[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 5, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ``THE KEEP THE COLORADO RIVER CLEAN ACT''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2000

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, ten and a half million 
tons of toxic mine wastes generated by the now-defunct Atlas Mine are 
stored in a tailings pond located immediately adjacent to the Colorado 
River near Moab, Utah. The tailings pond, built in the 1950's is not 
lined, and as a result, these radioactive and toxic wastes are seeping 
down through the aquifer into the Colorado River.
  Water from the Colorado River makes up a significant part of the 
drinking water supply for Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix 
and Tucson, and is used additionally to irrigate hundreds of thousands 
of acres of agricultural lands. Moreover, the tailings pond, which has 
been designated as critical habitat for four endangered species, is 
situated between Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.
  Leaving a huge, leaking tailings pile right next to the Colorado 
River does not make sense. In the event of flood, the river could 
easily be contaminated. Yet, until recently, the federal government was 
willing to allow the Atlas Corporation to reclaim the site by simply 
placing a dirt cap over the top of the pile. This plan will not stop 
contamination of the Colorado River, which is expected to continue for 
hundreds of years. To address this problem, on January 19, 1999, 
Representatives Pelosi, Gutierrez, Filner and I introduced H.R. 393, a 
bill to require the Department of Energy to move the tailings to a safe 
location and then direct the Attorney General to ascertain the 
liability of the Atlas Corporation, and its parent companies, to secure 
reimbursement as appropriate. This bill was referred to the Commerce 
Committee where it has languished.
  I introduced this bill after years of advocating removal of these 
toxic wastes from the banks of the Colorado River. But, until now the 
Executive Branch has refused to take responsibility for cleaning up 
this site. Thankfully, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has recognized 
the foolishness of this approach and, earlier this year, proposed an 
``agreement-in-principle'' that will enable the abandoned Atlas uranium 
mill tailings site to be moved away from the Colorado River to a safer 
location. The Administration has also requested $10 million for fiscal 
year 2001 to undertake the studies and data collection necessary to 
reclaim the Atlas site.
  In addition to moving the toxic tailings away from the Colorado 
River, Secretary Richardson's proposal also includes solutions to 
several other public lands issues in Utah: the return of certain 
federal lands to the Northern Ute Indian Tribe; reservation of a 
production royalty on future oil and gas development of those lands; 
and protection of a quarter-mile corridor along 75-miles of the Green 
River adjacent to Ute tribal lands.
  This week, I joined Representatives Cannon, Filner, Napolitano, and 
47 other House colleagues in sponsoring H.R. 4165--a revised bi-
partisan bill that will accomplish the full range of goals outlined by 
the Department of Energy and Interior--and most importantly, will 
assure that the toxic mill tailings are moved away from the Colorado 
River to a safe location.

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