“Their number one priority is the safety of our community, which we support, of course” said Joette Langianese, a Grand County Council member who met with Energy Department officials.

The 130-acre, 16-million-ton pile of uranium-processing waste, called tailings, leaches ammonia, uranium and other contaminants into the Colorado River, which serves more than 30 million people downstream.

The pile is located just north of Moab in eastern Utah, on U.S. Highway 191 within a mile of the Arches National Park entrance. Members of Congress tangled with the Energy Department this spring over the timing of and funding for the $300 million project.

Langianese notes the Energy Department has until the end of June to report whether it can stick to the cleanup schedule Congress has set. Costs and safety are key factors in the current discussions, she said. James A. Rispoli, the assistant secretary for Energy and Environmental Management, and Cynthia Anderson, headquarters deputy chief executive officer, met with Moab and county officials.

“It sounds to me like everything is on the table,” said Langianese.

Originally, the idea was to haul the tailings to the mesa-top north of the Potash Road, but problems prompted the Energy Department to ask the contractor, Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions, to consider using trucks instead. A decision hasn't been made.

Locals didn't like the prospect of hundreds of dump trucks rumbling 30 miles up U.S. Highway 191 to dump the contaminated soil and debris at Crescent Junction. Though cheaper, it might have had a higher expected safety cost because of the narrow highway, which tourists use to access Arches National Park across the way from the tailings pile.

Trucking is looking more appealing, though, because the road has been improved and rail costs are up.

Whatever solution is chosen, Energy Department officials agreed that the public should be involved - possibly with meetings in Salt Lake City, said Langianese.

John Ward, a spokesman for EnergySolutions, said preparations continue during the deliberations. Crews are preparing the massive tailings pile for removal and finishing the disposal site at Crescent Junction.

“You've got to get the infrastructure set on both ends of the job before you can start moving material,” he said.

In its quarterly report last week, EnergySolutions noted that it plans to spend about $35 million on capital investment this year, much of it for trucks and other equipment needed for the Moab cleanup.

“This is a major project," Ward said, "and we are working with the Department of Energy to meet their goals.”

fahys@sltrib.com