MOAB, Utah – Crews achieved an EM 2023 priority at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project last week by successfully relocating another 1 million tons of uranium mill tailings away from the Colorado River, bringing the cumulative total to 14 million tons permanently disposed.

The mill tailings were shipped by rail from Moab, Utah, to an engineered disposal facility in Crescent Junction, Utah. Removing and shipping the mill tailings from Moab is a priority for EM’s cleanup this year and its 10-year Strategic Vision.

“Every year the Moab UMTRA team works through numerous challenges to advance EM’s cleanup and closure mission at Moab. This year is no different,” Acting Federal Cleanup Director Matthew Udovitsch said. “Reaching 14 million tons put us another step closer to executing EM’s mission at Moab.”

Expressing pride, Udovitsch thanked the Moab Project’s dedicated team, the Moab community, agency partners and project stakeholders for helping EM reach the milestone ahead of schedule.

“It is exciting to see years of community and project work get so close to completion,” he said.

The Moab Project, which began in 2009, is charged with moving an estimated 16 million tons of contaminated soil and debris to an engineered disposal cell in Crescent Junction, 30 miles north of the Moab site. The material resulted from legacy uranium milling operations.

As the Moab Project nears completion, local, state and federal stakeholders are planning for the site’s future after remediation is complete.

-Contributor: Barbara Michel