PR GRAM UPDATE - LM and Tribal Collaboration - Department of Energy
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
PR GRAM
U.S. Department of Energy
UPDATE April-June 2021
State and Tribal Government LM and Tribal Tribal Intergovernmental
Working Group Promotes Collaboration Relations Group Reboots
Long-Term Stewardship
“We give thanks to the Creator for these fruits of the Sea. We ask his Of course, there is also the extensive work LM continues to pursue
blessings on the food that we eat and on all generations that follow with the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe in the southwestern United
us down to the Seventh Generation. May the world we leave them be States. LM provides long-term stewardship for four former mill sites
a better one than was left to us.” —Harriet Starleaf Gumbs, Shinnecock located on the Navajo Nation: Shiprock, New Mexico; Tuba City,
Arizona; Mexican Hat, Utah; and Monument Valley, Arizona.
This quotation is included in the 2017 edition of the Closure for the The Tuba City site is also in the vicinity of Hopi tribal lands.
Seventh Generation report from the State and Tribal Government Through a cooperative agreement that stretches back more than
Working Group, which works with the U.S. Department of Energy two decades, LM coordinates closely with the Navajo Nation
(DOE) in advancing tribal and state priorities, especially pertaining government agencies to inform tribal government leadership and
to the cleanup and disposal of nuclear waste. I believe the last line communities about LM activities and provide opportunities for
is particularly relevant as an introduction to the theme of this issue ongoing, two-way communication regarding site inspections and
of Program Update: tribal collaboration. community outreach initiatives (page 11).
The mission of the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) can be LM is firmly committed to promoting opportunities for Native American
summarized as trying to leave a better world than was left to us, as students and professionals by facilitating science, technology,
caretakers, and we can only do so through continuous collaboration engineering, and math (STEM) outreach activities on the Navajo Nation,
via government-to-government consultation with our tribal partners recruiting Native American students as interns and employees,
and by working with stakeholders. Tribes are uniquely and deeply and supporting research by Native American graduate students
invested in the future of sites within and near tribal lands. Therefore, at LM sites.
we need to embrace tribal experiences, knowledge, and concerns
with a spirit of equal partnership and commitment to long-term LM is honored to participate in the annual American Indian Science
stewardship that reflects tribal values. We recognize the importance and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference, a premier
of consultations and collaborations with Native American and forum for jump-starting the careers of Indigenous STEM professionals.
Alaska Native governments and communities. We work closely Please check out the story (page 10) about how important AISES
with friends and colleagues from 16 tribal nations, as well as has been in the career of two LM site managers, Bernadette Tsosie
many Pueblos in the State and Tribal Government Working Group. and Bill Frazier, from the Navajo Nation.
This issue is full of examples that illustrate our commitment. LM values working closely with tribal representatives who have
For example, on Amchitka Island in Alaska, Aleuts and Pribilof legacy sites on their lands. A solution to any remediation or
Islanders — Alaska Natives — participate in our five-year sampling stewardship problem requires openness to local knowledge
of marine food resources around the island (page 4). Amchitka and expertise, which can inform solutions to our mutual challenges,
was the site of three underground nuclear tests between 1964 all with the shared goal of leaving the world a better place than
and 1971, and we want to ensure that Alaska Natives know we found it.
that the resources they depend on are safe to eat.
LM also has a cooperative agreement with the Northern Arapaho Warm Regards,
Tribe for its support on sampling, inspections, community outreach
events, and technical reviews at the Riverton, Wyoming, uranium
ore-processing site. At the request of the tribe, and due to the
Carmelo Melendez
tribe’s history and knowledge of the area, LM is sponsoring
a revised risk assessment with the tribe to evaluate potential
pathways for exposure from remnant contamination at the site,
such as the use of native plants during ceremonies (page 13).
LM wants to ensure any changes in land use or tribal activities
have not increased risk for nearby residents.
Page 2 | April-June 2021
Welcome to the April-June 2021 issue of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of
Legacy Management (LM) Program Update. This publication is designed to provide a status of
activities within LM. Please direct all comments and inquiries to LM-ProgramUpdate@lm.doe.gov.
LM Goals
Inside this Update :
Director’s Corner ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2
Goal 1
LM Goals ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3
Protect human health
and the environment. LM and Tribal Collaboration ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
State and Tribal Government Working Group Promotes Long-Term Stewardship ������������ 8
Goal 2 LM Professionals Value Early Career Importance of
Preserve, protect, American Indian Science and Engineering Society ����������������������������������������������������� 10
and share records
Tribal Intergovernmental Relations Group Reboots ����������������������������������������������������� 11
and information.
On Earth Day: An Annual Reminder of a Daily Mission ����������������������������������������������� 12
Goal 3 “The Network” Builds a Community for Outreach on the Navajo Nation ����������������������� 14
Safeguard former
LM Helps Nature Heal Itself: Bioremediation Is a Game Changer �������������������������������� 16
contractor workers’
retirement benefits. Former Colorado Uranium Mill Site Transformed into Solar Power Farm ���������������������� 18
Reclamation Plan for Uranium Leases Moves Forward ����������������������������������������������� 19
Goal 4 Rocky Flats Site and Las Colonias Park Win EPA Site Reuse Awards ��������������������������� 20
Sustainably manage
and optimize the use Reclamation of the Burro Mines Complex Ready to Begin in Southwest Colorado �������� 21
of land and assets. Partnering to Protect Human Health and the Environment ������������������������������������������ 22
LM Releases Guide to the Colorado Plateau �������������������������������������������������������������� 23
Goal 5 Historic Sign in Naturita, Colorado ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24
Sustain management
excellence. Environmental Justice Activities ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25
New Employee Bios ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 26
Goal 6
Engage the public,
governments, and
interested parties.
Page 8 Page 10 Page 24
Cover: An LM contractor discusses maps relating to the Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site with Hopi officials.
April-June 2021 | Page 3
GOAL 6
LM and Tribal Collaboration
all mill tailings, contaminated soils, demolished mill structures,
and contaminated vicinity property materials were encapsulated
in on-site disposal areas.
Groundwater monitoring by LM demonstrates that contaminated
groundwater has migrated off the Bluewater site, and that this
migration occurred during past milling activities. Evaluation of
groundwater data for the site and downgradient of the site
indicates that no drinking water supply wells have contaminant
concentrations above drinking water standards and that the
site-derived contamination does not pose a current or future risk
for community water systems in the Grants-Bluewater Valley.
LM continues to evaluate off-site contamination to ensure safety
of human health and the environment.
LM collaborates with both Pueblos, and tribal representatives
of both have toured the site for an overview of the disposal cell,
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management site hydrogeology, and groundwater contamination concerns.
(LM) works closely with Native American and Alaska Native
stakeholders who are partners in our commitment to long-term ALASKA NATIVES
stewardship. We routinely collaborate on site inspections and
environmental monitoring, document review, natural resources LM oversees two sites in Alaska: one on Amchitka Island at
management, community outreach, STEM education, and more. the western end of the Aleutian chain, the other at Chariot in
northwest Alaska. The office collaborates closely with Alaska
ACOMA AND LAGUNA PUEBLOS Natives to provide long-term stewardship of both sites.
The Acoma and Laguna Pueblos are southeast of LM’s Amchitka
Bluewater, New Mexico, Disposal Site in Cibola County,
near the town of Grants. Currently uninhabited, Amchitka Island is an ancestral home of the
Aleuts, whose nearest community today lies about 170 miles to
the east on Adak Island. The Aleuts occupied Amchitka intermittently
beginning about 4,000 years ago through the late 1700s. At the
beginning of World War II, Amchitka contained only an abandoned
Russian fishing village.
Bluewater, New Mexico, Disposal Site.
Uranium ore processing at the site in the 1950s through 1970s
produced radioactive tailings. Water in the tailings slurry seeped
into the underlying alluvial and bedrock aquifers, contaminating
the groundwater. Site reclamation began in 1991, and, by 1995,
Amchitka, Alaska, Site.
Continued on page 5
Page 4 | April-June 2021
Continued from page 4
LM and Tribal Collaboration
From 1965 to 1971, the U.S. government conducted three In 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a radioactive tracer
underground nuclear tests on Amchitka. In 2001, DOE was experiment in test plots at the Chariot site. Soil contaminated
assigned responsibility for properties related to these tests, with radioactive elements from an experimental nuclear detonation
referred to collectively as the Amchitka, Alaska, Site. The site at the Nevada Test Site (now called the Nevada National Security
is outside the island’s designated wilderness area and is not Site) was brought to the Chariot site for use in the test plots.
near potential Alaska Native tribal claims.
In consultation with area residents and the Alaska Department
In cooperation with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA),
of Environmental Conservation, DOE decided in 1993 that removal
LM performs terrestrial sampling on the island and marine of all remaining radiologically contaminated material at the site
sampling in the ocean waters surrounding Amchitka and Adak was the most effective means of assuring residents that the site
islands. The office has worked closely with APIA since the late presented no risk to human health or the environment. The state
1990s on data analysis, document reviews, and initiatives for of Alaska issued a clean-closure status of the site following the
communicating with the local community. 1993 remediation and clean closure with institutional controls
following a 2014 cleanup of diesel-contaminated soils from
The most recent sampling events, performed in 2011 and 2016, former boreholes at the site.
assessed the safety of subsistence- and commercial-catch seafood.
Considering a range of Aleut diets, analysis of the 2011 samples LM collaborates with tribal leaders for long-term management
showed that concentrations of contaminants are within the of the Chariot site. In 2017, LM staff met with Inupiaq leaders
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) acceptable risk in Point Hope to provide an update on the site and discuss
range. The 2016 samples confirmed previous analysis. LM will measures for long-term protection.
continue its sampling and environmental monitoring of the
Amchitka region, with the next event likely occurring in 2022. JICARILLA APACHE
In addition, LM participates annually in a focus session at LM’s Gasbuggy, New Mexico, Site, located in Carson National
the Alaska Forum on the Environment to discuss long-term Forest in northwestern New Mexico, borders the Jicarilla
surveillance and maintenance activities at the Amchitka site. Apache Reservation.
Other participants include the APIA, Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
and University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Chariot
LM’s Chariot, Alaska, Site is in the Ogoturuk Valley in the Cape
Thompson region of northwest Alaska, bounded on the southwest
by the Chukchi Sea. The closest populated areas are the Inupiaq
villages of Point Hope, 32 miles northwest of the site, and Kivalina,
41 miles southeast.
Chariot, Alaska, Site. Gasbuggy, New Mexico, Site.
Continued on page 6
April-June 2021 | Page 5
Continued from page 5
LM and Tribal Collaboration
Project Gasbuggy was part of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission The federal agencies involved in this effort are DOE, EPA,
(AEC) Plowshare Program, which sought to find peaceful uses U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of
for nuclear power. In 1967, AEC detonated a nuclear device Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of the
at 4,227 feet below the ground surface to fracture the rock Interior. The tribal entities include the Office of the Navajo Nation
and increase natural gas flow. Most of the radionuclides from President and Vice President, Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine
that detonation were contained in the solidified molten rock Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (AML/
in the cavity and no radiation was released at the surface. UMTRA) Department, Navajo Nation Department of Health, Navajo
AEC decommissioned and demobilized the site in 1978, Nation EPA, and Navajo Nation Department of Justice. As part of
and the structures and equipment used for the test were the collaboration, DOE works closely with the Hopi Tribe, as well.
decontaminated and removed. Cleanup was complete by 2004.
Today, the U.S. Forest Service has returned the land to its The Navajo Nation Community Outreach Network is tasked with
pre-Gasbuggy uses of recreation and livestock grazing. coordinating and supporting the multi-agency effort through
community outreach, joint agency and tribal planning, and
EPA began monitoring groundwater and surface water annually at information sharing. In 2014, the Five-Year Plan was updated
Gasbuggy beginning in 1972. The sampling locations — located in to build on the work completed in the first five years and to
Carson National Forest and on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation make adjustments based on information gained during this time.
and private property — consisted of springs, ponds, surface water The 10-Year Plan was recently completed. It builds on the work
drainages, ranch wells, and livestock watering wells near the site. of the two previous Five-Year Plans and identifies the next steps
Since 2008, DOE has overseen this hydrologic monitoring. If new in addressing the human health and environmental risks
oil and gas wells are drilled near Gasbuggy, LM samples the gas associated with the legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
to ensure no contaminants from the nuclear test are detected.
Through a cooperative agreement, LM coordinates closely with
NAVAJO NATION AND HOPI TRIBE the Navajo Nation AML/UMTRA Department and Hopi Office
of Mining and Mineral Resources to inform tribal government
LM provides long-term stewardship for four former mill sites leadership and communities about LM activities and provide
on the Navajo Nation: Shiprock, New Mexico; Tuba City, Arizona; opportunities for ongoing, two-way communication regarding
Mexican Hat, Utah; and Monument Valley, Arizona. The Tuba City site inspections, document review, and community outreach
site is also in the vicinity of Hopi tribal lands. initiatives. LM actively seeks, considers, and responds to the
In 2007, Congress issued a directive for six federal agencies views of its tribal stakeholders, ensuring they have an
and various Navajo tribal agencies to create a Five-Year Plan opportunity to provide input in LM’s decision-making process.
to address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. Continued on page 7
Left to right: Mexican Hat, Utah, Disposal Site; Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site; Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site.
Page 6 | April-June 2021
Continued from page 6
LM and Tribal Collaboration
As part of its outreach efforts, LM attends the Navajo Nation’s Past milling operations at the Riverton site resulted in surface
yearly tribal fairs and other community events to share information. and groundwater contamination. A perpetual deed restriction
LM also hosts public open houses and site tours to engage the for the former mill site property restricts well drilling and land
community and strengthen tribal and federal partnerships for development. DOE funded an alternate drinking water supply
protecting human health and the environment. system in 1998 to provide potable water to residents within
a specified boundary around the site. Tribal ordinances restrict
LM is committed to supporting STEM education on tribal nations. well installation, prohibit surface impoundments, and authorize
STEM with LM brings to life the awe-inspiring and world-changing access to inspect and sample new wells within this boundary.
advancements and events of the nuclear age, subsequent
cleanup, and ecological transformations of LM sites. Educational In 2017, LM finalized a cooperative agreement with the Northern
outreach events with local schools introduce students to topics Arapaho Tribe to collaborate on an environmental monitoring
like radon, radiation, and the legacy of uranium mining and program at the site and facilitate outreach to area residents
milling. STEM with LM scientists and engineers actively engage and other stakeholders. LM and the tribe are also undertaking
in supporting science education at the Navajo Nation’s Diné an assessment of the alternate drinking water supply system
College through teaching, presenting seminars, and mentoring as well as an independent, comprehensive risk assessment.
students in fieldwork activities. LM also participates in annual
conferences of the American Indian Science and Engineering SPOKANE
Society to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals. LM’s Sherwood, Washington, Disposal Site, located about 35 miles
northwest of Spokane, Washington, lies within the Spokane
Indian Reservation.
Milling operations began in 1978, when Western Nuclear used
an acid-leach process to extract uranium from ore hauled from an
open pit mine a half mile from the mill. The operations produced
radioactive mill tailings. Along with contaminated mill site soils,
buildings, and debris, these tailings were encapsulated in an
engineered disposal cell constructed east of the former mill site.
Following completion and approval of the remediation by the
Washington State Department of Health, the site was transferred
to LM in 2001 for long-term surveillance and maintenance.
LM conducts annual groundwater monitoring at the site and
shares results with the Spokane Tribe. No contamination has
Monument Valley, Arizona.
been detected in groundwater downgradient of the disposal cell.
Tribal representatives collaborate with LM on annual site inspections,
NORTHERN ARAPAHO AND EASTERN SHOSHONE TRIBES noxious weed control, and management of forest resources.
The Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site is in Fremont County
within the boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation
(Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone).
The site is the location of a former uranium and vanadium ore-
processing mill that operated from 1958 to 1963. These milling
operations produced radioactive tailings, along with uranium,
radium, and thorium contamination in soils and construction debris.
DOE completed surface remediation of the Riverton site in 1989. Left to right: Riverton, Wyoming, Processing Site.
Sherwood, Washington, Disposal Site.
April-June 2021 | Page 7
GOAL 6
State and Tribal Government Working Group
Promotes Long-Term Stewardship
STGWG members tour the decommissioned Graphite Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee during the 2019 spring meeting.
In 1999, the State and Tribal Government Working Group’s Tribal representatives are appointed by the governing bodies of
(STGWG) report, “Closure for the Seventh Generation,” urged their respective tribes:
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to prioritize long-term
stewardship (LTS) at sites related to the nuclear weapons • Cochiti Pueblo • Santa Clara Puebloe
complex that the Department was cleaning up. The report was • Confederated Tribes • Santa Ynez Band of
a significant driver in the creation of the DOE Office of Legacy of the Umatilla Chumash Indians
Management (LM) four years later, and it has influenced the Indian Reservation
dialogue on the future of these cleanup sites ever since. • Seneca Nation
• Consolidated Group of of Indians
STGWG includes representatives from states and Native Tribes and Organizations • Shoshone-Bannock
American tribes that host or are affected by DOE sites or • Jemez Pueblo Tribes
facilities associated with the production and cleanup of the
nuclear weapons complex. • Nez Perce Tribe • Wanapum
• San Ildefonso Pueblo • Yakama Nation
State representatives are appointed by and represent the
governors of member states: Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins created STGWG in 1989
after governors from 10 states wrote a letter to express concerns
• California • Ohio
regarding the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive
• Idaho • Oregon and hazardous chemical wastes at DOE facilities. At the time,
• Kentucky • South Carolina DOE was shifting its mission from nuclear weapons production
• Missouri • Tennessee to cleanup, and Watkins invited states, tribes, and national
• Nevada • Texas organizations to participate in a conference dealing with
cleanup issues, resulting in the formation of STGWG.
• New Mexico • Washington
• New York
Continued on page 9
Page 8 | April-June 2021
Continued from page 8
State and Tribal Government Working Group
Promotes Long-Term Stewardship
Since its inception, STGWG convened meetings with DOE Engaging with and listening to tribes is key to DOE’s success.
senior leadership and promoted information sharing among This April, DOE virtually hosted a consultation session with
states, tribes, and DOE to foster relationships and improve tribal leaders in support of the the President’s memorandum
communications. These ongoing interactions have resulted to conduct regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with
in an improved understanding of cleanup priorities from tribes federally recognized tribal nations. DOE is using the information
as well as a better understanding of tribal treaty rights and gathered during the session to craft an updated implementation
federal trust responsibilities by DOE. plan for future tribal consultation.
In years past, STGWG members have toured LM sites, including “We recognize the importance of consultations and collaborations
the Fernald Preserve Site in Ohio, the Weldon Spring Site in Missouri, with Native American and Alaska Native governments and
and the Rocky Flats Site in Colorado. The tours focused on site communities,” LM Director Carmelo Melendez said during
history, operations, groundwater conditions, and performance the consultation session. “We work closely with friends and
of on-site disposal facilities. Site tours are important for sharing colleagues from 16 tribal nations, as well as many Pueblos
best practices and lessons learned and relationship building. in the State and Tribal Government Working Group.”
In recent years, STGWG has focused on three priority issue areas: Through STGWG, Native American tribes and states can engage
LTS, natural resource damage assessment and restoration, and directly with DOE officials on pressing issues and decision-
tribal concerns. making regarding management of LM sites.
STGWG considers LTS a key responsibility to future generations “LM is here for the long-term, so it’s critical that we continuously
since the cleanup decisions made today will have a lasting impact engage with our stakeholders in a meaningful way,” said LM
on future generations. STGWG members also recognize that cleanup Program Manager Tracy Atkins. “In STGWG, we have a valuable
does not always end with a closed site; instead, contaminants partner who deeply understands the need for the long-term
may remain in the soil, water, plants, and other natural resources. stewardship of the land.”
STGWG updated the 1999 “Closure for the Seventh Generation”
report in 2017 to examine progress regarding LTS. The 2017 Resources
edition recognizes the ongoing work challenges and encourages In 2017, the STGWG Long-Term Stewardship Committee released
DOE to “begin the process of developing LTS plans and other an update to the original 1999 “Closure for the Seventh Generation”
oversight mechanisms at operating and cleanup sites before report, which is available at www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/
completion of cleanup at any site area or parcel.” energy/STGWG_Closure_SeventhGen_32092.pdf.
“STGWG’s current working relationship with LM is a positive,
key engagement between states, tribes, and DOE regarding
DOE’s commitment to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities,”
said Debbie Duren, STGWG state co-convener from Tennessee.
“This is important for sites that transition to LM and especially
important for sites with new or ongoing missions that will not
fully transition to LM.”
Native American tribes have a unique relationship with the
federal government, including DOE.
STGWG does not substitute for government-to-government Top: STGWG representatives
consultation. However, STGWG does provide an organized forum listen to a presentation about
for tribes to share perspectives and engage with DOE to promote the history of the Weldon Spring
the understanding of tribal interests, such as cultural resources, Site. Left: STGWG members
tour the Fernald Preserve
stewardship, and enhanced governmental relations. On-Site Disposal Facility.
April-June 2021 | Page 9
GOAL 6
LM Professionals Value Early Career Importance of
American Indian Science and Engineering Society
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
National Conference is the premier event for Indigenous STEM
professionals and students from the United States and Canada.
The conference focuses on educational, professional, and
workforce development. Attendees include Indigenous high
school and college students, educators, and professionals,
as well as members of tribal nations and enterprises,
universities, corporations, and government agencies.
Staff from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy
Management (LM) have been participating in the conference for
many years, and they view it as an opportunity to recruit LM interns
and support Native American STEM students and professionals.
Most recently, LM operated a virtual career fair booth at the LM Site Manager Bill Frazier interacts with a young student at the
2020 AISES National Conference. Originally scheduled to take 2019 AISES National Conference.
place in Spokane, Washington, the conference was in a virtual
format, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. at the University of Colorado Denver. He said AISES and similar
LM Site Manager Bernadette Tsosie said that the experience of groups are important for young Native American students and
attending AISES when she was an undergraduate student, studying professionals trying to navigate the obstacles of starting a career.
geology at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in the “Sometimes when you come off the reservation, you might not
late 1980s, was invaluable for starting her career. Tsosie, who is identify with people from other cultures. So, having a group of
Navajo, said the chance to interact with other Native professionals people around with a similar background, even though you might
was inspiring and encouraging. not be from the same tribe, provides a community to connect
“At [New Mexico] Tech, there was just a handful of Native students, with,” Frazier said. “Then you see others in the group succeed
so a lot of times you feel so alone because you’re the only minority and you think, ‘Hey, if they can do it, I can figure this out too.’”
in the class, and sometimes the only woman,” Tsosie said. Frazier said he joined an AISES professional group after graduation,
“But at AISES, you walk into this large venue, and there are and that experience provided lifelong friendships and lasting impacts.
Native professionals who you can meet and ask questions
about their careers.” “Our group was really involved in providing mentorship for
Native Americans in the professional world and for students still
AISES helped jump-start Tsosie’s career. She landed her first job in school,” Frazier said. “We just worked to help them along in
out of school with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) terms of showing them the next step in their career development.”
based on an interview at AISES. She said the logistics of attending
the conference — traveling by plane for the first time, negotiating Tsosie and Frazier both pointed to the significant STEM outreach LM
a taxi ride to the hotel, handling hotel registration — were also is doing on the Navajo Nation as important, and they both support
something that many Native students were not accustomed to, LM’s continued presence at the AISES National Conference to
and this experience also helped when she started her new job. support students for training, development, and career growth.
They said LM’s engagement with students at the conference
“I started my professional career with the EPA after graduation, is a great way to promote DOE and LM as a great place to work,
and within a month of starting they booked me for travel,” recognizing that attracting the best and the brightest to STEM
Tsosie said. “And I was able to do that on my own because of careers with diverse backgrounds is critical to meeting the
my experience at the conference. If I hadn’t done that, I would Department’s demands for new perspectives and voices.
have been overwhelmed.”
To learn more about the agency’s STEM outreach, visit STEM
LM Site Manager Bill Frazier, who is also Navajo, helped to form Rising at www.energy.gov/STEM.
an AISES student chapter while he was studying civil engineering
Page 10 | April-June 2021GOAL 6
Tribal Intergovernmental Relations Group Reboots
This past year, Public Affairs staff from the U.S. Department “The group is necessary to discuss issues outside the scheduled
of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) and the quarterly and technical exchange meetings,” said Norman Honie, Jr.
Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill with the Hopi Tribe Department of Natural Resources and an
Tailings Remedial Action (AML/UMTRA) Department were looking original group member. “Members have the opportunity to discuss
for innovative ways to stay connected to community members topics other than scientific issues. This form of communication
and to identify projects that would benefit all entities. With new is very important if federal projects are to succeed in Indian
faces and new outreach needs on the Navajo Nation, LM and Country when federal officials hear tribal stakeholders’ concerns.”
AML/UMTRA successfully re-engaged the Tribal Intergovernmental
Relations Group (TIGR), which hasn’t met since 2019. With the new attention, LM wanted to include additional
representation to help round out the committee. LM added
In 2017, LM set out to build a federal and tribal collaborative a member to the group from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
outreach effort on the Navajo Nation between DOE, the AML/ Commission and requests have been made to the Navajo
UMTRA Department, and the Hopi Tribe. TIGR was formed and Nation Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army
was initially composed of an LM public participation specialist, Corps of Engineers.
LM site managers, LM Strategic Partner (LMSP) staff, Navajo
AML/UMTRA staff, and representatives from the Hopi Tribe “As we strive to continue to build a robust outreach program on
Department of Natural Resources. the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation, our tribal and federal
committee members bring expertise and ideas that help all of
Members of the group focused on coordinating the participation us work together cohesively to better address the outreach
in community outreach activities, outreach materials, and STEM needs of our tribal communities,” said LM Public Participation
education opportunities. The group would often act as a sounding Specialist Shawn Montgomery.
board for LM-developed materials and would join LM and LMSP
staff at outreach events, such as Navajo Nation fairs. Around 2019, The TIGR team meets virtually every month on the second
changes in leadership within LM and AML affected the consistency Wednesday of the month.
of regular group meetings, and the group slowly stopped meeting “The group looks forward to a time, post-pandemic, when
altogether. Since then, LM has built a stronger team and approach we will stand side by side in person at outreach events,
to outreach on the Navajo Nation, only to be slowed down by where we can provide a better understanding of the roles
the pandemic. that each agency plays regarding the four Navajo Nation sites,”
said Montgomery.
Monument Valley, Utah.
April-June 2021 | Page 11GOAL 6
On Earth Day:
An Annual Reminder of a Daily Mission
“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness sites are on tribal lands where Montgomery leads a team in
to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words partnering and consulting with tribal members to perform LM’s
of thanks will not be heard,” said U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, mission. Montgomery regards this aspect of his role as both
the founder of Earth Day, at its launch in 1970. The Wisconsin humbling and awe-inspiring.
senator was appealing to the nation’s sense of legacy as he
endeavored to raise awareness about environmental issues. “To understand the Native American perspective and their
relationship with the Earth, you have to see it as all-encompassing.
For Shawn Montgomery, that awareness is more than a It is a top-down, bottom-up relationship with water, the air, the
personal belief; it is a professional commitment. As the public land, and the living creatures who inhabit the Earth. And humans
participation specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are just a small part of that relationship,” Montgomery said.
Office of Legacy Management (LM), Montgomery is reminded
of LM’s year-round mission to protect human health and the Montgomery’s appreciation of that relationship has been honed
environment each Earth Day. over years of collaboration with tribal members at home and
abroad, initially as a combat medic with the Army’s 1st Infantry
Division and later when he went to work for the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs as a certified Tribal Veterans Representative.
During his deployment to Iraq, he forged his first friendships
with Native Americans. As Montgomery learned about his friends’
beliefs and their connection with the Earth, he began to understand
how part of that sacred bond was service to country.
Continued on page 13
Above: LM’s Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site, as seen
from an aerial view, sits on part of the vast Navajo Nation
and is near the Hopi Tribe. Right: Shawn Montgomery,
right, at LM’s Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site.
“It is our responsibility to look at things in the past
and ensure that they don’t affect the future. That’s
what I love about the Office of Legacy Management,”
Montgomery said.
LM’s legacy responsibility consists of historically
significant sites around the country related to the
Manhattan Project, the Cold War nuclear weapons
complex, and the nation’s early atomic energy
program. Some of these former nuclear disposal
Page 12 | April-June 2021Continued from page 12
On Earth Day:
An Annual Reminder of a Daily Mission
“One of the things we talked about a lot was how vastly different Loosely defined as walking with nature, it embodies the idea
the way Natives look at the Earth from the non-Native perspective. of striving for balance and harmony together with beauty and
How Mother Earth is the Creator,” Montgomery said. “It’s a order, the essence of Navajo philosophy.
foundational life trait that was just not bred into some of us.”
“Being a Native American and working for the Office of Legacy
Those conversations, he said, improved his understanding of Management, where we have the responsibility of environmental
different Native American cultures and inspired him to support stewardship, is restoring that balance with nature,” Frazier said.
underserved tribal communities. In 2019, Montgomery was
appointed public participation specialist with LM, a job he Frazier said the effort to bridge that cultural gap is worthwhile.
believes he was meant to do. In fact, he was involved in those efforts at LM’s Riverton, Wyoming,
Processing Site, located on the Wind River Reservation. LM
“Being the face of a federal organization comes with a massive conducted a supplemental risk assessment there to determine
responsibility, not only to our country, but especially to the whether current site conditions were protective of human health
Navajo Nation and the many other tribal lands and communities for traditional Arapaho uses of plants, animals, and objects.
we have promised to serve,” Montgomery said.
“Nothing is mentioned in the existing risk assessment that
One of those communities is in Tuba City, Arizona, 85 miles addresses the cultural uses of plants and animals in the area of
northeast of Flagstaff. LM’s Tuba City site is on the Navajo Nation the site,” Frazier said. “The study’s results showed the remedies
and near the Hopi Tribe, where nearby radioactive mill tailings, are protective, thus preserving the Northern Arapaho’s traditional
caused by the processing of uranium ore in the mid-20th century, ecological resources within the site’s boundaries.”
contaminated groundwater in a concentrated area. Bernadette
Tsosie, the LM Tuba City site manager, who is Navajo herself, “The application of tribal ecological knowledge is one of those
is encouraged that indigenous expertise is being sought for things we constantly strive for in our organization,” Montgomery said.
site management. “We had a scholar from the Hopi Tribe scheduled to train non-
Native LM team members on cultural awareness before COVID.”
“I’ve worked with tribes my entire career as a federal employee,
and I’ve seen the difference it makes when tribal governments Jennifer Grossheim Harris, Public Affairs lead for Navajo Nation
are engaged, as we’re implementing some of these ideas or sites with the LM Strategic Partner, said the team continues to
remedies at the project level,” Tsosie said. prioritize the cultural context vital to overseeing a site, while
simultaneously respecting and honoring the people who live near it.
Through quarterly meetings, outreach events, and ongoing
conversations with federal and tribal partners, Montgomery “They are connected to the land that we as westerners look at
and his team are making sure Native recommendations are very, very differently. We own land. Our tribal partners consider
heard by DOE. themselves part of the land,” Harris said.
Specifically, he and his team welcome the traditional ecological Montgomery said these differences offer LM a unique learning
knowledge of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe, expertise the opportunity.
tribes have gleaned during hundreds of years of direct contact “When I was going through my tribal veterans training, I learned
with the environment. The intent, he said, is to balance the American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the armed forces
technical nature of LM’s work with the wisdom of tribal beliefs. at five times the national average. If you drill down on that, per
Bill Frazier, an LM employee and a member of the Navajo Nation, capita, they are the most committed nationality to serve our
recognizes that these deeply ingrained beliefs are difficult to country,” Montgomery said. “I’ve learned so much from our tribal
explain. He references the Navajo word, hózhó, as an example. partners, and it’s my job to ensure I continue this mindset, because
they’ve had a lifetime to gather and understand their relationship
with Mother Earth, but I feel like I am just getting started.”
April-June 2021 | Page 13GOAL 6
“The Network” Builds a Community
for Outreach on the Navajo Nation
Cooperating Agencies of the
Navajo Nation Five-Year Plan Community Outreach Network
Addressing the Impacts of Uranium Contamination on the Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in accomplishments from the previous plan and built on additional
the United States, comprising around 27,000 square miles initiatives from 2014 to 2018. In 2021, the 10-Year Plan was
across Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. finalized, aiming to advance and expand the work of the previous
During the 1950s and the rush to build nuclear weapons in Five-Year Plans.
the U.S., there were nearly 4 million tons of uranium ore extracted
from the Navajo Nation under leases with the tribal government. A focal point of all the plans has been to support community
When the mining stopped around 1986, more than 500 mine outreach and information sharing among federal agencies and,
sites had been abandoned. more importantly, to community members.
While reclamation and remediation began at some of the mine In 2016, the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) helped
sites, many went untouched, with limited outreach and interaction form the Community Outreach Network, which was tasked with
from the federal government to the residents in and around the the coordination and synchronization of the multi-agency effort
communities where the open mine sites remained. through community outreach, joint agency and tribal planning,
and information sharing. The participating members of the
In 2007, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government group are referred to as “the network.”
Reform requested that federal agencies write a plan to coordinate
in addressing uranium-related issues within the Navajo Nation. LM also hired a network coordinator to identify, attend, and
The original agencies were the U.S. Environmental Protection represent the network at various tribal events where helpful
Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory information and resources are shared to community members
Commission, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Indian Health about the federal agencies’ collaborative efforts and services.
Service, and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, The coordinator also organizes a monthly conference call
in consultation with the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe. among the network to share agency outreach updates.
The original document was called the Five-Year Plan. The plan
outlined the initial collaborative work among the agencies from Continued on page 15
2008-2014, and the second Five-Year Plan highlighted the
Page 14 | April-June 2021Continued from page 14
“The Network” Builds a Community
for Outreach on the Navajo Nation
Over the years, the network membership has grown and outreach Chapter Houses in both English and Navajo languages.
efforts have expanded. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the We also worked hard to ensure the content was presented
Community Outreach Network coordinator, along with network in plain language and to invite Navajo families from within
members, provided information to community members at the Chapter to participate.
annual Navajo Nation fairs, the Monument Valley Marathon,
and small community events, such as Cameron Days just We had great participation from multiple federal and
outside of Cameron, Arizona. The network has also created Navajo agencies and from the communities themselves.
and presented an information program titled Uranium 101, Agencies delivered the workshop, responded to community
which is shared by invitation from Navajo Nation Chapter questions, and interacted with Navajo families at booths
Houses to their membership and covers topics like the effects before and after the presentation. Navajo community
of uranium exposure on humans and livestock. members had an opportunity to build their knowledge
of uranium, share local information, and get responses
Jamie Rayman, a health educator and community involvement to a variety of questions and concerns all in one place.”
specialist for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease –Jamie Rayman
Registry, served as the chair of the Uranium 101 workshop
on behalf of the network. Rayman points to the Uranium 101
public education workshops occurring twice in 2019 on the Rayman and other network members had planned to deliver more
Navajo Nation, as a significant network accomplishment. Uranium 101 workshops before the pandemic halted all travel.
As work begins under the 10-Year Plan, the Community
“Our goal is to share information about contamination, Outreach Network will continue to collaborate to increase
exposure, and prevention directly with Chapter residents. outreach efforts in order to reach more community members
We committed to delivering the pilot workshop in Navajo that are interested in learning more about uranium-related
issues on the Navajo Nation.
Be Environmentally Conscious
April-June 2021 | Page 15GOALS 1 & 4
LM Helps Nature Heal Itself:
Bioremediation Is a Game Changer
The scientists and engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy the landowner full and unrestricted use of the property. This was
(DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) are environmental a historic milestone for LM, but the real achievement, according
professionals who see site closure as a measure of success to Caballero, was the innovation behind the successful cleanup.
because it means “mission accomplished.” Case in point:
hydrogeologist Julian Caballero, the Legacy Management Scientists at LM sites around the country often determine their
Strategic Partner (LMSP) site lead for the Pinellas County, remediation, or cleanup, strategies based on a site’s geography,
Florida, Site. size, and level of detectable contaminants. In recent years, these
scientists have made enormous progress by identifying innovative
“I think my crew and I have done a lot of good for the environment methods to remediate environments contaminated by volatile
over the years,” Caballero said. “But when we were able to reach organic compounds (VOCs), which are chemical byproducts
closure of a significantly impacted portion of the Pinellas site, associated with building materials, factory supplies, and cleaning
that felt like the biggest victory yet.” or disinfecting products.
The portion of land Caballero is referring to was formerly a Bioremediation does not depend on complicated technology
plant constructed by General Electric in 1956 to manufacture but rather relies on nature. This innovative remediation strategy
components for the nation’s nuclear weapons program. uses microbes to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater.
General Electric buried disposal drums containing waste Microbes are tiny, microscopic organisms, such as bacteria,
resins and solvents, resulting in soil and groundwater that thrive in naturally occurring environments. Bioremediation
contamination, in an area known as the 4.5 Acre Site. has been in practice for decades but was a technique just
recently piloted by the LM teams at the Pinellas site as well
“It’s a very difficult area because the source of the contamination as the Mound, Ohio, Site in Miamisburg, where VOCs originating
is underneath the buildings and cannot be dug up like at the from a solid waste landfill have impacted groundwater.
other LM sites,” said LM Pinellas Site Manager Andy Keim.
At both Pinellas and Mound, LM needed to shrink contaminant
When a persistent area of concentrated contamination was plumes and intercept any VOCs. It was a challenging task,
cleaned up in 2019, it marked an unconditional closure — according to Kristen Holmes, LM’s Education, Communication,
a first for LM. An unconditional closure order declares that History, and Outreach team lead. Traditional groundwater
DOE no longer has any responsibilities for a site and gives
Continued on page 17
LM’s Mound, Ohio, Site was the site of the first U.S. Atomic Energy Commission laboratory.
Page 16 | April-June 2021Continued from page 16
LM Helps Nature Heal Itself:
Bioremediation Is a Game Changer
Above: An alligator swims around LM’s Pinellas site.
Right: The Young-Rainey Science Technology and
Research Center at LM’s Pinellas site sits atop a
shallow aquifer. LM used a nature-based strategy
to shrink the contaminant pool left by a former
nuclear weapons program.
remediation processes, such as pump and treat, can take Once the bioinjections were completed, the results from the
decades to remove the VOCs. “It’s a long, expensive process study indicated that the treatment zones remained established
that inevitably becomes less effective over time, as contaminant and appeared to be self-sustaining.
concentrations decrease,” Holmes said.
“This project laid the groundwork for DOE to pursue a more
LM considered that bioremediation could support the sites’ economical and potentially faster way to reach cleanup goals
ecosystems while providing a nature-based solution. for the groundwater in this area,” said Melissa Lutz, LMSP site
lead for the Mound site.
“Bioremediation is essentially the idea that certain microbes
are more likely to decompose certain contaminants. So first you Based on the early success, DOE has formally started the process
have to test and make sure you have the ones that could eat to permanently adopt bioremediation at Mound.
your contaminant,” said LMSP hydrogeologist Becky Cato.
The Pinellas site team’s research had similar findings, demonstrating
Both teams started bioremediation through enhanced environmental that enhanced environmental attenuation works even within highly
attenuation, a technique that uses human intervention to hasten impacted, contaminated sites.
natural environmental breakdown processes. LM identified native
microbes — or “bugs” — living at each site to organically break “DOE has used enhanced in situ bioremediation to cost effectively
down VOCs. They realized if they could accelerate the bugs’ address remaining contaminant mass by accelerating the naturally
biodegradation process and ensure more bugs would proliferate occurring biodegradation process,” Keim said.
at the site, it would eliminate the need for pump and treat or “It’s truly a very simple science and an ideal way to address volatile
other more invasive methods. substances,” Cato said. “In my 15 years as a hydrogeologist,
At the Mound site, Cato and her team injected emulsified soybean the success at the Mound site certainly ranks as one of my
oil into the ground to create treatment zones. From there, the proudest accomplishments.”
bugs fed on the oil, proliferated quickly, and simultaneously
broke down the contaminants. Then the team conducted a
four-year study to determine if the method would be sustainable
in the long term.
April-June 2021 | Page 17GOALS 1 & 4
Former Colorado Uranium Mill Site
Transformed into Solar Power Farm
In the heart of western Colorado’s oil and gas fields, the city for human exposure to contamination. The materials handling
of Rifle, Colorado, has also become a leader in municipal solar plan for the site requires the city to monitor the excavated
power production. material for potential radiological contamination and either
return the material to the area from which it came or dispose
Construction will begin in June 2021 on a new 2-megawatt (MW) of the material at a licensed disposal facility, such as the
solar array on a former uranium-processing site. The new array Grand Junction, Colorado, Disposal Site.
will join two existing arrays (totaling 3.7 MW), which were
constructed at the site between 2008 and 2010 to power the “We just want to ensure the construction process follows the
city’s wastewater treatment plant and other municipal facilities, materials handling plan,” said LM Site Manager Mark Kautsky,
while also providing energy to residential subscribers. “and if contaminated materials are unearthed during construction,
they are handled properly and safely.”
City officials expect construction on the new solar array will wrap
up by September 2021. The city of Rifle began construction of a new wastewater reclamation
facility on the site in 2008, including installation of a 1.72-MW
“The city of Rifle has made solar energy a priority since 2008, solar-powered system, which provides about 60 percent of the
when the city installed the existing solar facility on the site to power needed to operate the facility. On a nearby site, another
power the adjacent Rifle Wastewater Facility,” said Patrick Waller, solar-powered system provides 100 percent of the power needed
the planning director for the city of Rifle. “We’re glad that we’ve to pump drinking water from the Colorado River for residents,
been able to work with the DOE [U.S. Department of Energy] making that pumping facility “net-zero.” A net-zero facility is
and the CDPHE [Colorado Department of Public Health and one that generates as much power as it uses, greatly reduces
Environment] to continue to use the site for productive uses, operational costs, and is environmentally friendly.
like solar, that benefit the citizens of Rifle.”
While LM does not own the site and is not providing funding for
The New Rifle mill, which was owned and operated by Union the project, LM’s risk-based review of the city’s plans ensures
Carbide Corporation, processed uranium for the U.S. Atomic that the project complies with institutional controls and does
Energy Commission from 1958 to 1970. The mill continued not pose a health risk to the community or the environment
producing vanadium concentrates for the commercial market based on potential disturbance of the site.
until 1984. Milling operations resulted in site contamination
with radioactive tailings and groundwater contamination from Kautsky said he is excited to see the site come full circle,
arsenic, molybdenum, nitrate, selenium, uranium, and vanadium. from uranium production, through cleanup, to renewable
energy production.
The state of Colorado purchased the 137-acre site, while DOE
performed the cleanup of surface and groundwater contamination “We are excited about how the city of Rifle is using the property,
under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. because it aligns with our broader mission of supporting energy
DOE completed encapsulation of radioactive materials in disposal production,” Kautsky said. “And to take an old uranium-processing
cells in October 1996, while treatment of groundwater contamination site, on which contaminants were remediated, and turn that into
continues through use of passive remediation. While the state of a solar farm, which generates power for the city — that’s a huge
Colorado transferred ownership of the site to the city of Rifle in win for the community.”
2004, the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) maintains
institutional controls and monitors the site to prevent disturbance
The city of Rifle, Colorado, is using a series of solar panel arrays
of any contaminants that may remain underground. Institutional constructed on a former uranium processing mill to power city facilities
controls are typically legal controls, such as easements, restrictive as well as provide energy for many of the city’s 9,650 residents.
covenants, and zoning ordinances, that help minimize the potential (Credit: Patrick Waller, planning director for the city of Rifle.)
Page 18 | April-June 2021You can also read
