a removal action at the Mesa V Haul
Shaft and a radon study, discussing the removal options with Navajo Nation, community
members, and other stakeholders.
6 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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Table 2.1: US EPATronoxand Quivira Approved Projects, Budgets, and
Expenditures: FY2011 through FY2020
The chart below represents Budgets and Actual (paid) Expenditures. Each project has Unliquidated
Obligations (ULOs) associated with proposed activities (financial commitments to grants and contracts).
For the purposes of this report, ULOs are combined into the Remaining Balance calculation.
Special Account Names
Total Budget
Total
Expenditures
Remaining
Balance
US EPA Region 6
Tronox NAUM
$5.9M
$4.1 M
$1.8M
Tronox NAUM East GSA
$2.3M
$2.1 M
$247.0K
Tronox NAUM West GSA
$2.0M
$1.7M
$287.1 K
Tronox NAUM Central GSA
$2.3M
$1.9M
$355.8K
Tronox NAUM S18 Mine Residential Removal
S22.9K
$22.9K
$1.2K
Tronox NAUM Section 10
$300K
$300K
$0
Tronox NAUM Sections 32 and 33
S815.3K
$732.2K
$83.1 K
Subtotal
S13.6M
$11.3M
$2.3M
US EPA Region 9
Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Nation
$3.2M
$3.2M
$0
Tronox Quivira Mines (formerly NE Churchrock Quivira)
S96.8M
$8.0M
$88.8M
Cove Transfer Station - Tronox
$5.3M
$3.6M
$1.7M
Mesa I Mines -Tronox
$9.4K
$9.4K
$0
Section 32 AUM Site - Tronox
S2.1M
$1.5M
$592.1 K
Section 33 AUM Site - Tronox
S70.7K
$70.7K
$0
Tronox NAUM Cove Wash Regional Assessment
$4.2M
$3.1 M
$1.1M
Tronox Navajo Area Uranium Mines
S922.4M
$18.0M
$904.4M
Tronox NAUM Cove Sitewide Conceptual Model and Data
$3.1 M
$1.5M
$1.6M
Gaps
Tronox NAUM Mesa II
$8.6M
$1.6M
$7.0M
Tronox NAUM Mesa V
$2.2M
$321.4K
$1.9M
Tronox NAUM San Mateo Creek Basin
$20.3K
$7.9K
$12.4K
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa I Mines
$2.2M
$211,9K
$2.0M
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa III Mines
S367.8K
$35.3K
$332.4K
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa IV Mines
$1.5M
$141,3K
$1.3M
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa VI Mines
S367.8K
$35.8K
$331.9K
Tronox NAUM Brodie I Mine
S367.8K
$35.3K
$332.4K
Tronox NAUM Block K Mine
S367.8K
$35.3K
$332.4K
Tronox NAUM Step Mesa
S735.5K
$70.6K
$664.9K
Tronox NAUM Flag Mesa
$1.5M
$141,3K
$1.3M
Tronox NAUM Knife Edge
S367.8K
$35.3K
$332.4K
Subtotal
S1.055B
$50.7M
$1.004B
Total All Special Accounts
$1,069.3M
S52.4M
$1,016.8M
Total Budget includes interest accrued, see pg 10 for interest discussion.
^Reports generated by EPAs CBOR (Compass Business Objects Reporting) system. An unliquidated obligation is the
unexpended balance remaining from the amount of federal funds that the US EPA has obligated to an agreement.
February 2022 :: 7
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Table 2.2: US EPA Tronox and Quivira Approved Projects, Budgets, and
Expenditures: FY2011 through FY2020
An overview of the approved projects and activities associated with these expenditures is located in Section 3.
Special Account Summary
Special Account Names
Contracts
IA
Expenses Grants
Payroll Site Travel Total Spent
US EPA Region 6
Tronox NAUM
$3.0M
$0
$0
$106K
$1M
$189K
$4.2M
Tronox NAUM East GSA
$1.8M
$0
$0
$0
$233K
$52K
$2.1 M
Tronox NAUM West GSA
$1.5M
$0
--
$0
$119K
$37K
$1.7M
Tronox NAUM Central GSA
$1.8M
$0
$0
$0
$53K
$18K
$1.8M
Tronox NAUM SI 8 Mine Residential
Removal
$24K
--
$134M
--
$2K
$26K
Tronox NAUM Section 10
$263K
$0
--
$0
$2K
$0
$265K
Tronox NAUM Section 33
$656K
$0
--
$0
$65K
$14K
$735K
Subtotal
$8.8M
$0
$134M
$106.2M
$1.4M
$309.1 K
$10.8M
US EPA Region 9
Abandoned Uranium Mines on the
Navajo Nation
$1.8M
--
$6K
$115K
$1.2M
$115K
$3.2M
Tronox Quivira Mines
(formerly NE Churchrock Quivira)
$7M
$132K
$4K
$58K
$625K
$127K
$8M
CoveTransfer Station -Tronox
$3.5M
--
$70
$2.9K
$77K
$33K
$3.6M
Mesa 1 Mines - Tronox
$0
--
--
--
$7.3K
$2K
$9.4K
Section 32 AUM Site - Tronox
$1.4M
--
$168
$7K
$48 K
$9K
$1.5M
Section 33 AUM Site - Tronox
$69K
--
--
$561
$1K
$71K
Tronox NAUM Cove Wash Regional
Assessment
$2M
$0
$3.3K
$233K
$684K
$123K
$3M
Tronox NAUM
$14M
$81K
$110K
$82K
$3.2M
$493K
$18M
Tronox NAUM Cove Sitewide
Conceptual Model and Data Gaps
$462K
$600K
--
$346K
$119K
$19K
$1.5M
Tronox NAUM Mesa II
$1.5M
--
--
$42 K
$16K
$1.6M
Tronox NAUM Mesa V
$177K
--
$300
$110K
$34K
--
$321K
Tronox NAUM San Mateo Creek
Basin
--
--
--
00
--
00
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa 1 Mines
$212K
--
--
--
--
$212K
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa III Mines
$35K
--
--
--
--
$35K
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa IV Mines
$141K
--
--
--
--
$141K
Tronox NAUM Cove Mesa VI Mines
$35K
--
--
--
$507
--
$36K
Tronox NAUM Brodie 1 Mine
$35K
--
--
--
--
$35K
Tronox NAUM Block K Mine
$35K
--
--
--
$35K
Tronox NAUM Step Mesa
$71K
--
--
--
--
--
$71K
Tronox NAUM Flag Mesa
$141K
--
--
--
--
--
$ 141K
Tronox NAUM Knife Edge
$35K
--
U-
--
--
--
$35K
Subtotal
$32.8M
$813K
$124K
$955K
$6.02M
$938K
$41.6M
Total
$41.6M
$812.8K
$123.7k
$1M
$7M
$1.2M
$52.5M
*US EPA reporting adjusted to reflect actual expenditures; Unliquidated Obligations (ULOs) or commitments to projects
without spending will no longer be reported on this table. Discrepancies may be noted between figures above and EPA's
Special Account Summary packages due to the posting date of invoices paid. Indirect Costs are not displayed.
8 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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Tronox Total Disbursed Breakout by Cost Category
Total Settlement Expenditures
($17.4 Million) by Category $ in Millions
$52.4 Million
Spent to Date
Site Travel:
$1,247,078
2%
Payroll:
$7,482,638
14%
Expenses:
$123,706
< 1%
Grants:
$1,061,093
2%
IA:
$812,859
2%
TOTAL Tronox AUM
February 2022 :: 9
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Interest Earned on Tronox Special Accounts
Special accounts are funded entirely with money received from PRPs, (in this case the settlements identified in
Priority reports). US EPA retains money received through settlements with PRPs in these site-specific accounts
to conduct planned future cleanup work at the site based on the terms of the settlement agreement.
Fiscal Year
Rate
2020
2.22%
2019
1.75%
2018
0.87%
2017
0.70%
2016
0.67%
2015
0.75%
2014
0.81%
2013
0.78%
2012
0.74%
2011
0.69%
Accumulated Interest through Each Period
Tronox Accounts Interest Earned
60 r
*/>
c
o
Q)
L_
C
2011-2018
2019
2020
Federal Fiscal Year
Special Accounts Management
Special accounts for the Tronox NAUMs are managed and used consistent with national special account policy
and guidance. Information about national special account policy, guidance, and management can be found on
EPA's Superfund Special Accounts webpage at https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/superfiind-special-accounts.
Funds maintained in the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund are invested by the Treasury in U.S.
Market Based Securities. Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Services uses the yield to maturity effective at the time
of purchase of these securities to calculate the Superfund Interest Rate each fiscal year. Interest is accrued
and available in each account based on the account s available balance. Interest accrued is kept in the special
account on which it is earned.
10 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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Tronox and Quivira Contracting Vehicles
Since the Tronox settlement in 2011, US EPA has been utilizing new and existing contracts to conduct cleanup
activities, which allowed the Agency to expeditiously achieve our goal of protecting human health and the
environment on the Navajo Nation. These contracts include:
• Clawson Excavating: a Navajo-Woman owned/
Small Business Priority 1 Company was awarded
a $1M contract to complete mine access and road
upgrades for the approximately 34 site mine in
the Cove Chapter.
• START Contract: Superfund Technical
Assessment and Response Team - provides scientific/
technical support for assessing chemical,
biological, and radiological contamination as well
as site assessment and remedial support activities.
• ERRS Contract: Emergency and Rapid Response
Services - provides management, field personnel,
and equipment resources to execute decontamination
and demolition and removal services.
• RAC: Remedial Action Contract - provides
remedial response, enforcement oversight, non-
time critical removal activities, engineering
support, and assessment services.
• TASC Contract: Technical Assistance Services
for Communities - to help communities better
understand the science, regulations and policies of
environmental issues.
• RAES Contract: The Response, Assessment and
Evaluation Services $85 million capacity contract
was awarded on October 11, 2017 to Tetra Tech,
and the scope of work includes site assessment of
the abandoned uranium mines.
US EPA Region 9's contracts direct that best efforts shall be used to give Indian organizations and Indian-owned
economic enterprises the opportunity to participate in subcontract awards. RAES specifically acknowledges the
Navajo Employment Goals and reports progress in reporting on those goals.
m US EPA, Navajo AML
and Navajo EPA staff
at Mesa II.
February 2022 :: 1 1
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Tronox and Quivira Grant Expenditures for FY2011 through FY2020 by US
EPA Region, Approved Projects and Grants
US EPA provides grant funding to agencies in support of community interests and to fund partner agencies'
activities that support the assessment and cleanup of Tronox NAUMs. Funding has been provided to the Navajo
Nation, the State of New Mexico and Dine College. The purposes and l evels of the funding are outlined below.
Dine College
Funding in the amount of
$809,000 is supporting studies
of uranium effects on livestock
and the Cove watershed; Dine
summer interns collected data
and helped investigate potential
mine impacts in the larger Cove
Watershed.
m Mesa II.
S8 Navajo AML, US EPA and Navajo EPA moving
AML vegetation boxes.
State of NM
$22 lk was provided to the
State of New Mexico to support
technical review of workplans,
review cleanup options,
assist with field oversight and
interagency collaboration.
Navajo Nation
EPA
Over $4.5M has been provided
to support technical review of
remediation plans and final
cleanup options, community
involvement activities including
coordination for community
meetings, distribution of
information, and collecting
environmental samples.
Navajo Nation
Abandoned
Mines Lands
Dept.
SUM has been provided
for on-site construction
activities and technical review
of proposed remediation
strategies.
12 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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3.0
Tronox & Quivira NAUM Approved Project Descriptions
COVID-19 Impact on Tronox Activities & 2020 - 2029 Ten - Year Plan
Much of the planned activities for Fiscal Year (FY)
2020 were suspended due to the international
pandemic. Like many communities, the Navajo
Nation went on shelter in place status in mid-
March 2020 (via Navajo Depart of Health Public
Health Emergency No. 2020 - 001 — Limit Mass
Gatherings and Gatherings Due to COVID-19).
US EPA also halted field efforts except in cases
of urgent or emergency activities (i.e., wildfires,
hurricanes or chemical releases). This delayed
most planned community and technical meetings
as well as planned field efforts. US EPA and
NNEPA utilized the time to move forward
technical and policy documents including the
2020 - 2029 Ten-Year Plan which continues the
effort of the previous Five-Year Plans and identifies
the next steps in addressing the human health and
environmental risks associated with the legacy
of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. The
Ten-Year Plan was developed in cooperation with
multiple federal partner agencies including Bureau
of Indian Affairs, Department of Energy, Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Navajo Area Indian Health
Service, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry to incorporates goals and milestones
for achieving assessment and cleanup actions.
The document contains discrete sections that includes
objectives in the following areas:
• Contaminated Structures
• Water
• Drinking Water
• Tuba City Dump Site
• Health
• Community Involvement
• Navajo Workforce Development
The Plan can be found on US EPA's NAUM website:
https://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium-
cleanup/abandoned-mines-cleanup-federal-plans
[Search terms, EPA, Tronox, Reporting]
REGION 6
Ambrosia Lake Tronox Navajo Area Uranium Mines Project Area
The Ambrosia Lake Tronox Navajo Area Uranium
Mines Project Area's focus for FY20 was sharing of
technical information and reports with the Tronox
Stakeholder Group, providing opportunities to
comment on technical documents, and developing
draft EE/CA documents to meet commitments
made to the US EPA's Office of Inspector General
(OIG). This work was done on 18 of the mines in the
Ambrosia Lake area which are grouped together into
Geographic Sub-Areas, or GSAs, to make field work
manageable. Those groupings are the East GSA (three
mines), Central GSA (eight mines), West GSA (six
mines) and Section 10. The 19th mine is Section 33
Mine and is part of the Section 32/Section 33 Mines
Site project for which Region 9 assumed the Lead role on
September 28, 2020. The 20th mine in Region 6 is the
Spencer Mine, which was reclaimed by New Mexico
Mining and Minerals Division using non-Tronox
funding from the Bureau of Land Management.
FY20 began with receiving comments from members of
the Tronox Stakeholder Group that followed the August
2019 technical workshop in Gallup, New Mexico that was
was used to discuss the Removal Site Evaluations (RSEs).
US EPA had previously agreed to develop documents that
provided the Tronox Stakeholder Group an opportunity
to review and provide comment on potential cleanup
alternatives (no remedy selected or recommended)
prior to drafting EE/CAs. These documents were
February 2022 :: 13
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titled "Alternative Analysis Memos (AAMs)" and are
informal documents that are outside of the CERCLA
and National Contingency Plan process. Region 6
completed AAMs for the East GSA, Central GSA,
West GSA, and Section 10.
The completion of each AAM was then followed by
online technical workshops to review each AAM.
These were held on July 10, 2020, for the East GSA,
October 30, 2020, for the Central GSA, September 11,
2020, for the West GSA, and July 10, 2020, for Section
10. These webinars provided an overview of the
potential disposal alternatives and answered any
immediate questions by the Tronox Stakeholder Group.
Region 6 then finalized the draft EE/CAs, taking into
account any comments that were provided during
the initial AAM review period. The draft EE/CAs
were completed on October 9, 2020, for the East GSA
and Section 10 Mine Site, and on November 9, 2020,
for the West GSA and Central GSA. These draft EE/
CAs met the commitment US EPA Region 6 had
made in the August 2018 OIG report, "EPA Needs
to Finish Prioritization and Resource Allocation
Methodologies for Abandoned Uranium Mine Sites
on or Near Navajo Lands." It is important to note the
development of these draft EE/CAs is an early first
of many steps for these documents. This will allow
US EPA to continue to receive additional comments
from the Tronox Stakeholders which Region 6 will
review and incorporate, as needed, in future
iterations of the draft EE/CAs. In addition, all EE/CAs
undergo a minimum 30 day comment period for the
public, affording individuals, communities, and other
interested parties an opportunity to comment on
EPA's proposals prior to a final decision being made.
REGION 9
Alternative Analysis Memo-Quivira
FY20 activities at the Quivira Mines included updating
the Draft EE/CAs and discussing the removal options
with Navajo Nation, community members, and other
stakeholders. US EPA participated in one community
meeting before COVID restrictions prevented in-person
meetings. Subsequent to the shelter in place, US EPA
participated in 11 conference calls with the community.
Additionally, US EPA reviewed available literature on
capping technologies and drafted a paper evaluating
the performance of evapo-transpiration covers as an
alternative for capping the mine waste.
Tronox-Northern Agency sites
The Tronox Northern Agency Project Team is
developing draft EE/CAs for all 34 sites in the
Lukachukai Mountains and Tse Tah areas. This
includes risk assessment and developing removal
alternatives development based on RSE data. The
team conducted a data gaps analysis to determine
what additional information is needed to complete EE/
CAs. To support the effort, the team made progress on
updating the regional conceptual site model (CSM),
updating the historical site assessment, and developing
efficiently implementable groupings for the EE/CAs.
The data gaps analysis work in FY2020 will assist
in the complete characterization of the mines and
inform data gaps field work, originally scheduled for
Spring 2020 until, which been delayed until Spring/
Summer 2022 at the earliest due to the pandemic.
February Cove Community Meeting
In February 2020, RPMs Chip Poalinelli and Jesse Kass
attended and presented at a Cove community
meeting, the last community meeting for the year before
stay-at-home orders limited in-person meetings.
General updates were given about the Mesa II and
Mesa V TCRAs which took place in late 2019. The
upcoming AAMs for Tronox were discussed and are
scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.
69 January 2020 MAAT meeting. Technical
discussions regarding the Tronox sites. Perry
Charley (Dine College) standing, Valinda Shirley,
Navajo EPA and Chip Poalinelli, US EPA.
14 :: FY20 Tronox Report
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Tronox and Quivira NAUM -
Workforce Development Opportunities
Cleaning up abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation creates jobs for Navajo workers and provides
opportunities for Navajo businesses. The work is project specific and usually of a short duration. Some
positions may be part-time, seasonal and/or limited to a specific project. These opportunities will increase
as cleanup work at the mines accelerates. The following provides a summary of workers that have supported
Tronox Mine Cleanup work:
I
60
_ Professional
II Service Jobs
1 Contract Specialist
1 Scientist
1 Engineer IV
1 Botanist
1 Geologist
1 Cultural Resources
Consultant
1 2nd Community Liaison
2 Security Officers
2 Sampling Technicians
4 local Cove jobs
3 Navajo language interpreters
9 Removal Site Evaluation
Sample Technicians
33 Navajo staff on
archeological teams
Navajo Workers
Supporting Tronox
Cleanup Work
Within the Past
Tenth Year
4 Construction Workers Mesa II
6 Construction Workers for
Cove Mesa V Road construction
and Mesa V Haul Shaft
15 Construction Workers for
Quivira time-critical action
5 Construction Workers for
Quivira bridge construction
2 Community Liaisons
ft
75
Internship & Academia
2 Navajo Technical University interns
1 New Mexico State University intern
1 Eastern New Mexico University intern
3 Dine College faculty members
68 Dine College interns
February 2022 :: 15
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¥> Cove Mesa V Haul Shaft
For A/lore Information (US EPA Contacts)
US EPA Region 6
Kevin Shade
Grants Mining District Coordinator
US EPA, Region 6
Mail Code: SEDAS
1201 Elm Street, Suite 500
Dallas, Texas 75270 - 2102
(214) 665-2708
shade.kevin@epa.gov
US EPA Region 9
Jesse Kass
Tronox NAUM Coordinator
US EPA, Region 9
Mail Code: 9-SFD-6-2
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 606-8136
kass.jesse@epa.gov
B-'riJL United States
I^I^U Environmental Protection
mi M m Agency
Tronox Navajo Area Uranium IVlines February 2022
FY2020 Financial Summary
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