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Dawn Mining Company
The Waste
Management Section regulates the Dawn Mining Company uranium
millsite through delegated authority from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. From the mid-50s to the early 80s, Dawn Mining Company conducted
uranium milling at the Ford site. Most of the uranium ore processed at the site
was obtained from the Midnite Mine located on the Spokane Tribe of Indians
Reservation. Since the mill was shut down, Dawn Mining Company has been in the
process of cleaning up the millsite with Waste Management Section's oversight.
The millsite cleanup includes demolition and burial of site buildings,
contaminated soil removal and disposal, and contaminated ground water
remediation.
Historical Timeline
|
1956 |
DMC was licensed by the federal government to operate the uranium mill
located near Ford, Washington. The site encompasses 820 acres. The
millsite is adjacent to the Spokane Indian Reservation, with Chamokane
Creek defining the boundary of the site and reservation. DMC's Midnite
Mine is located on the Spokane Indian Reservation, approximately 25
miles from the mill, and is under the jurisdiction of the federal
government. |
|
1969
|
Washington State assumed full licensing and regulatory authority from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). |
|
1981 |
DOH amended DMC's license, authorizing the disposal of uranium mill
tailings into Tailings Disposal Area 4 (TDA-4). TDA-4 is a HDPE lined
below-grade impoundment.
TDA-4 was constructed to hold 44 million cubic
feet of tailings, but only received 4 million cubic feet before
shutdown. |
|
1982 |
After
processing approximately 58 million cubic feet of ore, uranium milling
ceased and the facility was placed in a care and maintenance mode. |
|
1987 |
DMC
submitted to DOH a closure and reclamation plan for the millsite. |
|
1989 |
After
groundwater contamination from below TDA's 1, 2, and 3 had been detected
in wells and in seeps discharging to Chamokane Creek, DOH issued a
groundwater remediation order. |
|
1991 |
DMC submitted a revised closure and reclamation plan, which would
provide for:
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Demolition and disposal of the mill buildings.
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Disposal of contaminated surface soils.
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Comprehensive ground water cleanup.
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Filling of 44 million cubic foot Tailings Disposal Area 4.
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Bio-containment of all contaminated material using engineered cap
over the tailings disposal areas.
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Transfer of title to the site to the federal government for
perpetual care and maintenance.
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Closure activities to be completed by the year 2019.
DOH issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement, rejecting DMC's NORM
(naturally occurring radioactive material) TDA-4 fill proposal. |
|
1992 |
DMC resubmitted their closure plan, with an alternate
TDA-4 fill proposal for offsite uranium mill tailings. |
|
1994 |
DOH issued a supplement to the Final EIS, which found
that DMC's alternative fill proposal was environmentally acceptable and
posed no threat to human health and safety. |
|
1995 |
DOH renewed DMC's radioactive materials license to allow
DMC to implement its closure plan. Receipt of out of state uranium mill
tailings depended on the following license conditions being met:
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Receive final DOH approval for all operations procedures.
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Fully fund the trust fund for decommissioning,
reclamation, and long-term surveillance and control of the millsite
(approximately $14.4 million), or execute a surety bond in the
amount of $14.4 million (the bonding company must be found
financially secure by the State Finance Commission).
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Finalize the site soil contamination survey and submit
soil cleanup volume estimates to DOH.
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Commence ground water remediation.
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Commence construction of evaporation ponds.
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Review of chemical characterization of potential tailings
material by DOH, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Local Citizens Monitoring
Committee.
|
|
1995 |
Construction
was completed of passive evaporation ponds that were designed to accept
contaminated groundwater and process solution from TDA-4. The 5 ponds
are lined with 60-mil HDPE and cover approximately 110 acres of the
site. |
|
1996 |
The
water was removed from TDA-4 and TDA-4 access was stabilized, and work
begun to prepare TDA-4 for the receipt of fill material. Pumping of
groundwater into the evaporation ponds was resumed. |
|
1998 |
DMC’s radioactive materials license was renewed which continued to allow
DMC to import out of state uranium mill tailings for TDA-4 fill
material. An extensive public process preceded license renewal. |
|
2001 |
DMC’s radioactive
materials license was amended to disallow disposal of offsite
uranium mill tailing, to change the reclamation date from 2019 to 2013,
to allow the direct disposal of sludge/filtercake from the Midnite Mine
water treatment plant into TDA-4, and to require milestones for
individual reclamation tasks. The license amendment process included
many public meetings. |
Significant Millsite Cleanup Activities
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In 2001, DOH determined that the ground water pump-back system was no longer
effective in reducing contamination and therefore directed DMC to prepare a
Corrective Action Assessment of remediation alternatives. Ground water
tests have commenced to determine the effectiveness of creating a
bio-remediation barrier to reduce uranium concentrations. Uranium and
sulfates are the contaminants of concern. During the test, ethanol and
sugars were injected into test wells. The ethanol and sugars feed the local
bacteria in ground water, which proliferate, consuming oxygen which creates
a reducing environment in the aquifer and changes the uranium into an
insoluable form. The results from the test are now being evaluated to
determine the next phase of testing.
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In the summer and fall
of 2003, the mill buildings and process tanks were demolished and buried in
TDA-4.
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Major contaminated
soil cleanup occurred at the millsite in the summer and fall of 2005.
Contaminated soils along State Highway 231 and the county entrance road were
also removed and disposed in Tailings Area 4.
Washington State Regulatory Authority Over Uranium Mills
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The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended, created the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) and provides for the regulation of radioactive
materials.
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The AEA authorized the NRC to enter into agreements with individual states
to allow the state to regulate radioactive materials within the state's
boundaries.
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Washington State became an Agreement State in 1966. Over the years,
Washington has by statute or regulation developed a regulatory program that
is compatible with NRC rules and regulations.
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In
1978, Congress Passed UMTRCA (Uranium Mill Tailings Reclamation and
Conservation Act) to specifically address reclamation and closure of uranium
mill facilities. 10 CFR Part 40 is the federal regulation that govern mill
closures.
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Chapter 70.121 RCW
provides the statutory authority for Washington State's
oversight of uranium mills and Chapter
246-252 WAC is the main
implementing regulation.
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Every uranium mill licensee is required to post acceptable financial
assurance in the event it abandons, defaults, or is otherwise unable to meet
the requirements of the Department of Health (70.121.100
RCW).
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If the licensee posts a bond as financial assurance,
70.121.110
RCW
requires a review of the financial health of the bonding company by the
State Finance Committee.
Midnite Mine
The Midnite
Mine is a uranium mine located on the Spokane Tribe of Indians Reservation and
25 miles from Dawn’s uranium millsite at Ford, Washington.
Dawn Mining Company began mining uranium
ore at the Midnite Mine in the 1950's. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was
the lead agency responsible for the reclamation (restoration of the site)
of the mine until 1998 when EPA
took over
the mine
reclamation as
a Superfund Site.
Although the Department
of Health has no authority over the final outcome of restoring the DMC
mine site, it is responsible
for issuing
a radioactive materials
license
for the radioactive sludge
generated by the water treatment plant at the mine
and assuring compliance with the license.
The mine includes two open pits which must be dewatered before final reclamation
can commence. In 1992, the pits contained over 600 million gallons of
contaminated water. DOH issued
the
radioactive materials license to DMC
at that time
for a water treatment plant designed to
decontaminate the pit water.
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EPA has released a Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study under the Superfund Program that describes
alternatives for mine reclamation. The reclamation program will include
cleaning up waste rock, stockpiled ore, improvement of acid mine drainage,
and restoration of the land so the site may be used in the future.
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As of January 1, 2009 the license for Midnite Mine issued by the Washington
State Department of Health was terminated and transferred to the
Environmental Protection Agency.
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