To provide for the disposal, long-term stabilization and control of uranium mill tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner, and to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public, Congress enacted the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). Under Title I of the UMTRCA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) or the pertinent State is responsible for cleanup and remediation, as well as long-term care and maintenance of Title I disposal and processing sites, under a general license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC, in turn, is required to evaluate the design and implementation established by DOE or the pertinent State and, following remediation, to concur that the site meets the standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Title 10, Section 40.27, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 40.27), "General License for Custody and Long-Term Care of Residual Radioactive Material Disposal Sites," is the governing regulation for these abandoned disposal sites. See the Title I site status summaries for additional detail.
Title II of the UMTRCA addresses uranium recovery operations, some of which have substantial quantities of tailings, at sites that are licensed by the NRC or its Agreement States. Title II amended the definition of byproduct material to include mill tailings, and added specific authorities for the NRC to regulate this new category of byproduct material at licensed sites, which include conventional uranium mills and in situ recovery (ISR) facilities. The NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) provides project management and technical review for decommissioning and reclamation of these Title II facilities, which are regulated under Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 40. Of the 20 Title II uranium recovery sites that are currently decommissioning, 5 are regulated by the NRC, and 15 are regulated by Agreement States. The following map depicts the locations of these Title II sites, while the tables below the map identify the NRC regulated and Agreement State regulated Title II sites and provide links to their descriptions, which include site status summaries, any major technical or regulatory issues, and the estimated date for closure of each site. For more information, see Uranium Mill Tailings or contact us if you have any questions or comments.
In addition to the Title II sites currently being remediated there is also one former Title II site undergoing remediation. Atlas Moab (formerly a Title II site) was designated a Title I site in 2001 in accordance with the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001. Atlas Moab is being remediated by the DOE Office of Environmental Management by moving tailings from the Atlas Moab, Utah site to the Crescent Junction, Utah site. Once remediation is complete, responsibility for long-term care and maintenance will be transferred to the DOE Office of Legacy Management. For more information about Atlas Moab, see the DOE Office of Environmental Management website.
