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A 2024 photo of the former Quivira Mines. Uranium mine waste remains from the mines, which closed in the 1980s.

 Courtesy of the EPA

Uranium mine waste northeast of Gallup is a step closer to being safely stored after the Environmental Protection Agency and Navajo Nation finalized a plan Monday to transport 1 million cubic yards of waste from the Quivira Mines site to a disposal cell near Thoreau.

The plan, an action memo, is an early step in a long process and will move uranium mine waste off of Navajo Nation land, which is home to hundreds of former uranium mines, for permanent storage. Uranium mining was widespread on the Navajo Nation from the 1960s through the 1980s to supply uranium for nuclear weapons and energy development. The Quivira Mines are one of the largest and most high-risk uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation, according to an EPA news release.

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Cathy Cook is a news reporter for the Albuquerque Journal. Reach her via email at [email protected].