RESOLUTION Adopted By THE LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of the TAILINGS REMOVAL REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM of GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO June 19, 1978 BE IT RESOLVED that any legislation enacted by the Congress of the United States addressing restoration of inactive uranium mill sites, must be clear and specific to include remedial action for removal of off-site tailings deposits, however such deposits may have occurred, and to include reimbursement of any reasonable expenses previously incurred by property owners to remove such tailings. 32-331 - 78 - 13 /s/ Ed Lamm Ed Lamin STATEMENT BY JAMES L. LIVERMAN ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENT HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss H. R. 12535, the proposed "Residual Radioactive Materials Act of 1978" and H. R. 12938 and H. R. 13049. A full scale investigation of the inactive uranium mill tailings site situation began as a result of hearings held in March 1974 on bills introduced by Senator Frank Moss and Congressman Wayne Owens of Utaḥ for remedial action on the Vitro site in Salt Lake City. At these hearings both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recommended a study of all inactive uranium mill tailings sites in the Western States in order to provide the Congress with information concerning the full implications of undertaking the cleanup program. In that hearing, I proposed a two phase study. The initial or rapid survey phase was completed and a report was sent to the Congress in October 1974. It outlined the situation on each site and pointed out the site problems needing particular attention. The second phase, which was a detailed engineering assessment of 22 sites in 8 Western States, was initiated in 1975; the reports have been sent to Congress as they were completed. The final group of reports was forwarded in January 1978. On the basis of these studies, the Administration has proposed legislation to authorize a remedial action program to clean up these inactive uranium mill tailings sites and to reduce, to the extent practicable, possible public exposure to radiation from the waste residues left behind from the ore processing operations. This legislation was necessary because it has been difficult to fix legal responsibility for the tailings problem. The Federal Government and States do not appear to be legally responsible since they exerted neither operational control or regulatory jurisdiction over the tailings. The Federal Government was a mere purchaser of product from a number of privately-owned companies. Insofar as the companies that operated the mills are concerned, we have a rather mixed bag of circumstances. Some companies have acted responsibly and endeavored to establish and maintain a cover of vegetation on the tailings to stop wind and water erosion. Others have sold the properties or simply allowed the lease on the land to expire. Some of the corporations no longer exist. There were no requirements in the Government contracts for tailings stabilization and the companies were not aware of the potential health and safety risks resulting from exposure to the tailings. It, therefore, is questionable whether any companies are legally responsible. If the work is to be undertaken promptly, and we believe the circumstances justify it, then we see no practicable alternative to undertaking the remedial action as a matter of compassionate responsibility of the United States to its citizens to remedy an unforeseen situation where no other remedy under the law is apparent. In addition to the above mentioned studies, we are currently in the process of evaluating a number of additional sites at which a variety of materials from uranium and thorium ores to refined products were handled or processed. Most of these properties were released from Federal control in the period 1943 to 1970. However, once this survey is completed, the need for remedial action determined, and issues of legal responsibility settled, DOE will be in a position to determine which, if any, of these properties could be included in this legislation. The principal features of the Administration's bill are: 1. It authorizes the DOE to provide financial assistance to 9 named States, and others if they are found to have similar situations. 2. It provides that DOE will provide 75 percent of the cost of a joint Federal/State remedial action program. 3. It specifies that the need for and selection of appropriate remedial action will be determined by DOE in consultation with the States, EPA, and other appropriate parties, and submitted for review and concurrence to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 4. If the remedial action selected requires the tailings to be removed from an existing site, it requires (unless otherwise determined by the Secretary of Energy) State ownership of the tailings, the land on which they are located, and the land to which they are relocated. 5. With respect to Indian land, DOE will provide 100 percent of the costs. |