WASHINGTON -- A watchdog group says government regulators sold the environment down the river by kowtowing to Atlas Corp.'s plan not to move radioactive uranium mill waste away from the Colorado River near Moab.
And two California congressmen said Tuesday that leaving the terraced mountain of mill tailings may poison for the next 270 years the river that provides water for 7 percent of the U.S. population, including Southern California -- unless Congress acts.The Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a private watchdog group, issued a report Tuesday saying government documents show the Nuclear Regulatory Commission went along with Atlas' plans that it knows gives inadequate environmental protection.
"The NRC has been acquiescing to the Atlas Corp.'s efforts to limit the Moab site cleanup expense," it said.
Atlas has proposed covering with sand and rock the 10.5 mil- lion tons of uranium mill wastes -- located just 750 feet from the Colorado River -- to help prevent water from penetrating the waste and causing it to leach into the river. A final environmental impact statement by the NRC earlier this month supported that plan.
However, POGO said the Oak Ridge National Laboratory reported in 1998 that even if Atlas' plan is implemented, radioactive waste and other toxics will continue to seep into the Colorado River for the next 270 years at a rate of 9,468 gallons of contaminated water a day.
The report noted that Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service all prefer moving the waste away from the river. But moving the tailings is far more expensive.
"The NRC should deny Atlas' plan because it does not meet the environmental standards set forth by federal law," the report said.
However, the NRC said its hands are tied.
Myron Fliegel, NRC project manager for the Atlas reclamation, told the Associated Press that the NRC cannot legally demand that Atlas relocate the pile.
"If a licensee proposes to do something and it meets our safety requirements and is environmentally acceptable, even if it's not the best environmental solution, we have to grant that license," Fliegel said.
That isn't good enough for Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., who said in a House speech Tuesday that not moving the tailings could poison the water downstream for centuries for 25 million people.
"The Colorado River, flowing south past the (Atlas) site, provides water for 7 percent of the U.S. population, including Las Vegas, Arizona and the Southern California urban areas of Los Angeles and the city I represent, San Diego," he said.
"I pledge to continue to fight to move the pile," he added.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., has introduced a bill with Filner and several other California members of Congress to transfer responsibility for the Moab tailings to the Energy Department and require it to move them away from the river.
"In every similar case under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy, uranium tailings have been moved away from riverbeds to lined and protected areas," Miller said in a written statement.
The attorney general could determine how much Atlas, which is in bankruptcy, could reimburse the government, he said, adding that the estimated cost of moving the tailings is $114 million to $137 million.
"Leaving a huge, leaking tailings pile adjacent to the Colorado River does not make sense," Miller said in a written statement. "In the event of flood, the Colorado River could easily be contaminated. Sadly, the NRC seems determined to perpetuate rather than resolve this dangerous situation."