General Electric and United Nuclear Agree to Consent Decree for Cleanup of Uranium Mine Waste
The cleanup is expected to cost nearly $63 million and take more than a decade to complete
- GE and United Nuclear consent decree mandates a $63 million cleanup of uranium mine waste in New Mexico and Navajo Nation.
- The companies will excavate waste from the Northeast Church Rock Mine Superfund Site and move it to the UNC Mill Site.
- The cleanup, expected to take over a decade, follows two decades of coordination between multiple agencies and stakeholders.
General Electric GE 0.07%increase; green up pointing triangle and United Nuclear have agreed to a U.S. consent decree requiring an estimated $63 million cleanup of uranium mine waste at sites in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.
The Justice Department said Monday the agreement requires the two companies to excavate and remove approximately one million cubic yards of uranium mine waste from the Northeast Church Rock Mine Superfund Site, located on the Navajo Nation.
The companies will transfer the waste to the UNC Mill Site, a federally licensed disposal facility located adjacent to Navajo Nation, the DOJ said.
The cleanup is expected to cost nearly $63 million and take more than a decade to complete, the DOJ said.
The agreement comes after two decades of coordination between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Interior Department, state and tribal stakeholders, and UNC and GE.
The Northeast Church Rock Mine operated from 1967-82 and was the principal source of uranium ore for the UNC Mill.
The EPA has required several shorter-term cleanups at the site, but it continues to pose a risk of releasing hazardous substances to the air and surrounding soils, sediments, surface water and groundwater, the DOJ said.