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Navajo Asks For FEMA Help, While Preparing To Sue EPA
Laurel Morales
Irving Shaggy is worried about his family's 10-acre farm and livestock.
The president of the Navajo Nation has requested help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist his nation’s recovery from last month’s mine spill into a major waterway. The tribe is also preparing to sue the federal government over the disaster.
On Aug. 5, the Environmental Protection Agency was investigating an old mine in Colorado when it released 3 million gallons of mine waste. The incident shut down the Animas and San Juan rivers, a main water source for the Navajo Nation.
Environmental Protection Agency
On Aug. 5, 2015, the EPA spilled contaminated wastewater from the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colorado.
The EPA said both rivers have returned to pre-spill conditions. Although Navajo officials have reopened their irrigation canal, many farmers still question the safety of the water for animals and crops.
Water Defense, a nonprofit, conducted what it calls “cumulative tests” that show heavy metals which weren’t in the river before the spill.
Ethel Branch, the tribe’s attorney general, has hired a law firm to represent the tribe in its claims against the EPA. Lead attorney John Hueston represented the tribe in securing the $5.15 billion Tronox case, the largest environmental recovery settlement in U.S. history.
"With unknown amounts of this fine sediment in our water, we now face the risk of reliving this nightmare with every major increased water flow event," Branch said in a statement.
More Gold King Mine Coverage
- CAP Official: Mine Contaminants Likely Won't Affect Arizona Water Supply
- ADEQ Expects No Noticeable Change In Arizona Water Quality After Mine Spill
- Navajo President Opens Irrigation Canal After Mine Spill
- Navajo Nation Farmers Reject Use Of Water After Mine Spill
- Navajo Farmers Worry About Future Seasons
- Navajo Farmers Air Frustrations To EPA Over Wastewater Spill
- EPA Addresses Wastewater Spill With Community In Farmington, New Mexico
- ADEQ: Waste From Abandoned Arizona Mines Less Likely To Cause Big Problems
- Navajo Farmers Watch Crops Dry Up In Wake Of Mine Wastewater Spill
- Navajo President Threatens To Sue EPA Over Mine Spill
- Officials: Impact Of Contaminated Wastewater On Lake Powell, Colorado River Unknown
- EPA Releases Mine Waste Into Colorado's Animas River
