by Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director
In a place as relatively undisturbed as Bears Ears National Monument, you’d expect pristine lands and clean air. Unfortunately, just one mile east of the restored monument’s boundaries is an old uranium mill — the White Mesa Mill — that’s openly violating the Clean Air Act and has been for nearly two years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Clean Air Act requires discarded radioactive wastes at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill either to meet a numeric limit for emissions of radon, a cancer-causing gas, or to be completely submerged in liquid because liquid acts as a barrier to radon emissions.
According to the EPA, since at least June 2020, the mill has been violating the Clean Air Act by leaving radioactive materials in one of its waste pits (known as a “non-conventional impoundment”) exposed to the open air rather than covered by liquid.
The violation falls under the Clean Air Act’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, specifically the National Emission Standards for Radon Emissions From Operating Mill Tailings. The standards state that “…the liquid level in the impoundment shall be maintained so that solid materials in the impoundment are not visible above the liquid surface.”
If solids are visible, the standards allow seven days to correct the situation, unless the EPA says otherwise. According to Energy Fuels’ own monitoring, this condition has persisted for almost two years now as of this writing, but without EPA’s blessing.
According to the EPA, Energy Fuels did not self-report this violation as required by law. In August 2021, employees of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe who flew over the mill with the nonprofit EcoFlight spotted the problem. Noticing the lack of liquid, they reported it to the state of Utah and the EPA. By October 27, 2021, Utah’s Department of Air Quality had let Energy Fuels know the company was potentially violating the law.
In December 2021, the EPA barred the mill from accepting radioactive waste from Superfund sites (America’s most polluted places), in particular waste from the Midnite Mine on the Spokane Nation in Washington.
Then, on April 4, 2022, a Ute Mountain Ute Tribal member and a tribal employee flew over the mill again with EcoFlight. This time there was even less water in the waste pit than before. So what gives?
These images, taken August 4, 2021 and April 4, 2022 (left to right) show falling liquid levels covering one of the mill's waste pits. LEFT: BRUCE GORDON, ECOFLIGHT. RIGHT: TIM PETERSON, FLOWN BY ECOFLIGHTInstead of complying with the Clean Air Act’s regulations by filling the waste pit with liquid, Energy Fuels contested the EPA’s action halting Superfund waste processing and disposal at the mill.
The company argued that the solids clearly visible on the bottom of the waste pit were not solids, but “evaporite crystals” that it was okay to leave exposed, according to the company’s interpretation of regulatory language. Not so, said the EPA in a March 3, 2022 memo replying to the company’s arguments.
The EPA clarified that only evaporite crystals on the steeply sloped sides of the pond could remain exposed to the open air, saying that “Solid byproduct material that is present on the more extensive bottom of the impoundment is ‘solid material’ subject to… [Clean Air Act regulations] that must be kept covered such that it is not visible above the liquid level.”
In December 2021, the EPA estimated that the uncovered portion of the waste pit was emitting 10 times more radon (a radioactive gas that can cause cancer) than the covered portion.
Although the EPA clarified for Energy Fuels in March 2022 that the company was still violating the law, in April 2022, an Energy Fuels executive still told the Cortez Journal that “the EPA gave approval to expose material in the pond because it does not emit much radon.”
The EPA’s March 2022 memo clearly states that the Clean Air Act requires Energy Fuels to cover the waste pit in liquid.
As to how much radon is emitted, the EPA clarified that “…there is no de minimis level of radon emanation below which it becomes unnecessary to apply a liquid cover over solid materials in a non-conventional impoundment.”
At the same time that Energy Fuels was allowing this Clean Air Act violation to grow worse by the day, in an open house for investors and journalists last September, the company’s CEO said, “We’re rebranding San Juan County as the green energy, clean energy hub of Utah, and maybe the world.” Invitees were not shown the mill’s waste pits that day.
The EPA closed its March 2022 memo by reaffirming “…its decision not to allow the facility to accept [Superfund] waste until the facility, which is operated by Energy Fuels, returns to physical compliance with the requirements of… [the Clean Air Act].”
Energy Fuels’ CEO has also claimed that the mill has an “impeccable environmental record,” despite more than 80 water and radiation violations since 1999. If the mill can’t store Superfund waste lawfully, should it really be continuing to process and discard other radioactive wastes?
It's unfortunate that the mill seems to be more focused on rebranding than on complying with the law and protecting human health and the environment. The communities surrounding the mill deserve better.
Act now. Urge decision-makers to protect the Bears Ears cultural landscape from radioactive waste.
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