Cleanup

Uranium Mine & Mill Reclamation in New Mexico

The Uranium Reclamation Strategic Plan, related to Chapter 9-7A-16, is organized by the following initiative goals:

Report to the Legislature, coordinating agencies, and the general public on the status of technical and regulatory aspects of uranium cleanup.
Develop a workforce to support uranium mines and mill reclamation.
Ensure sustainable funding for Strategic Plan implementation.

NMED issued a draft of the Uranium Reclamation Strategic Plan at the end of 2023. NMED continues finalization of the Uranium Reclamation Strategic Plan in conjunction with all listed agencies of HB164 and the Office of the State Engineer. It will be posted on the forthcoming uranium webpage on the NMED website by the end of calendar year 2024.
NMED performed a gap analysis in 2023 to assess establishing a new state program for cleaning up old uranium mines with no responsible party. The analysis evaluated the availability of relevant data, staffing needs, regulatory requirements, gaps, and funding requirements for remediating these sites that have remained untouched for decades.

NMED representatives, including the Uranium Mine Reclamation Coordinator, were added to the Sustainable Economy Advisory Council (SEAC) and Task Force (SET Force) that were created in 2021. NMED participated in monthly SET Force Meetings and in June 2024 presented on the job training pilot program: Careers Remediating Environmental Waste (CREW), to be hosted by San Juan College in Fall 2024 to support the development of a uranium mine reclamation workforce.

NMED engaged Department of Workforce Solutions to administer federal funds for a pilot jobs training program hosted by San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. The three parties entered into a Memorandum of Understanding effective March 2024. The first pilot program will be a three to eight-week course designed to help program participants gain an understanding of the field and prepare them with skills to succeed in an environmental cleanup career.
NMED solicited feedback from employers conducting environmental cleanups that support uranium reclamation and remediation to inform the initial pilot program. This effort concluded in 2024 in a summary document, Employer-led Curriculum Development Report, to support San Juan College and serve as a Labor Market Index report for Workforce, Innovation, and Opportunity Act (WIOA) application purposes.

NMED, in partnership with the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s (EMNRD) Mining and Minerals Division (MMD), released the first iteration of an interactive web mapping tool to increase information access on formerly operating uranium mine and mill sites across New Mexico in January 2024. The Formerly Operating Uranium Mine and Mill Sites dashboard summarizes basic mine and mill site information, any relevant regulatory action under the two agencies’ permitting tracks and displays information for all other sites and federal agencies where available.