The Economic Opportunities And Challenges Of Uranium Mine Cleanup In New Mexico

New Mexico was a principal site of uranium mining in the US from the 1940s until the collapse of demand in the 1990s. Much of the mining activity was in northwestern New Mexico, on and neighboring Native American tribal lands, particularly those of the Navajo Nation. A legacy of uranium mining is severe environmental contamination, including approximately 1100 mining, milling, and exploratory drilling sites in northwest New Mexico, as well as extensive groundwater contamination. Native, especially Navajo, communities have suffered the majority of the consequences of this contamination. Native populations, many of whom were employed in uranium mining operations, also suffered severe economic dislocation following the collapse of the industry. Significant measures to address the environmental impacts of past uranium mining have emerged only recently. Remediation has been complicated by the difficulty of identifying the parties who are legally responsible for the environmental damage, as control of mining operations and attached leases frequently changed hands during repeated cycles of boom and bust. Moreover, processes necessary to fund and oversee remediation work have been established only over the past two decades. A hopeful development was the 2015 Tronox settlement, under which the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secured more than $1 billion to fund the cleanup of 56 sites on or near territory of the Navajo Nation, including the Quivira mine sites and the Shiprock Uranium mill site in northwestern New Mexico.