The billion-dollar cleanup at the old Atlas uranium mill site marked the halfway point a few months ago. But this week a possible slowdown became a certainty.
Moab leaders were unable to stop a slowdown at the uranium-tailings cleanup outside the entrance to Arches National Park, and 31 cleanup workers lost their jobs on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Energywants to shift resources toward refurbishing containers that have already hauled 8 million tons of uranium waste from the Colorado River’s edge. And they want to build more capacity at the Crescent Junction disposal site 30 miles away. In addition, DOE budget adjustments mean less money for the cleanup.
“We’re pretty frustrated and upset because a small town like Moab, 30 jobs is huge,“ says Grand County Councilwoman Mary McGann.
The council’s asked state and Washington lawmakers for help. Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz is urging Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to reconsider the cuts.
But appeals like these failed to avert layoffs for 31 of the 112 cleanup workers. And weekly disposal shipments to Crescent Junction have been reduced from four to two. Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, wants to make sure the cleanup doesn’t drag on.
“If it’s a good idea to move all that stuff, which I’m satisfied it is, then the sooner we move it, the better off the world will be,” he says.
Both McIff and McGann hope the Energy Department will agree that protecting the Colorado River from the tailings should be a priority, and they’re hoping that the slowdown won’t mean that completing the cleanup is extended by decades.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department announced last week that it has awarded a $154 million contract to Idaho-based Portage Inc. to continue the project.
4/28 And, to update this story, Congressman Chaffetz has sent a followup letter to the DOE asking for reconsideration of a 10 percent funding reduction for the Moab project that’s included in President Obama’s budget for next year.
