First abandoned uranium mine cleanups have begun under New Mexico initiative

New Mexico's Environment Department plans to finish cleaning up at least one abandoned uranium mine by next summer, and has begun site evaluations at 15 uranium mine and mill sites in the northwest corner of the state.

"This initiative is about taking concrete steps to finally address the unfinished business of abandoned uranium mine cleanup," Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement.

The agency is developing a new process for remediating long-neglected uranium mines and mills that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn't plan to address, and has started cleanups on five mine sites. Those sites are the Schmitt Decline Mine, Moe No. 4, Red Bluff No. 1, Roundy Shaft and Roundy Mano Strip — all in McKinley County north of Milan. Three of the sites are on state trust land. The Roundy Shaft and Roundy Mano Strip mines are adjacent and sometimes considered one site. 

NMED is on track to finish cleaning up one of the smaller abandoned mines by the end of the fiscal year in June 2026, said Miori Harms, NMED's uranium mine reclamation coordinator. The sites were picked based on their proximity to homes, physical hazards and readiness for cleanup partnership. The Moe No. 4 Mine also drains into the San Mateo Creek, which could potentially have indirect human impacts, Harms said.

Evaluations have begun at additional sites to prepare for future cleanups. 

NMED has contracted six companies to perform uranium mine clean up work in the Grants Mining District. Three of those companies have begun work on the abandoned mines, including EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc., Intera and Entact LLC.

These are the first cleanups under a state initiative to address long abandoned uranium mines. A 2022 state Legislature bill required NMED to hire a uranium mine reclamation coordinator to lead the charge on abandoned uranium mine cleanup. Earlier this year, the Legislature approved $20 million to investigate and remediate neglected contaminated sites. Of that funding, NMED is using $12 million to begin cleanups at the five mine sites.

Northern New Mexico is rich in uranium, a naturally occurring radioactive element that is used in nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. It's also a heavy metal and can have negative health effects like kidney disease if high levels are ingested or breathed in.

The Grants Mining District was a major part of U.S. uranium production from the 1950s until the 1980s, according to an EPA report on the legacy of abandoned mines. During those three decades, the district yielded more uranium than any other mining district in the country, according to a New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources fact page.

The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department has identified 260 abandoned uranium mine sites throughout the state, according to NMED's 2023 Abandoned Uranium Mines Data Gap Analysis. At least half of those sites have had no known cleanup, and more of them have only partial or in-progress cleanups.

Often, the company that would be responsible for the abandoned mine doesn't exist any more or can"t be found, according to the analysis.

"As a result, many potentially hazardous (abandoned uranium mines) remain a threat to humans and the environment," the analysis reads.

The goal of cleaning up an abandoned uranium mine is to limit human exposure to uranium and ensure the uranium does not impact groundwater, which often means burying the material or moving it to another location for disposal, according to Harms. How difficult clean up is or how long it takes can vary widely depending on the mine.

"They're like snowflakes," Harms said. "They have their own needs and requirements."

NMED has started on-site surveys, environmental sampling and community engagement at the five mine sites. Typically, completing survey work, community engagement and cultural resource, radiation and biological surveys for an abandoned mine site would take two years, Harms said.

"For the sites that we've chosen this year to really focus on, it's not representative of what would normally happen," Harms said. "We've really been pushing hard to get all of this work completed in record time."

Harms hopes to demonstrate the program can be successful, so it can secure long-term funding.

"We're hoping that we can show the public that we are going to do the right thing. … I'm hoping that when they see everything we've completed, that they're willing to fund us for more years to get more work done," Harms said.