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Record of Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at the Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit III - Surface Water and Ground Water, Monticello, Utah

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Record of Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at the Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit III - Surface Water and Ground Water, Monticello, Utah Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository) Depository) 8-1998 Record of Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at The Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit III - Surface Water and Ground Water, Monticello, Utah U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction Office Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/govdocs Part of the Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons Recommended Citation U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction Office, "Record of Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at The Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit III - Surface Water and Ground Water, Monticello, Utah" (1998). All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository). Paper 493. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/govdocs/493 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository) at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PB98-964407 EPA S41-R98-106 November 1998 EPA Superfund Record of Decision: Monticello Mill Tailines (USDOE) OU3 Monticello 19 UT 9/29/1998 GJ0-9~51-TAR Record. of'Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at "];he Monticel~o Mill Tailings~-Site, Operaole lJ.nit III - S-urface Water and Ground"Water, Monticello, Utah August 1998 . .. ~;~::.: ... ~ "--' - " .. ~ .. :.:.; •. ~:;,:'. ': ':.~"/>'"'~::--'" .;, .. , . - ..:.-...... '''-'.'''. ~. .. ". '. ". """ :.-' "... ~. Worlc Performed Under DOE Contract No. DE-AC13-96GJ87335 lor the U.S. Department of Energy APfJfOV~d f(N public ~~Jr; diltnbullOfJ IS unlimitN. RECORD OF DECISION FOR AN INTERIM REl\1EDIAL ACTION AT THE MONTICELLO MILL TAll..INGS SITE, OPERABLE UNIT m-SURFACE WATER AND GROUND WATER, MONTICELLO, UTAH This is a primary document for Operable Unit ill at Monticello, Utah. It will be available in the Administrative Record, which is maintained at the following locations: • Monticello City Offices 17 North 1st Street East Monticello, UT 84535 Hours: 8 a.m..-4:30 p.m. • DOE Grand Junction Office 2597 B lA Road Grand Junction, CO 81503 Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Record of Decision for an Interim Remedial Action at The Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit Ill-Surface Water and Ground Water, Monticello, Utah August 1998 Prepared by u.s. Department of Energy Albuquerque Operations Office Grand Junction Office Project Number MSG-035-OOO9-00-000 Document Number QOO11601 Work Performed Under DOE Contract Number DE-AC13-96GJ87335 Task Order Number MAC98-03 This page intentionally blank Document Number QOO11601 Contents Contents Page AcronymS -.- ................................................................... v Glossary ................................................................. " vii Declaration for the Interim Remedial Action Record of Decision ........................ I Decision Summary for the Interim Remedial Action Record of Decision ................ 1-1 1.0 Site Name, Location, and Description ........................................ 1-3 2.0 Site History and Enforcement Activities ...................................... 2-1 2.1 Site History ......................................................... 2-1 2.2 Investigation History .................................................. 2-1 2.3 Enforcement Activities and Administrative History .......................... 2-2 2.4 Highlights of Community Participation ................................... 2-3 2.5 Scope and Role of Operable Unit mSurface Water and Ground Water Within Site Strategy ........................................................ 2-3 3.0 Summary of Site Characteristics ............................................. 3-1 3.1 Hydrologic Setting ................................................... 3-1 3.1.1 Surface Water .......................................... , ....... 3-1 3.1.2 Ground Water .................................................. 3-1 3.2 Operable Unit m Source Areas .......................................... 3-3 3.3 Nature and Extent of Contamination ..................................... 3-3 3.3.1 Surface-Water Contamination ..................................... 3-3 3.3.2 Ground-Water Contamination ..................................... 3-4 3.4 Conceptual Model of Contaminant Transport .............................. 3-8 4.0 Summary of Site Risks ............. "....................................... 4-1 4.1 Human-Health Risks .................................................. 4-1 4.2 Environmental Risk .................................................. 4-1 4.3 Need for the Interim Remedial Action .................................... 4-2 5.0 Description and Comparison of Interim Remedial Action Alternatives ............... 5-1 5.1 The No-Action Alternative (Alternative 1) ........ " ....................... 5-1 5.2 Institutional Controls, Millsite Dewatering and Treatment, Monitoring. and PeRT Wall Installation and Evaluation (Alternative 2) ....................... 5-1 5.3 Summary of Comparative Analysis of Alternatives .......................... 5-3 5.3.1 Threshold Criteria .............................................. 5-3 5.3.2 Primary Balancing Criteria ....................................... 5-9 5.3.3 Modifying Criteria ............................................. 5-11 6.0 Selected Remedy ......................................................... 6-1 DOFJGrand Junction Office MMTS ou m Interim ROD AUgusll998 iii Contents Document Number QOOll601 Contents (continued) Page 7.0 Statutory Determinations .................................................. 7-1 7.1 Protection of Human Health and the Environment ........................... 7-1 7.2 Compliance with Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements ......... 7-1 7.3 Cost Effectiveness .................................................... 7-1 7.4 Use of Permanent Solutions and Treatment Alternative Technologies or Resource Recovery Technologies to the Maximum Extent Practical .................... 7-2 7.5 Preference for Treatment as a Principal Element ............................ 7-2 7.6 Balancing Criteria .................................................... 7-2 8.0 References .. " ........................................................... 8-1 Appendices Appendix A Responsiveness Summary .............. , ................................. A-I Tables Table 3.3.1-1 Contaminants that Exceed Utah Surface-Water Standards ....... "........ 3~ Table 3.3.2-1 Contaminant Concentrations in Ground Water that Exceed Regulatory Standards ..................................................... 3-7 Table 3.4-1 Human Exposure Pathway Analysis Summary ........................ 3-8 Table 5.3-1 Comparison of the Alternatives Against the Nine CERCLA Criteria ...... 5-3 Table 5.3.1-1 Federal ARARs for au ill Surface Water and Ground Water ............ 5-5 Table 5.3.1-2 State ARARs for au ill Surface Water and Ground Water .............. 5-7 Figures Figure 1-1. Monticello Mill Tailings Site Map ................................. 1~ Figure 3.3.2-1. au ill Ground-Water Plume ................" ...................... 3-5 Figure 3.4-1. Ecological Conceptual Site Model ................................. 3-9 MMTS OU UI Interim ROD DOE/Grand Junctioo Office iv August 1998 Document Number QOO11601 Acronvms Acronyms ARAR applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CT central tendency DOE u.S. Department of Energy EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FFA Federal Facilities Agreement ft feet MMTS Monticello Mill Tailings Site NCP National Contingency Plan O&M operation and maintenance OU operable unit PeRT permeable reactive treatment RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RME reasonable maximum exposure State State of Utah UMTRCA Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act UPDES Utah Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems ydJ cubic yards DOE/Grand Junction Office MMTS OU III Interim ROD August 1998 v This page intentionally blank Document Number Q0911601 Glossary Glossary Administrative Record: All documents which were considered or relied on in selecting the response action at a Superfund site, culminating in the record of decision for remedial action or, an action memorandum for removal actions. Alluvial aquifer: An aquifer composed of unconsolidated materials (sand, gravel, cobbles, silt) deposited by stream flow. Usually is the uppermost aquifer of a ground-water system and is affected by processes at the land surface (e.g., precipitation, streamflow). Aquifer: A geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of yielding a significant amount of ground water to wells or springs. Aquitard: Geological formation that may contain ground water but is not capable of transmitting significant quantities of it under normal hydraulic gradients. May function as a confining bed. Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs): Any state or federal statute that pertains to protection of human life and the environment in addressing specific conditions or use of a particular cleanup technology at a Superfund site. Baseline Risk Assessment: Baseline risk assessments provide an evaluation of the potential threat to human health and the environment in the absence of any remedial action. They provide the basis for determining whether or not remedial action is necessary
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