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Description: Sixteen million tons of radioactive uranium tailings in Moab, Utah are being removed to a secure location, providing local jobs and alleviating the threat to the drinking water for millions in four states.

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The uranium tailings field outside Moab, Utah cover 130 acres and rise as high as 90 feet.

 

Over the course of almost 30 years, a uranium mill in southeastern Utah produced 16 million tons of radioactive tailings that have become a threat to the drinking water of millions of people in four states. Now, $108 million in Recovery funds is significantly aiding the effort to remove the threat to a secure location.  

Tailings are the residue left after ore is processed. The mill just outside Moab processed uranium ore for nuclear weapons and power, leaving behind not only the tailings but also other heavy metals covering 130 acres and rising to as much as 90 feet in some places – and only 750 feet from the banks of the Colorado River.

Though the level of radioactivity is relatively low and a foot of soil was placed as an interim cover on the hazardous material, environmental danger still exists. The property is vulnerable to river flooding, violent cloudbursts, and high winds. Also, contaminants leach into the ground water, which can drain to the Colorado--a source of drinking water to 22 million people in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

In April 2009, the Department of Energy (DOE) began transferring the tailings from the defunct mill to a secure storage facility in Crescent Junction 30 miles north. Moving the first one million tons took eleven months. But the infusion of Recovery funds, which began in May 2010, has allowed DOE and local officials to hire more than 200 workers and buy additional heavy equipment. Officials say they expect to transfer the next one million tons in five months.

DOE was originally loading about 50,000 tons of tailings a month into sealed containers for railroad transport to Crescent Junction. But the Recovery funds covered the cost of a second gantry crane, which lifts the containers onto the train beds. The money also allowed authorities to run 10 trains per week with 136 containers per train instead of the four trains with 88 containers they had been running.

"The funding from the Recovery Act allowed us to accelerate our cleanup efforts and add new jobs, so the community is seeing two major benefits," said Donald Metzler, director of the project.  

The Moab site is only 750 feet from the Colorado River. (click to enlarge)

In addition to removing the tailings, DOE installed 42 ground-water extraction wells to prevent discharge of contaminants into the Colorado River. To date, these wells have pumped up more than 150 million gallons of ground water, which was piped it into an evaporation pond, from which 643,000 pounds of ammonia and 2,800 pounds of uranium were eventually extracted and secured.

Since 2002, DOE has received a total $164 million to clean up the Moab mill. Based on that level of funding, expected completion date is 2025. If DOE continues to receive the additional Recovery funding of $108 million, the agency says it could finish the project by 2019.

Photos: the Department of Energy 

 

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Project to Improve Broadband Adoption by People with Disabilities

WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a nearly $15 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, and improve communications for people with disabilities nationwide.

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The Office of Tax Analysis estimates that, as of June 2010, $223 billion in tax relief has been made available. This relief comes in various forms including the Making Work Pay tax credit, COBRA Continuation Coverage Assistance, and tax incentives for businesses.

Cumulative as of	Mar '09	Jun '09	Sep '09	Dec '09	Mar '10	Jun '10
Making Work Pay	$2.3	$15.0	$26.9	$36.9	$64.4	$73.0
Other Individual Credits	$0.0	$8.5	$18.1	$21.6	$49.1	$98.0
Energy Incentives	$0.0	$0.4	$0.9	$2.2	$1.5	$7.3
Tax Incentives for Business	$0.1	$14.4	$25.4	$33.3	$40.5	$38.5
COBRA	$0.8	$4.9	$8.9	$3.7	$6.0	$4.8
Manufacturing & Economic Recovery,   Infrastructure Refinancing, Other	$0.0	$0.0	$3.5	$1.2	$1.0	$1.4
Cumulative Totals	$3.2	$43.2	$83.8	$99.1	$162.7	$223.0

 

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Report Finds Recovery Act Advanced Vehicle Projects Are Creating Jobs, Spurring Private Capital Investment and Cutting Electric Vehicle Cost

WASHINGTON, DC - Ahead of President Obama's trip to Holland, MI tomorrow for the official groundbreaking of the new Compact Power plant, the Department of Energy today released a new report on the economic impact of Recovery Act investments in advanced batteries and vehicles.  The report, "Recovery Act Investments: Transforming America's Transportation Sector," documents how Recovery Act funds are being matched with private capital to create new jobs, construct new plants, add new manufacturing lines, install electric vehicle charging stations across the country and help build the emerging domestic electric vehicle industry from the ground up.

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Washington, DC - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new technologies.   Today's funding announcement builds on the Department's existing efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) to develop near-term clean energy technologies and support American small businesses that will play an important role in building the clean energy economy of the future.  This is the first time DOE has offered Phase III awards under these small business programs.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Massachusetts will receive $58.6 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Page Content: Oregon Recovery Dollars Have Provided Funding For More Than 3,600 Education Jobs

Description: New tracks are being laid on rail lines and bus shelters are being added to improve on-time performance and service for commuters throughout the metropolitan Boston area.

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Electricians install heaters at a bus stop on the Washington Street Silver Line (L). Construction workers upgrading tracks.

 

Three projects aimed at improving on-time performance of two commuter rail lines and providing more amenities and better service for bus riders in the Boston metropolitan area are being funded by $75.2 million in Recovery funds. These projects which had been on hold due to budget constraint have now been started.

The project with most of the funding – $50 million – is the Fitchburg commuter rail line, the longest in the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA)  system and among the worst for on-time performance.  New tracks are being added to a portion of the line and switches are being constructed that will allow trains to move from one track to the other. Officials of the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR), which operates and maintains the MBTA’s commuter rail network, say that the improvements will increase Fitchburg’s capacity, reliability, and on-time performance.  Trains will be able to go faster and maneuver around a disabled train or other obstacles that cause backups and delays. Work started in October 2009 and is expected to be completed by December 2011.

MBCR is using another $17.4 million of the Recovery Act funds for similar improvements to the Haverhill commuter rail line, which runs between Boston and Haverhill.  New tracks are being added to a 6-mile portion of the line that is currently a single track, allowing trains to easily get around delays. Signal and switch improvements will also be made. MBCR officials say the project will significantly increase service reliability and on-time performance.  Work started in April 2010 and is expected to be completed by February 2012.

Haverhill  - New tracks will increase on-time performance.

The third project, costing the remaining $7.8 million, includes the installation of new shelters and benches along the MBTA’s busiest bus routes.  Additional signage and pavement markings along with accessibility improvements for people with disabilities are also part of the project. Contractors and temporary MBTA staff hired through the Recovery Act are performing the work, which began in April 2010 and is expected to be completed by October 2011.

 Photos provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority

 

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Page Content: Alabama Recovery Dollars Have Provided Funding For More Than 4,300 Education Jobs

Page Content: New ARPA-E projects in 18 states will accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies, increase America's competitiveness and create jobs

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced 43 cutting-edge research projects that aim to dramatically improve how the U.S. uses and produces energy.  Funded with $92 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), today's selections focus on accelerating innovation in green technology while increasing America's competitiveness in grid scale energy storage, power electronics and building efficiency. 

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First transit project funded under DOT’s TIGER program

Kent, OH -- The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) today signed a grant agreement providing $20 million in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funds that will allow work to go forward on the Kent Central Gateway Multimodal Transit Center. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Congressman Tim Ryan and PARTA officials in making the announcement in Kent, OH.

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Amount Represents First Installment on $545 Million from Recovery Act

In January, President Obama announced that North Carolina was awarded $545 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to continue its development of high-speed intercity rail. Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the State of North Carolina have finalized a grant agreement for $20.3 million, the first installment of the $545 million awarded to the state.

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$119.6 million for states to assist workers impacted by foreign trade

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $119.6 million in funding allocations for Trade Adjustment Assistance to states to assist workers who lose their jobs due to outsourcing and foreign trade. These allocations are from the second distribution for fiscal year 2010 and represent, along with previously distributed initial allocation and reserve requests, approximately 90 percent of the total amount available for TAA training for this year.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Maine will receive $13 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Title: Maine to Receive $13 Million to Turn Around Its Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Maine will receive $13 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.