Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House unanimously backs resolution asking DOE for funds to finish Moab uranium tailings cleanup
Summary
House passes SCR 3 (69–0), asking the U.S. Department of Energy to increase funding by $45 million annually to complete removal and disposal of remaining uranium mill tailings near Moab by 2025; sponsor cited downstream risks to the Colorado River and a current pile reduced from 16 million to 8 million tons.
The Utah House passed SCR 3, a concurrent resolution requesting that the United States Department of Energy allocate additional funding to complete the Moab uranium mill tailings remedial action project by 2025.
Representative Watkins, sponsor of the resolution, told members the project began in 2009 to remove 16,000,000 tons of tailings and that the pile has been reduced to roughly 8,000,000 tons. He said the tailings sit near the Colorado River and that the loss of an original seal left the pile vulnerable to wind and rain, creating downstream concerns for Arizona, California and Nevada. The resolution asks Congress and DOE to provide $45,000,000 annually to ensure safe transport of the material to the Crescent Junction disposal cell by 2025.
The sponsor argued that without increased funding the project could take many more years and cost taxpayers an estimated $250,000,000 more than if completed by 2025. After brief discussion and a summation from the sponsor, voting concluded with SCR 3 receiving 69 yes votes, 0 no votes. The measure was signed by the Speaker and returned to the Senate for its president's signature.
No formal appropriation was made by the House in this action; the resolution is a formal request to the federal Department of Energy.
