In 1952, Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company formed the Haystack Mountain Development Company which began exploration and mining of uranium deposits in and around Haystack Butte. Mining operations continued episodically until 1965. In 1987 the Haystack Mountain Development Company merged into the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company. In 1996 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company merged with Burlington Northern Railroad Company. In 2005 the merged companies became known as BNSF Railway Company.
A removal assessment conducted by EPA in 2014 determined that legacy uranium mining contamination remained in areas in and around residential structures. This contamination was determined to pose a risk to human health.
In 2017 BNSF signed an EPA Administrative Order on Consent to complete a Time Critical Removal Action to mitigate this identified uranium contamination.
