The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the cleanup of uranium mine waste in the Lukachukai Mountains near Four Corners on the Navajo Nation.
The $13 million effort is part of a Superfund site in Cove, Ariz., at the Mesa V complex that includes three former mines.
“Removing mine waste at this Superfund site is a significant milestone in EPA’s work to clean up uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Region Superfund Director Michael Montgomery. “This action follows the cleanup completed earlier this fall at the nearby Cove Transfer Stations and shows EPA’s continued commitment to protecting human health and the environment of the Navajo people.”
In all, more than 30 abandoned uranium mines are located in the Cove community. They were operated between the 1940s and 1980s by the Kerr-McGee Corporation and were part of a $1 billion legal settlement in 2014 to investigate and clean up about 50 abandoned mines in the broader area.
Arrowhead Contracting, which is owned by the Southern Ute Tribe, will lead the cleanup of 13,000 cubic yards of mine waste at the Mesa V site under EPA oversight. The area near Cove is culturally significant to residents and is used for livestock grazing, recreation and hunting.
EPA officials say without the cleanup effort the uranium waste would continue to erode into drainages and wash downstream into the Cove watershed.
According to the agency, it will construct an on-site repository for the mine waste. Officials say the structure will safely contain the rock and include what they call an “evapotranspiration cap” to permanently cover it and keep out rainwater.
Contractors will eventually restore the area with native vegetation, and the EPA says the project will take a year to complete.
There are more than 500 known abandoned uranium mines on and near the Navajo Nation that for decades have been linked to cancer and other grave health problems within local communities.
