Lance N. Larson penned this CRS report (22 February 2021): 'Long-Term Federal Management of Uranium Mill Tailings: Background and Issues for Congress' .
Download CRS_Report_Long_Term_Mgmt_U_Mill_Tailings_22Feb2021
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Overview
In the wake of increasing concerns in the 1970s about human health and environmental risks posed by inactive uranium mill tailings, Congress enacted the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). Uranium milling operations generate uranium concentrate, also known as yellowcake uranium, and waste material, called tailings, which can harbor and liberate radioactive and nonradioactive constituents.
Title I of UMTRCA authorized a remedial action program for uranium mill tailings sites that were inactive prior to 1978, which produced uranium concentrate under federal procurement contracts primarily for nuclear weapons and other defense purposes. Title II of UMTRCA authorized the regulation of uranium mills and tailings sites that were operating on or after the law’s enactment, which largely produced uranium concentrate for civilian nuclear power plants. UMTRCA does not provide regulatory authority over uranium mining (the physical removal of uranium ore from the earth), waste material produced from uranium mining, or remediation of inactive uranium mine sites. The Department of Energy (DOE) is the federal agency responsible for implementing the remedial action program and administering long-term federal management of the tailings.
The site remediation costs have exceeded costs originally envisioned by Congress, the agencies, and the licensees due to an evolving understanding of the complexities and risks posed by unintended releases of contaminants from uranium mill tailings. As part of the remediation action, the uranium mill tailings are enclosed in engineered repositories, located at disposal sites, which are designed to prevent unintended release of potentially hazardous constituents for hundreds of years. DOE’s authority to perform surface remediation at Title I sites expired on September 30, 1998. Groundwater contamination has compounded the technical complexity and timeline of remedial actions at certain sites. Congress amended UMTRCA in 1988 to authorize DOE to perform groundwater remediation without expiration under the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Amendments Act (UMTRA).
UMTRCA requires the transfer of both Title I and Title II disposal sites to long-term federal management. As of FY2020, the Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) administers long-term federal management at 31 Title I sites, excluding the site at Moab, UT. Title II sites are regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or an NRC agreement state and transferred to DOE-LM for long-term federal management when NRC, or the state, determines that applicable standards have been met. As of FY2020, 6 of 29 Title II sites have transferred to DOE-LM, and 23 Title II sites remain privately owned under an NRC or an agreement state license. DOE-LM expects to take long-term management responsibilities of the 23 remaining Title II sites by 2048.
Under UMTRCA, Congress established that the federal government pay for long-term monitoring and maintenance costs at Title I sites, subject to annual appropriations to DOE-LM. For Title II sites, Congress intended that the licensee would pay for any long-term management costs with a one-time long-term surveillance charge (LTSC). In the event that the LTSCs are not sufficient to cover annual monitoring and maintenance costs, DOE-LM would be responsible to carry out long-term management responsibilities, subject to availability of annual appropriations.
The long-term management efforts to stabilize tailings and monitor groundwater have proven more challenging, and expensive, than originally expected. The federal government will be responsible for long-term management of all UMTRCA sites once transferred to DOE-LM. Potential oversight issues for Congress may include understanding the decommissioning and transfer status of the remaining Title II sites, the adequacy of funding to complete decommissioning at certain sites if the licensee is unable to fulfill its obligations, and the adequacy of LTSCs to meet future management needs.
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