Commission accepts annual compliance statement for Moab uranium mill tailings remediation project

The Grand County Commission voted to accept the annual statement of continued compliance submitted by the Department of Energy for the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action project. The vote to accept the report was unanimous (motion by Commissioner McGahn; second Commissioner Martinez).

Matt Madovich (federal cleanup director for the project) told commissioners the project had shipped roughly 1,046,344 tons of tailings and debris to a disposal site at Crescent Junction during the report year and that total removed from the pile had reached about 15.8 million of an estimated 16 million tons. He said the project was currently ahead of schedule on rail shipments and was on track to remove contaminated material — including subpile and off‑pile contamination — possibly by mid‑2027, subject to regulatory concurrence on some engineering changes.

Madovich also reported groundwater remediation metrics: during the reporting period the project’s interim groundwater system removed roughly 10,000 pounds of ammonia and about 97 pounds of uranium, and the program had passed 1,000,000 pounds of ammonia removed cumulatively since the interim action began. He summarized site environmental monitoring and said DOE’s public dose limits were not exceeded; worker dose monitoring remained well below administrative control levels.

Commissioners praised the project team and noted the role of congressional assistance in securing funding and accelerating work. The commission accepted the annual statement with no dissent and asked for continued transparency and steering‑committee reporting.

Ending: The commission’s acceptance of the annual statement does not change any regulatory authority but documents county oversight and receipt of the annual compliance materials from DOE; staff and the project team will continue to present updates to the steering committee and county commission.