Stimulus is speeding tailings removal

A new report by the Department of Energy on the Moab tailings project says an average of 12,000 tons of contaminated dirt are being shipped to a nearby disposal site each week and by late June, more than 100,000 tons have been removed.

Federal stimulus money and an extra allocation from the Omnibus Appropriation Act infused an additional $118 million to the project to accelerate the timeline of the cleanup.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said the funding boost is critical, given the severity of contamination at the former Atlas mine northwest of Moab.

"The danger posed by this unstable site is clear," he said. "It is a risk not only to Moab but to millions of downstream water users. It's important that this threat is removed as quickly as possible."

The 439-acre site — of which 130 acres is covered with tailings — sits on the west bank of the Colorado River at its confluence with Moab Wash. Since 2003, remedial work at the site has captured and prevented 137 million gallons of contaminated groundwater from reaching the Colorado River, the report noted.

Actual excavation of the 16 million tons of uranium tailings began in February and rail shipments to the Crescent Junction disposal site began in late April via 88 containers.

Matheson's amendment to a 2007 defense bill established a deadline of 2019 for the project, in addition to the annual progress report on the work accomplished.

Matheson said ultimately, the extra funding should increase the tailings shipments from 12,000 tons per week to 21,000 tons per week through September 2011.

The report, as an example, shows that the funding went from nearly $24 million in fiscal 2008, contrasted to fiscal 2009 spending of $148 million.

By the completion of the project, it is estimated anywhere from $844 million to nearly $1.1 billion will have been spent for cleanup.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com