Navajo lawmakers to vote on proposed tribal Superfund law
| Posted: February 01, 2008 | ||||||||||
| by: The Associated Press | ||||||||||
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleaned up contaminated soil on properties near an abandoned uranium mine in Church Rock last year after Navajo officials spent years trying to persuade the federal agency to do so. Navajo EPA officials hope that cleaning up such sites won't take as much time in the future. The Tribal Council is expected to vote on a bill - similar to the federal Superfund law - that would allow Navajo officials to monitor and remove all hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants that could endanger the health and safety of residents. ''This is our approach to provide us with some authority similar to what the state and federal government have in response to dealing with hazardous waste,'' said Navajo EPA Executive Director Stephen Etsitty. U.S. EPA officials say the federal government still would work to clean up sites on the reservation, but the tribal law would allow the Navajo EPA to identify and take action on sites that are not always of federal interest. ''There's so many sites and issues to be dealt with that obviously the more people you have tackling it, bringing tools to bear, the better,'' said Michael Hingerty, deputy branch chief in the EPA's Office of Regional Counsel in San Francisco. ''The EPA is only ever going to be able to get to a fraction of the problems. Every bit helps.'' The law would serve the same purposes as the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as the Superfund law. The Navajo Nation has adopted a list of chemicals the federal government uses to determine whether a site is hazardous and added petroleum to that list. ''This added flexibility should help avoid disputes over the application of the act to various and environmental public health threats,'' the proposed tribal law states. Like the Superfund law, the tribal legislation places responsibility for the cleanup on current and past owners of sites or those who arrange for hazardous substances to be brought onto the Navajo Nation. If those responsible cannot immediately be identified, the tribe would use funding generated by a tariff on transporters of hazardous waste to clean up the site and seek reimbursement when possible, said Freida White, senior environmental specialist for the Navajo EPA. The amount of the tariff hasn't been decided. It's also not known when the tribe could begin cleaning up sites. Of particular interest to tribal officials is the cleanup of more than 1,000 abandoned uranium mining sites that have left a legacy of disease on the reservation that extends over parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. ''A lot of people have been affected in respect to their health,'' White said. The U.S. EPA is working with the Navajo Nation and a number of federal agencies to develop a 5-year action plan to address the environmental effects of uranium mining on the reservation. A spokesman for the agency, Wendy Chavez, said the EPA will test 75 water sources and 100 structures this spring, and those found to be contaminated will be considered for cleanup under the federal Superfund program. Chavez said the agency also is working with tribal officials to clean up mining sites ranked highest for environmental risk, starting with the Northeast Church Rock Mine near Gallup. The tribal Superfund measure is on the council's agenda for its winter session, which began Jan. 28 in the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Ariz. Delegates George Arthur, the chairman of the council's Resources Committee, and Curran Hannon are sponsoring the legislation. The council's Judiciary, Resources and Ethics and Rules committees have passed the measure, although committee approval is not required for the bill to reach the full council. The tribe has been working on drafting the legislation for more than a decade, and White said she is hopeful it will pass. ''Oh, I know it will,'' she said. ''There's a need for it.'' | ||||||||||
Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 12:14PM
by
Gregor Gable
in Indigenous People Social Justice
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Gregor Gable
in Indigenous People Social Justice
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