The deluge - 2 to 4 inches of rain in a matter of hours - cut through the layer of sand that covers the massive pile of uranium waste on the banks of the Colorado River. It also washed out a containment berm and left a puddle on top of the 130-acre pile.

The Energy Department oversees the cleanup and says there is no evidence that contaminated tailings escaped. Don Metzler, in charge of the massive cleanup, said his crews quickly replaced the dirt cover.

Local and state leaders said the storm damage shows how vulnerable the pile is to nature's fickle forces. They are determined to prevent delays and lean budgets to leave the pile in harm's way long enough for the next natural disaster.

"That's not what anyone wants to see," said Alyson Heyrend, an aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. "The tailings need to be moved."

"It was amazing to see what happened," said Grand County Council member Joette Langianese. "It sends the message that we've got to get this thing out of here."

The Energy Department has the project on a 10- to 12-year timetable. Grand County and Matheson would like to trim two years from that, but they question whether current funding levels - about $28 million this year - will be enough to keep that schedule for work estimated to cost between $458 million and $697 million.

Plans are to build a rail spur to haul the uranium mill waste to Crescent Junction, 32 miles north, between I-70 and the Book Cliffs. About 18 million tons of waste - 1 1/2 times the debris left by the World Trade Center collapse - was left behind after the Atlas uranium mill went bankrupt in the 1980s.

Metzler said the Energy Department will have to be prepared to deal with Mother Nature until the cleanup is done, and he believes it is prepared. Meanwhile, he's pleased to be keeping up on the monitoring and preparation.

"Right now, we're in great shape" for funding, he said. "The project is being supported within the highest levels."

Langianese plans a lobbying trip to Washington in the next few months as Congress refines next year's budget.

fahys@sltrib.com