EPA Issues RFI for Navajo Uranium Mine Cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency late last week issued a request for information for companies capable of performing assessments and technical support activities related to the Navajo Area Uranium Mines cleanup, according to a notice in FedBizOpps. The draft scope of work says the winner of the Navajo Area Uranium Mines Response Assessment and Evaluation Services contract would need to “be prepared to provide scientific/technical support for EPA activities in furtherance of the agency’s primary mission: the protection of human health and the environment.” The scope of work includes preliminary assessments, site inspections, remedial investigation/feasibility studies, and technical support services, among other activities. Responses are due by Oct. 9.

 

The Navajo Nation earlier this year received approximately $1 billion in a settlement that will aid in the cleanup of 50 abandoned uranium mine sites across the tribe’s land in Arizona and New Mexico. The money comes in conjunction with a larger settlement from the Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the parent company of Kerr-McGee Corp., which agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice for $5.15 billion, a record sum from the federal government for the cleanup of environmental contamination. According to the draft scope of work, the cleanup “will bring an unprecedented level of support and protection for the people at risk from these sites. Much work remains to be done, and EPA is committed to working with the Navajo Nation to remove the most immediate contamination risks and to find permanent solutions to the remaining contamination on Navajo lands.”