Haystack #1 Abandoned Uranium Mine

Background

In 1952, Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company formed the Haystack Mountain Development Company which began exploration and mining of uranium deposits in and around Haystack Butte. Mining operations continued episodically until 1965. In 1987 the Haystack Mountain Development Company merged into the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.

In 1996 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company merged with Burlington Northern Railroad Company. In 2005 the merged companies became known as BNSF Railway Company.

Cleanup Progress

A removal assessment conducted by EPA in 2014 determined that legacy uranium mining contamination remained in areas in and around residential structures. This contamination was determined to pose a risk to human health.

In 2017 BNSF signed an EPA Administrative Order on Consent to complete a Time Critical Removal Action to mitigate this identified uranium contamination.

In 2019, BNSF completed a Biological Evaluation and a Cultural Resource Survey.

Documents

• Temporary Consolidation Waste Pile Regrade Report: Haystack Mine Site, McKinley County, NM (pdf) (1.3 MB, January 17, 2023)
  This report documents the cover repair work completed at the former Haystack Mines Site in McKinley County, New Mexico in accordance with the
  Haystack Mines Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Removal Action.
• Site Removal Completion Report and Final Report: Haystack Mine Site, McKinley County, NM (pdf) (67.49 MB, January 17, 2023)
  The objective of the Haystack Mines Site Removal Completion Report and Final Report is to provide to EPA a “Removal Completion Report” and “Final Report”, including estimated costs for the project, and to document the work performed by BNSF.
• Biological Evaluation Results: Haystack Mine Site, McKinley County, NM (pdf) (1006.78 KB, July 27, 2017)
  This document lists threatened and endangered species that have been documented in the Haystack No. 1 Abandoned Uranium Mine (AUM) project area, McKinley County, New Mexico.
• Removal Assessment Report: Haystack Mine Site, McKinley County, NM (pdf) (7.16 MB, June 3, 2015)
  This report documents the results of field assessment actions conducted in August 2014 to characterize site conditions and to determine whether previously detected elevated gamma activity at the site pose an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or the environment.