LUDLOW, S.D. — A portion of a multi-billion settlement between the federal government and a petroleum company will finance the cleanup of an abandoned uranium mine in northwest South Dakota.
The Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/1m3kJuP ) reports that $179 million will be used to rid the abandoned Riley Pass uranium mine of toxic metals and other elements. The site sprawls across 250 acres of bluffs and other land in the North Cave Hills.
The U.S. Department of Justice in April announced that it reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for the cleanup of thousands of long-contaminated sites nationwide, including the one in South Dakota.
The settlement is the largest ever for environmental contamination.
Riley Pass project coordinator Dan Seifert says it's unclear when the cleanup will begin.