Summary:

 Senate Bill 276 (SB 276) appropriates two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the Uranium Mining Reclamation Revolving Fund.


 

Legislation Overview:

 Senate Bill 276 (SB 276) appropriates two million dollars ($2,000,000) from the General Fund (GF) to Uranium Mining Reclamation Revolving Fund for expenditure in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and subsequent FYs.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a FY will not revert to the GF.

 

Current Law:

 In 2022, NM created the Uranium Mining Reclamation Revolving Fund that the NM Environment Department administers. Expenditures from the fund support projects undertaken by the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) or the NMED to reclaim uranium mine and mill sites. (Section 9-7A-17 NMSA 1978).

Because there was no regulatory framework in place during the earlier (pre-1990's) round of uranium mining, the New Mexico has been left with a legacy of environmental contamination from these activities. Many past efforts have been ineffective in limiting the risks to the environment and surrounding populations. For example, putting a few inches to feet of clean soil over contaminated rock or tailings may help limit the airborne risks (if the site becomes vegetated), but it does not limit the potential for groundwater contamination. 
To date, two New Mexican uranium mills have been remediated. The Phillips Uranium Mill in Ambrosia Lakes cost $40 million to remediate 3.1 million tons of tailings; the Shiprock Mill cost $25 million to remediate 1.7 million tons of tailings; and Homestake Mill with its 22 million tons of tailings to remediate and the groundwater issues will probably far exceed the $56 million suggested by the NRC. There are many sites in New Mexico that require significant remediation. These include areas that may already have had some remediation such as Jackpile Mine and surrounding mines. https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/legacy.html
 

Amendments:

 2/22/25
The Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee amended SB 276 (SB 276A SIRC) by increasing the appropriation to the Uranium Mining Reclamation Revolving Fund to seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000).