"We need to continue with our safety records and continue to look for efficiencies," he said. "Do it right the first time — that will be our mantra from here to the end of the project."

Metzler, who wears a smile as often as his hard hat, often ventures out into the community for lunch and to chat with the residents of Moab who have entrusted him to safely remediate the site of the former Atlas mine.

On occasion he dines at the area senior center.

"I speak to them and tell them what we're doing," Metzler said. "I ask what is on their mind, and I really enjoy doing that. Some of these seniors have kids or grandkids who work at the site. Maybe they've heard a rumor with no validity."

Of the more than two dozen tailings sites he has worked on across the country, 11 were capped in place while the rest required a disposal area, such as the Moab project.

In one of his first tests of mettle with the Moab project, the lone residents of Crescent Junction — a couple — demanded a meeting with him after they learned the waste was destined for disposal about 1,000 feet from their doorstep.

"They called me up and said, 'We want a meeting with you. It is this Saturday and you will be at our house,' " Metzler said. "My response back was, 'Yes, ma'am.' "

He drove in from Grand Junction with his family on his day off, dropped them off for a hike and drove to the house of Rodney and Lani Asay.

He was greeted by 20 people — three generations of the family — and sandwiches and iced tea.

Metzler said he was told to eat first and then, "they grilled me for the next two hours with all sorts of questions. I answered every one of them."

With a goodbye gift of a sandwich, Metzler left, and "ever since that first day, they have been a great advocate of the project. They treated us fairly, and we've returned that."

It is with his characteristic candor that Metzler, 54, admits that the Moab project will be the last of his career.

He hopes that when the last remnants of the mining waste are gone, a park will rise in their place, home to walking or biking trails.

Until then, "I'm not doing anything more until this one is done. I'm sticking with it."

E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com