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Addressing Uranium Contamination
in the Navajo Nation
Northeast Church Rock Mine (NECR)
Located near Gallup, New Mexico, NECR is the highest priority abandoned mine cleanup in the Navajo Nation. The mine adjoins the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) uranium mill site, a Superfund site managed jointly by EPA Region 6 and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The mine is mostly on Navajo tribal trust land, while the mill is on private fee land. At the request of the Navajo Nation, EPA is using Superfund authority to investigate and clean up the NECR mine site, in coordination with the existing adjacent Superfund site clean up.
After identifying a large volume of radium-contaminated soil, in 2007 EPA took emergency action to remove 6,500 cubic yards of soils from around four residences with the highest contamination levels. EPA spent $990,000 on the excavation, and required UNC to safely dispose of the soils at an additional cost of $1.3 million.
To address the long-term threats from the NECR Mine, EPA developed a removal plan in spring 2008. EPA developed an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA) report that proposes potential remedies for the mine site and will hold a 30-day public comment period in the spring of 2009. A remedy will then be selected out of this process for the eventual mine cleanup.
For more information about Superfund activities at this site, see North East Church Rock Mine Cleanup.