DRC-2021-018482 - 0901a06880f9b55a

'lite Mountain 'lite Tribe
Environmental Programs Department
P.O. Box 448
Towaoc, Colorado 81334-0448
[phone]
Doug Hansen
Director of Waste Management and Radiation Control
State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality
195 North 1950 West
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4880
Div of WRsir4 Monagernent and KBCIIhil011 Conti'CA
NOV 0 I 202?
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Transmitted via email
October, 28, 2021
Re: Increasing Levels of Groundwater Pollution at the White Mesa Uranium Mill
Dear Mr. Hansen,
We write again to express serious concerns over the continued degradation of the shallow groundwater
at the White Mesa Uranium Mill ("Mill") operated by Energy Fuels Resources (USA), Inc. ("EFRI") and the
regulatory response of the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control ("Division"). The Mill is
located upgradient of the White Mesa Community of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe ("Tribe").
Preservation and protection of the groundwater and seeps in and around White Mesa is a matter of
extreme concern to the Tribe and its members. The Mill overlies the deep Navajo aquifer which is the
source of drinking water for Tribe's White Mesa Community. The shallow Burro Canyon aquifer
underlies White Mesa and is connected to surface water springs which are used by Tribal members and
support native ecology and wildlife.
Numerous monitoring wells in the compliance network at the Mill reveal accelerating concentrations of
contamination exceeding groundwater contamination limits (GWCLs) specified in the Mill's groundwater
discharge permit for rare elements and other analytes found in abundance in the Mill's processes and
impoundments. Ongoing corrective actions by EFRI to address the chloroform contaminant plume and
the nitrate/chloride contaminant plume have not achieved any significant reductions in the areal extent,
concentrations, or contaminant masses of these plumes after several years of corrective action.
Rather than requiring more effective corrective action to identify and control the sources of
contamination to achieve compliance with GWCLs or requiring establishment of risk-based alternate
compliance limits, the Division has responded to the continued exceedances of the Mill's GWCLs by
repeatedly approving adjustment of background levels of contaminants and using a statistical method to
reset GWCLs to more lenient compliance levels to bring the Mill into compliance without any risk-based
assessment.

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Recent data from Point of Compliance (POC) groundwater monitoring wells MW-30 and MW-31, located
between two of the Mill's largest tailings impoundments — Cell 2 and Cell 3, illustrate the unchecked
degradation of the Burro Canyon aquifer and the ineffectiveness of the Division's regulatory response.
Nitrate, selenium and uranium are three of the most common contaminants associated with
groundwater pollution at facilities associated with uranium tailings. In our region, Uranium Mill Tailings
Radiation Control Act sites at Moab, Monticello, Tuba City, Durango, Naturita, Rifle, Slick Rock, Ambrosia
Lake, Spook, Falls City and Shiprock have all produced contaminated groundwater plumes with elevated
concentrations of Nitrate, Selenium and Uranium (DOE, 1996. DOE, 2009. DOE, 2010).
POC wells MW-30 and MW-31 were drilled in 2005 between tailings impoundments 2 and 3. In a 2010
iteration of the Mill's GWD Permit, the Division first set GWCLs for MW-30 and MW-31.
Recent data from POC well MW-30 shows elevated and increasing levels of nitrate, selenium and
uranium (EFRI, 2021). Despite the Division's repeated relaxation of GWCLs, compliance exceedances
continue unabated. The progression of relaxed GWCLs for Se and U in MW-30 and recent exceedances
are as follows:
Parameter Groundwater
Quality
Standard
20Jan2010
modified GWDP
GWCL
2012
Renewal
GWDP
GWCL
2018
Renewal
GWDP
GWCL
2021
modified
GWDP
1stQtr2021
Exceedances
2nd Qtr2021
Exceedances
Selenium 50 p.g/L 34 pg/L 34 pg/L 47.2 pg/L 53.6 ug/L 55.6, 55.3, 55.7, 58.3,
56.3 pg/L 54.1 pg/L
Uranium 30 µg/L 8.32 p.g/L 8.32 µg/L 8.32 p.g/L 9.82 pg/L 9.86, 11.6, 10.3, 10.7,
10.2pg/L 9.84 µg/L
In March of 2021, the Division relaxed the GWCL for Se in MW-30 and allowed it to exceed Utah's
health-based groundwater quality standard of 50 µg/L, contrary to groundwater protection rules stating
compliance limits shall not be raised above health-based quality standards.
The Division set the modified GWCLs based on the highest historical value of data points since October
2012, without any risk-based assessment of impacts to human health and the environment or
consideration of future beneficial uses of the aquifer.
The Mill exceeded the modified GWCLs for Se and U in MW-30 even before they became effective. The
Mill is exceeding its groundwater compliance limits faster than the Division can relax them.
Adjacent monitoring POC well MW-31 also shows rising trends of indicator parameters including
selenium, sulfate, nitrate, chloride, total dissolved solids, and uranium. In a Source Assessment Report
(SAR) dated April 29, 2021, for uranium in MW-31, EFRI proposed to increase the GWCL for U in MW-31
from 15 to 29.3 pg/L, just under the health- based Utah Groundwater Quality Standard of 30 ug/L, and
in July of 2021, the Division wrote EFRI a letter stating the uranium GWCL would be reset from 15 to
29.3 p.g/L as requested.
Prior to the latest April 29, 2021 SAR, MW-31 was the subject of four well-specific SAR's (after
submission of a sitewide 2012 SAR
SAR Date Monitoring Constituents
8/30/2013 Se
12/19/2015 Se, SO4, TDS, pH
8/20/2017 Se, SO4, TDS, U
6/24/2020 SO4, TDS
Each SAR completed at the site has concluded that the Mill is not responsible for increasing levels of
pollution and recommend that compliance limits be increased. This strategy is clearly not working from
a groundwater protection and health and safety risk assessment viewpoint.
The multiple lines of evidence EFRI and UDWMRC cite to base the assessment that the Mill is not at fault
for the rapidly increasing pollution do not stand up to scrutiny.
During the groundwater discharge permit renewal process, the Tribe commented that the pumping
wells associated with the corrective action plans for the chloroform and nitrate plumes may be drawing
groundwater pollution from the tailings cell region to the east side of the site where there is a gap in the
POC well network and a risk of not detecting groundwater pollution from the Mill facilities.
We requested that chloroform monitoring well TW4-24, located in that area, be tested for the full suite
of 38 indicator parameters listed in the groundwater discharge permit for the POC wells. The Division
concurred and mandated testing of TW4-24. Results from this sampling revealed uranium
concentrations in TW-24 close to a milligram per liter (776 ug/L, 04/08/2020) - approximately 25 times
the ground water quality standard of 30 ug/L. TW4-24 also shows high levels of selenium, nitrate,
chloride and other indicator parameters, indicating it is likely part of the same contaminant plume
affecting MW-30 and MW-31 and to an unknown extent, the eastern portion of the Mill site.
The Division's regulatory approach of resetting background and using a statistical approach of relaxing
GWCLs to avoid noncompliance and corrective action, is clearly inconsistent with the letter and intent of
the Utah Groundwater Protection Program, because it fails to ensure, or even take into consideration
whether groundwater protection levels are being protected and residual contaminant levels are
protective of human health and the environment.
We urge the Division to consider MW-31, MW-30 and TW4-24 together and the rising concentrations of
chloride, selenium, sulfate, uranium collectively as evidence that there is an un-natural continuing
source of contamination that SAR's completed to date have been unsuccessful in identifying and the
current CAPs are insufficient in remedying. Before approving any further relaxations of GWCLs, it is time
for the source(s) of the continuing contamination to be conclusively determined with an updated
comprehensive isotopic test of groundwater conditions at each POC well along with a selection of wells
from the general monitoring wells and the TW4 and TWN series wells.
Sincerely,
10. Z.,r. 2.-1
Colin Larrick
Water Quality Program Manager
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
c: Kim Shelly, Executive Director of Utah Departrnent of Environmental Quality
Erica Gaddis, Director, Utah Water Quality Division
Ronnie Nieves, Environmental Health Director, San Juan Public Health Department
Russell Seeley, UDEQ District Engineer
Kimberly Varilek, Chief, Tribal Affairs Branch, Environmental Protection Agency
Treasure Bailley, Geologist, Environmental Protection Agency
References
Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. May, 2021. 1st Quarter 2021 Groundwater Monitoring Report
Groundwater Quality Discharge Permit UGW370004 White Mesa Uranium Mill
U.S. Department of Energy. October, 1996. Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the
Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Ground Water Project. Volume 1. Grand Junction Projects Office.
U.S. Department of Energy. April, 2010. Moab UMTRA Project, January 2010 Validation Data Package for
the Routine Ground Water and Surface Water Sampling Event.
U.S. Department of Energy. December, 2009. Monticello Mill Tailings Site Operable Unit III Water Quality
Compliance Strategy.

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