Our responsibilities include long-term stewardship of 101 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico. However, we have a variety of programs related to the country’s nuclear defense and energy legacy, ranging from oversight of the administration and management of legacy contractor benefits to assessing the condition of 2,500 defense-related uranium mines on federal public land. Use the links below to explore LM’s diverse programs.

AS&T plays a critical role in the LM mission to fulfill its post-closure responsibilities and to ensure the future protection of human health and the environment. The overriding goal of AS&T is to incorporate advances in science and technology to improve LM capabilities toward fulfilling its mission.

Applied Studies and Technology (AS&T)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) Aviation Program supports LM’s long-term stewardship mission to protect human health and the environment at sites across the Nation. The Aviation Program’s purpose is  to ensure the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of its aviation operations. DOE, LM, and the Legacy Management Strategic Partners and its contractors execute and oversee aerial surveys, using manned aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at disposal sites across the United States. LM also charters flights to transport field personnel to remote sites in Alaska.

Aviation Program

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Defense-Related Uranium Mines (DRUM) Program is a partnership between DOE, federal land management agencies, and state abandoned mine lands (AML) programs to verify and validate the condition of 2,500 defense-related uranium mines on federal public land by the year 2022. The program builds on DOE’s DRUM Report to Congress effort, which found that 4,225 purchase records exist across the nation. These mines provided uranium ore to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for defense-related activities that occurred between 1947 and 1970 and most are abandoned.

Defense-Related Uranium Mines Program

Our Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality programs protect our workers, the public, and the environment and integrate quality into the daily operations of our programs and projects.

Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q)

DOE established the ESL in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1991 to support its programs. ESL scientists perform applied research and laboratory-scale demonstrations of soil and groundwater remediation and treatment technologies.

Environmental Sciences Laboratory (ESL)

LM currently manages sites with diverse regulatory drivers or as part of internal DOE or congressionally recognized programs.

Legacy Site Programmatic Framework

The Legacy Management Post-Closure Benefits (PCB) Program includes the development, implementation, and oversight of the Department’s policy concerning the continuation of contractor pension and medical benefits after the closure of applicable DOE sites/facilities. This includes oversight of the administration and management of legacy contractor benefits in a fiscally responsible and effective manner. The primary program objective is to ensure a seamless transition of benefits administration after closure. This program is handled by the Office of Business Operations within Legacy Management.

Post-Closure Benefits

LM is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education with exciting programs, hands-on tools, and expertly prepared resources to enhance education of LM sites — past, present, and future! STEM with LM brings to life the awe-inspiring and world-changing advancements and events of the nuclear age, cleanup, and ecological transformations of over 100 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico.

STEM with LM

LM currently manages the Uranium Leasing Program and continues to administer 31 lease tracts, all located within the Uravan Mineral Belt in southwestern Colorado. Twenty-nine of these lease tracts are actively held under lease and two tracts have been placed in inactive status indefinitely. Administrative duties include ongoing monitoring and oversight of leaseholders’ activities and annual inspections to identify and correct safety hazards or environmental compliance issues.

Uranium Leasing Program