Projects are underway at Bluewater and L-Bar.
June 16, 2021
minute read time
Partnerships and collaboration are key components of success for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM). LM and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) work closely on several projects, but the largest underway addresses challenges at LM’s Bluewater and L-Bar disposal sites in New Mexico.
LM and the USACE Albuquerque District office will be working together to address erosion issues at the L-Bar site, repair subsidence and depressions on top of the main tailings disposal cell and construct a new spillway at the Bluewater site, and repair erosion issues impacting access roads at both sites.
To ensure teams from both organizations share a clear and common understanding of the scope of the work, leadership from both LM and USACE recently toured both sites together. LM Deputy Director of Field Operations David Shafer, Team Lead Paul Kerl, and LM site managers were joined by the USACE Albuquerque District Commander Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Stevens and supporting project teams from both organizations for informational tours of both sites.
David Shafer noted: “Projects such as these are often hard to clearly understand until you can see it with your own two eyes. The tours with the USACE team provided a great opportunity to not only discuss and understand the projects at Bluewater and L-Bar, but also highlighted the value of the partnership between LM and USACE.
On March 16, L-Bar Site Manager Bill Frazier led the group to several locations across the former uranium processing site, providing a historical overview and facilitating discussions about the plans to address several erosional features for which USACE will lead the efforts to remedy. The teams then met at the Bluewater site on March 18 for a tour led by Site Manager Bernadette Tsosie. The primary focus of the work at Bluewater will be to address depressions on the top of the cell that result in ponding during major precipitation events. After providing an update about the history, remediation, and current status of the site, Tsosie led the team on top of the 354-acre main tailings disposal cell. Although dry during the visit, the teams could see where water had previously accumulated in the depressions, which are up to four feet deep in some areas.
“This is the kind of stuff I love — interagency partnerships that can work on a project with a lasting impact,” Lt. Col. Stevens said. “We’re excited to be working with LM and appreciate the opportunity to be involved.”
The upcoming planning, investigation, design, and construction work at the L-Bar and Bluewater sites will span multiple years. The opportunity for leadership from both organizations to visit the sites together and understand the scope of the projects has laid the foundation for a successful collaboration.
“We appreciate the partnership, expertise, and world-class engineering and construction support from USACE, as well as the fact that we share a focus on protecting human health and the environment,” Kerl said.
