The department said Wednesday that it will recommend in an upcoming final environmental impact statement that the Cold War-era uranium mill tailings be moved by rail to a site 30 miles north from where they now sit four miles from Moab along the bank of the Colorado River across from Arches National Park.

For Hedden, a former Grand County councilman, and other residents and government officials, the announcement was especially sweet after years of pushing to have the unsightly and unhealthy tailings moved away from this red rock tourist destination.

"I actually cried this morning when I got the call. I surprised myself with that reaction," said Hedden, now executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust, an environmental group that has lobbied Congress on the tailings issue.

"Our democracy works slowly sometimes, but frequently we end up in the right place. This was a roller coaster."

The decision is a victory long overdue for Western politicians, county officials and environmentalists who have argued for years that toxic chemicals leaching from the pile are contaminating the Colorado River, the major source of drinking water for about 25 million people in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California.

"This just goes to show what a small town can do when people work together," Grand County Councilwoman Joette Langianese said of the Energy Department's decision. "The fact that we got this decision is amazing. Just a year ago, everybody was feeling like it wouldn't happen."

The relocation effort, which probably will take five years, also will bring jobs to Grand County, Langianese said. And many feel having the 130-acre site cleaned up will boost tourism.

"I'm looking forward to the time when we can drive down Moab Valley and see its beauty instead of seeing a toxic pile," Langianese said.

"This is a good day for Grand County."

Moab activist Sarah Fields, who spent years researching the environmental impact of the tailings, said pressure from other state and federal agencies made it almost impossible for the Energy Department to recommend leaving the tailings at their current site.

"I'm sure the [Energy Department] felt they wouldn't have a leg to stand on," she said.

Ute Mountain Ute tribal leaders and residents of White Mesa, a small community in southeastern Utah, had opposed one cleanup alternative that would have transported the tailings to the White Mesa processing mill located on tribal lands south of Blanding.

"It took a tremendous amount of time and money to discuss the White Mesa alternative, even though it was a ridiculous idea," said Tom Rice, director of the Ute Mountain Environmental Department.

"We're pleased that the decision was made to move it to a less populated area."