Navajo Nation: Shiprock, New Mexico, UMTRCA Disposal Site

Welcome to the Shiprock New Mexico Disposal Site. I am Joni Tauboul, the site manager. I just introduced myself in the Navajo tradition using the Navajo language. I shared my kinship and clan by naming my mother's clan, father's clan, and maternal and paternal grandfather's clan. I'm excited to have you here with me today to share some brief history about the site and a few of my favorite features. From 1954 to 1968, the Vanadium Corporation of America operated a uranium mill near Shiprock. This mill played a role in the nation's early nuclear programs, but like many industrial sites of that era, it left behind an environmental challenge, uranium mill tailings. Recognizing the critical need to address this challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy, in collaboration with the Navajo Nation, began a monumental remediation effort. Between 1984 and 1986, over 1.5 million cubic yards of contaminated materials were safely excavated from the old mill site. They were then carefully transported and enclosed in a specially engineered disposal cell, built on a higher mesa, away from the river and community. The Shiprock Disposal Site was the second Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, or UMTRCA, site to transition to LM's long-term care. Fast forward to today, the community of Shiprock is one of the largest communities on the Navajo Nation and housing and businesses are now surrounding the site. LM recognized that it needed to build a closer partnership with the Navajo Nation and embarked on a 20-plus year programmatic agreement with the Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands Department. Their staff works alongside us on project planning, document reviews, field work, and outreach to community members. Now that you have the business side of our operations, I want to share some unique features of the site and the work that we do. The Shiprock community is rich in heritage and culture. While LM's mission is to safeguard human health and the environment, I feel fortunate to work in an environment that also is inclusive of applications of tribal ecological knowledge and preservation of local traditional knowledge. LM has studied the ecology of the area and planted the site with seeds from indigenous plants that are used in cultural ceremonies. We have some exciting projects happening at the Shiprock Disposal Site. We recently installed a new, highly effective reverse osmosis water treatment unit on site to treat contaminated groundwater to meet or exceed federal and Navajo Nation water quality standards. This new treatment system returns clean water to the San Juan River instead of losing that water to evaporation. We worked with multiple tribal and federal agencies to approve the project before it was installed, and community members supported this project through several public meetings. Next, we will stabilize the existing pond along with its contents so that we can safely plan for the future. Planning and carrying out these projects will require the continued collaboration of tribal and federal partners, as well as the community of Shiprock. Thank you for being with us today. We hope you can visit Shiprock, New Mexico and experience the beautiful culture of the Navajo people soon. For more information about LM's work, you can use the QR code to take you directly to the LM website, Shiprock page. The Shiprock Disposal Site stands as a testament to our collective responsibility to address the environmental legacy of the past. It is a symbol of successful environmental remediation, demonstrating how dedicated engineering, scientific monitoring, and community partnership can safeguard our natural resources and protect public health for generations to come.