Rage on the reservation: EPA spill stokes Navajo mistrust of feds
The mistrust Native Americans have long harbored toward the federal government has gone to another level in Navajo territory land, where residents angrily scoff at the Environmental Protection Agency's assurances its accidental mining spill won't foul the key San Juan River floodplain they depend on for their lives and livelihoods.EPA Secretary Gina McCarthy rushed to the region this week in the wake of the spill at the defunct Gold King Mine near Durango, Colo., to announce that the river system that includes Cement Creek and the Animas, San Juan and Colorado rivers will not be seriously impacted by a spill of 3 million gallons of mining wastewater laden with heavy metals. But McCarthy's claim that ecosystem was "restoring itself" did not convince Navajo leaders.The EPA was right in the middle of the disaster, and we intend to make sure the Navajo Nation recovers every dollar it spends cleaning up this mess and every dollar it loses as a result of injuries to our precious Navajo natural resources, said Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye. livefyreNOW PLAYINGIs the EPA still not being forthcoming about toxic spill?The mistrust Native Americans have long harbored toward the federal government has gone to another level in Navajo territory land, where residents angrily scoff at the Environmental Protection Agency's assurances its accidental mining spill won't foul the key San Juan River floodplain they depend on for their lives and livelihoods.EPA Secretary Gina McCarthy rushed to the region this week in the wake of the spill at the defunct Gold King Mine near Durango, Colo., to announce that the river system that includes Cement Creek and the Animas, San Juan and Colorado rivers will not be seriously impacted by a spill of 3 million gallons of mining wastewater laden with heavy metals. But McCarthy's claim that ecosystem was "restoring itself" did not convince Navajo leaders.The EPA was right in the middle of the disaster, and we intend to make sure the Navajo Nation recovers every dollar it spends cleaning up this mess and every dollar it loses as a result of injuries to our precious Navajo natural resources, said Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye."The sludge has now entered the waters of the Navajo Nation, and the Navajo people along the San Juan River now have uncertain access to clean water to drink, water for their sheep and cattle and water to irrigate their fields."- Russell Begaye, president of Navajo NationBegaye, whose nation's reservation includes a large cluster along the banks of New Mexico's San Juan River, urged his people not to quickly sign government reimbursement Standard Form 95, an application for payment of losses incurred, as it could limit future legal options. Many Navajo don't have running water, and collect treated water at various distribution points along the river and use untreated water for irrigating crops and sustaining livestock.More on this...New Mexico governor slams EPA over toxic mine spillThe Navajo reservation occupies more than 27,000 square miles, straddling parts of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah and northwestern New Mexico. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/16/rage-on-reservation-navajo-mistrust-feds-ran-deep-before-epa-spill/
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