But Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, says the plan for moving a fraction of material by 2011 is not ambitious enough and hopes the department steps up its cleanup efforts.
Under the four-year contract, EnergySolutions will do the initial work on moving the tailings by rail to Crescent Junction, north of Moab, and bury it in a containment pit there.
"These contract awards will bring the Department of Energy one step closer to watching the mill tailings being loaded and moved away from the Colorado River," said Don Metzler, director of the Moab project.
EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker said the company expects to take about six months to plan the project and should begin the actual moving of the tailings sometime early next year.
As many as 150 workers are projected to haul about 2 million tons of material before the contract lapses. But that leaves more than 14 million tons behind, and Matheson said he wants the project to move faster.
"This contract award announcement is months overdue," he said. "The proposal calls for just one-eighth of the tailings pile to be moved by 2011. That's not acceptable, given the hazard posed by the location of the project. I expect a much more expeditious performance, including meeting my completion deadline of 2019."
The Energy Department decided in 2005 to move the uranium tailings, a pasty toxic remnant of ore refining at the Atlas Corp. mill. The mill closed in 1984 and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1998, leaving in place a small remediation fund and an inadequate earthen cap on the pile.
The tailings pile now sits just outside Arches National Park and studies have found that toxic chemicals such as ammonia are seeping into the groundwater and nearby Colorado River, alarming the 25 million residents down river who rely on the river for their drinking water and threatening four species of endangered fish.
The department had estimated it would take seven to 10 years to finish the cleanup, but since then has set 2028 as its target date for completion - which has been criticized by Matheson and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.
Bennett said he was "encouraged" to see the contractor selected, but "I made it clear to DOE that 21 years was an unacceptable timetable for cleanup, and I'll continue to make sure this process moves forward expeditiously."
Metzler said the department will know more about the time line and costs for removing the pile once EnergySolutions develops its schedule.
"This definitely is a step in the right direction for everyone, and the environment, too," Metzler said.
Steve Creamer, CEO of EnergySolutions, said he is "delighted with the contract."
"It is particularly satisfying to be performing this work here at home in Utah," Creamer said. "I'm proud of our team at EnergySolutions and the confidence that DOE has placed in us to complete this work."
The Atlas contract is a significant boost for EnergySolutions, which in March announced it would be going public, issuing $500 million in stock to help cover $764 million in outstanding debt.
Metzler said that over the past five years, the Energy Department has drained and treated more than 83 million gallons of contaminated water from the pile to prevent it from reaching the river. It also has cleaned up and re-vegetated 70 acres of the former mill site.
The department also awarded a contract for up to $22 million to S&K Aerospace Inc., of St. Ignatius, Mont., to provide administrative, records management, training, telecommunications and infrastructure services.
