MSB Global Capital Corp. (MSBM)

[was builder]

Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah
Draft Environmental Impact Statement

http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/docs/deis/eis0355d/vol_2/appendix_a1-6.pdf

At the White Mesa Mill site, several areas were chained (to remove unwanted vegetation) to
support an active cattle ranch prior to mill operations. These areas were reseeded but are now
mostly void of vegetation due to overgrazing. Current vegetation consists primarily of crested
wheatgrass and invasive weeds. Annual weeds, rabbitbrush, snakeweed, sagebrush, and
cheatgrass dominate vegetation in the surrounding areas, which include some abandoned dry
farms. Areas that were neither cultivated nor chained support sagebrush communities with a
sparse understory of grasses, including galleta and crested wheatgrass. Forbs are rarely found.
Potential vegetation consists of more than 50 percent palatable grasses such as western
wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, needle-and-thread grass, and squirreltail; 15 to 20 percent increaser
grasses, including galleta and blue grama; 25 percent decreaser browse plants, including
winterfat; and 5 to 10 percent big sagebrush, ephedra, and other shrubs.
Truck transportation between Moab and the White Mesa Mill site would be along US-191. There
is no existing rail route south of Moab; therefore, rail transport to White Mesa Mill is not
considered an option. A slurry pipeline would follow mostly existing rights-of-way through
federally administered lands. However, approximately 29 miles of new rights-of way would be
required, which would occur in an area that likely supports a greater diversity and abundance of
vegetation and wildlife than the other pipeline routes. For example, the region near Monticello,
Utah, north of the White Mesa Mill site where the new right-of-way would pass, supports piñonjuniper
forests, and scattered ponderosa pine stands dominate this zone at higher elevations.
Recent NRC environmental assessments for the White Mesa Mill site concluded that no
threatened or endangered species were being adversely affected by current mill operations
(IUC 2003).