The U.S. Department of Justice formally lodged a consent decree on Oct. 29, 2025 (D.N.M. 1:25-cv-00987) requiring United Nuclear Corporation and General Electric to pay $63 million to remediate the Northeast Church Rock Mine site on Navajo Nation land in Section 36, T16N, R16W, roughly 17 miles northeast of Gallup. Local reporting by KRQE News 13 followed on Oct. 30, and the Navajo Nation president issued a statement welcoming the funds. The agreement obligates the companies to fund removal of contaminated soil, long-term groundwater treatment and a tribal health clinic fund intended to address health impacts in surrounding communities.

The Northeast Church Rock site is the scene of the nation’s largest accidental release of radioactive materials. Documents accompanying the settlement confirm that a 1979 tailings dam failure released 94 million gallons of acid-laden slurry and 1,100 tons of tailings into the Puerco River. Airborne contamination later spread into the Red Water Pond Road community. The site was added to the federal Superfund National Priorities List in 1983 and has been the focus of intermittent cleanup work for decades.

For residents of Red Water Pond Road and Pipeline Road — about 1,200 people, predominantly Navajo sheepherding families — the settlement promises an end to years of temporary relocations during excavation and remediation activities. Community health studies and local health boards have documented persistent impacts: EPA groundwater testing shows uranium levels still 50 to 200 times above safe drinking-water standards, and the 2023 Diné Health Survey found cancer rates in the area three to five times the national average. Many families continue to haul water up to 20 miles because local wells remain unsafe.

Under the consent decree, roughly 450,000 tons of contaminated soil will be excavated and trucked to a licensed disposal cell; plans call for permanent groundwater treatment systems and allocation of $2 million to a tribal health clinic fund. Key local and regional entities will take monitoring or advisory roles, including the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency as lead monitor, the Eastern Navajo Health Board, and grassroots activists. The Southwest Research and Information Center, which sued United Nuclear in 2019 to press for a comprehensive settlement, is credited as a driving force behind the agreement.

Several implementation details remain unresolved and will be addressed during a 45-day public comment period that ends Dec. 13, 2025. Residents and local officials are pressing for clarity on the haul-truck route — likely using NM-566 to I-40 — as well as robust dust-control measures to prevent recontamination during transport. Community advocates also want clarity on whether the $2 million health fund will cover services such as genetic counseling and long-term cancer screening.

The settlement has immediate local implications: school bus Route 9 for Gallup McKinley County Schools runs within two miles of the plume, prompting parent demands for soil testing at nearby elementary playgrounds. The agreement marks a significant legal and financial milestone in a cleanup effort that began when United Nuclear first milled uranium on the site in 1977 and follows a 2009 Navajo Nation ban on new uranium mining. Local reporting outlets and public records show this settlement and the Church Rock Chapter’s 2024 health-study request were not previously noted on Prism’s McKinley page, making the DOJ filing and subsequent coverage a newly verified development for county residents. Next steps will hinge on the public comment process and the technical plans issued by regulators and the parties to the consent decree.