KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2026 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Activist Erin Brockovich Tours Navajo Nation To See Impact Of Mine Spill

Brockovich
Brockovich.com
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich toured the Navajo Nation Tuesday to see the impacts of the Aug. 5 mine spill.

Audio Clip

Activist Erin Brockovich Tours Navajo Nation To See Spill Impacts

Activist Erin Brockovich Tours Navajo Nation To See Impact Of Mine Spill

Brockovich.com

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich toured the Navajo Nation on Sept. 8.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is visited the Navajo Nation on Tuesday to see the impact of a mine waste spillon Navajo farms. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally released 3 million gallons of mine waste into the Animas and San Juan rivers.

Erin Brockovich spoke to a crowd gathered at Shiprock High School about taking a stand. She said all it takes is one person.

“You have to develop the habits of persevering even when you don’t want to and it would be easier to give up,” Brockovich said. “I’m telling you today, never give up! Have sticktoitiveness.”

As a legal clerk in the 1990s, Brockovich investigated illnesses in a California community that were linked to a groundwater pollutant. Residents settled the case for $333 million dollars, and their story was made into a movie.

The Navajo Nation plans to sue the EPA over the Aug. 5 spill. Hundreds of Navajo farmers and ranchers are still reluctant to use water from the San Juan River for fear of contamination. The EPA initially downplayed the incident, but has since brought in water for people, crops and livestock. 

The Navajo president called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional help but was turned down.

More Gold King Mine Coverage

Laurel Morales was a Fronteras Desk senior field correspondent in Flagstaff from 2011 to 2020.