The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recently ordered the Moab UMTRA Project Transition Act of 2025 to be reported favorably with an amendment. Introduced by Senator John R. Curtis, the legislation seeks to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to facilitate the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah.
The proposed bill allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to convey the Moab site to Grand County at no cost once the cleanup of uranium mill tailings is finished. The site is a uranium milling location situated approximately three miles northwest of Moab, Utah.
Under the terms of the act, the DOE would retain specific water rights required to fulfill its responsibilities. This includes maintaining access to wells and the surface footprint associated with those wells if groundwater remediation remains ongoing during the conveyance.
The legislation includes a provision that prohibits Grand County from reconveying any portion of the transferred land to a private entity or nonprofit organization. The bill was originally introduced in the Senate on April 8, 2025, and has undergone committee hearings as of December 2025.
