Tuba City, Arizona (UMTRA Site)

 Home
 BEMR Contents
 U.S. Map

The Tuba City site is located nine kilometers (5.5 miles) east of Tuba City in Coconino County, Arizona and 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of Flagstaff. It consisted of about 42 hectares (105 acres), of which 9 hectares (22 acres) were covered by the tailings pile. Eighteen hectares (44 acres) were former evaporation ponds, and the remaining acres were a result of wind-blown contamination. The Tuba City site is on Navajo Nation lands; however, an appeal over this jurisdiction has been filed by the Hopi Tribe.

LOCALITY MAP

Estimated Site Total

(Thousands of Current Year Dollars)
	FY 1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Environmental Restoration	1,219	689	1,273	3,180	3,862	Grey shaded area reflects annual cost estimates for the first five years of the site BEMR Base Case (as of October 1995) and includes 3% annual inflation, see Reader's Guide.
1996 Appropriation	5,514			These levels reflect the current estimates for compliance with applicable statutes and agreements (as of March 1996), see Reader's Guide.
1997 Congressional Request		3,733
(Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996 Dollars)
	FY 1996-2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025	2030	Life Cycle*
Environmental Restoration	1,886	7,785	8,741	1,434				99,232
* Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in constant FY 1996 dollars.

FACILITY MISSION

The mission of the Tuba City mill site was to provide uranium for the United States Government. The source of contamination was the residual tailings remaining after the uranium was extracted during the milling process. Rare Metals Corporation of America built the Tuba City Mill in 1955-1956. The Rare Metals Corporation merged with the El Paso Natural Gas Company in 1962 and operated the mill until 1966.

SITE MAP

The Environmental Management program is responsible for cleaning up surface and ground-water contamination at the UMTRA sites. The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act designated the residual radioactive material found at this site for cleanup and stabilization. The Act directed the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate standards (Code of Federal Regulations Title 40, Part 192) and the Department of Energy to perform the cleanup. It also assigned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to oversee and certify the cleanup and license the completed disposal cell.

The former processing site is currently under Navajo Nation jurisdiction although the Hopi Tribe has filed an appeal in the courts. A custodial access agreement between the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the Department of Energy is required to ensure that the Department of Energy can access the former processing site during the construction and monitoring phases. Pursuant to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, the Department of Energy entered into a Cooperative Agreement in 1985 with the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe. The agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of each party. The Department of Energy pays 100 percent of all costs (assessment and remediation) when the UMTRA site is on Tribal lands. In addition, the Department of Energy is responsible for paying 100 percent of the Tribe's costs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission concurred on the original agreement and must concur on all major modifications.

FUTURE USE

The long-term surveillance of the disposal cell will remain the responsibility of the Federal Government through a Custodial Access Agreement between the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and the Department of Energy. Provisions of the Custodial Access Agreement will include restriction of public access and posting of appropriate warning signs. Future use of the area beyond the disposal site boundary will likely be Agricultural.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

Surface remedial action is complete, and the source of contamination has been stabilized. However, residual milling-related contaminated ground water remains.

Surface Project

The remedial action at the Tuba City site was conducted in two phases. Phase I, which consisted of demolition of buildings and site preparation activities, was completed in 1986. In phase II, the tailings and contaminated materials on and near the former processing site were combined and compacted into an onsite disposal cell. A radon barrier and rock erosion protection layer was constructed to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards for longevity, control of radon emanation, and ground-water protection. Phase II was completed in May 1990. Approximately 1,239,180 million cubic meters (1,630,500 cubic yards) of residual radioactive materials were remediated. One vicinity property was remediated concurrently with site remediation activities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to certify the site in April 1996, with licensing expected late in 1996.

Major Surface Project Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION Fiscal Year
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issues General License	1996
Transfer to Grand Junction Projects Office Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program	1997

The Tuba City Remedial Action Plan outlines the contaminant description and required remediation. The Remedial Action Plan, which requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission concurrence, was published in August 1989. Between completing site remedial action and transferring the licensed site's surveillance activities to the Grand Junction Projects Office's Long-term Surveillance and Maintenance program in 1997, annual site inspections and custodial aintenance are being conducted under the UMTRA Surface Project's Pre-licensing Custodial Care activities, with the prime objective of maintaining cell integrity.

Ground-Water Compliance Project

The Department is developing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement pertaining to all 24 UMTRA sites. For a discussion of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, see the UMTRA program narrative in the New Mexico section of this report. Site-specific National Environmental Policy Act documentation will be developed to propose an appropriate ground-water compliance strategy and reasonable alternatives for the Tuba City site once the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is completed.

This estimate assumes an active remediation ground-water compliance strategy that involves extracting the contaminated ground water through pumping wells and applying the ground water via land application to make beneficial use of some ground-water contaminants. The successful application of this technology must ensure the contaminated ground water does not create an additional contaminant pathway. This report also assumes that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will certify the site in 2013. For all types of ground-water compliance strategies, once the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determines the site to be in compliance with Subpart B of the Environmental Protection Agency Standards, no additional long-term surveillance or monitoring will be conducted for ground water.

During operation of the processing site, an estimated total volume of about 3 billion liters (783 million gallons) of ground water were contaminated. Data from monitoring wells was used to establish the extent and magnitude of ground-water contamination related to site activities.

The following milestone dates have been established for planning purposes.

Major Ground-Water Compliance Project Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION DATE Fiscal Year
Site Observational Work Plan	1999
Publish Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact	2000
Publish Remedial Action Plan	2002
Compliance Strategy	2003
Licensing	2013

Ground-water sampling demonstrates that ground-water quality conditions immediately downgradient of the disposal cell have a significant increase in chloride, sulfate, total dissolved solids, and uranium concentrations. The release of tailings pore fluids (transient drainage) into the aquifer caused this trend. Continued transient drainage of contaminated water from the disposal cell is expected to last for the next several years. The contamination poses no imminent threat to public health since the ground water is not used for domestic, agricultural or industrial purposes.

Direct Program Management/Support

Program management supports management efforts for the National Environmental Policy Act process, site characterization and licensing, public information/participation, applicable state and federal regulator costs, quality assurance audits, program and management support for the technical assistance contractor, special studies, document control, technical assistance contractor site and technical management, cost and schedule controls, planning and preparation of the federal budget, and the Environmental Management Progress Tracking System.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the Tuba City site.

Nondefense Funding Estimate

(Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996 Dollars)
	FY 1996-2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025	2030	Life Cycle*
Environmental Restoration	1,886	7,785	8,741	1,434				99,232
* Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in constant FY 1996 dollars.