Navajo Nation farmers still suffering 16 months after three million gallons of mining waste flowed into San Juan River
The Navajo Nation is seeking more than $160 million in damages and
for alleged ongoing injuries caused by the August 2015 Gold King Mine
spill, which released millions of gallons of toxic wastewater into one
of the tribe’s significant waterways. The Navajo Nation Department of Justice has filed a claim against the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for $159 million in damages
and $3.2 million to cover expenses already submitted that have yet to be
reimbursed, the tribe said on December 5. The EPA admitted responsibility for the spill but has not yet
compensated Navajo residents for the damage or guaranteed that the water
is safe to use. The Navajo already filed a
lawsuit back in August alleging that the three-million-gallon spill could have been prevented, but it did not specify damages. “The spill has transformed our sacred river—once the life-giver and
protector of the Navajo people—into a threat to our people, our crops
and our animals,” Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch said in the
tribe’s statement. “In particular, it has impaired our ability to
maintain the cultural, ceremonial and spiritual practices that undergird
the Navajo way of life.” The Navajo aim to hold the federal government accountable for the breach and force the EPA to provide relief to hundreds of
residents still reeling from the spill.
The money will be used for long-term ecological monitoring, water
treatment, construction of an alternative water supply and the ongoing
monitoring of the cultural, psychological and physical health of the
Navajo people. A seven-page letter from the Navajo Nation to EPA claims officer
Kenneth Redden alleges the agency knew the mine was at risk for a
blowout and “ignored warning signs for years,” the letter states, but
adds that when the breach occurred, crews were “entirely unprepared to
deal with the colossal damage it had unleashed.”...
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