Posted on 08/10/2015 12:53:26 PM PDT by Kartographer
Tribal officials with the Navajo Nation declared an emergency as a massive plume of contaminated wastewater from an abandoned Colorado mine flowed down the San Juan River on Monday toward Lake Powell in Utah, which supplies much of the water to the Southwest.
Some drinking water systems on the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, have shut down their intake systems and stopped diverting water from the river.
Drinking water is being hauled to some communities.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
So how much is the EPA going to fine the EPA for this toxic spill? Will they files papers to have them (EPA) shut down for such an egregious violation?
1 hour ago
“They are not going to get away with this.”
That’s what Russell Begaye, the president of the Navajo Nation, had to say to Fox in response to the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally causing a massive spill of toxic sludge into Cement Creek.
The EPA was supposed to be decontaminating the sludge at a Colorado goldmine. Instead, they released it into the creek, where it traveled down the Animas, San Juan, and Colorado rivers.
Now, according to Begaye, the sludge is on its way to the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation within the United States, and is due to reach Lake Powell by Wednesday.
“We are demanding from the U.S. EPA an immediate release of detailed information on the type of contaminants that is flowing into the river from the Gold King Mine,” Begaye said in a statement. “This is an all too familiar story on the lax oversight responsibility of the U.S. government. It is unfortunate that we have to once again tell our people to stay away from the river due to the release of dangerous chemicals into our water.”
And yet, people wonder why Native Americans are suspicious of mines, why Native Americans don’t trust the Keystone XL Pipeline, or why Native Americans want corporations and the federal government to just leave them and their lands alone.
I’m glad to see that the Navajo Nation is suing. The Navajo are sovereign, and they are not responsible for this mess.
It’s no wonder that green issues are so important to Native Americans. These are issues that affect them in very real ways every day.
I am reminded of the San Carlos Apache who are fighting a mining company trying to build a copper mine on their land. I am reminded, of course, of the Lakota, who have placed themselves front and center in the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline.
When will we stand with them?
This is very probably going to destroy the utility of Lake Powell for 10 years or more.
I am reminded of the San Carlos Apache who are fighting a mining company trying to build a copper mine on their land. I am reminded, of course, of the Lakota, who have placed themselves front and center in the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline.
When will we stand with them?
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I hope those tribe don’t use electricity or fuels...
I think you’ll find a fairly suspicious bunch here and it has nothing to do with Native American. At the bottom I was waiting for “Red Lives Matter”.
We’re from the government and here to help you..Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Well, I don't know about the copper mine. To me, the question on that is "who owns the mineral rights".
Regarding Keysone XL, we should already be building it.
Regarding Keysone XL, we should already be building it.
I agree with that, but someone has decided we can’t have it....
I haven’t read a word about the crew, the individuals who did this. Who did this, specifically?
Albuquerque Battles to Leave Arsenic in the Water
And now the EPA has dumped arsenic, lead and mercury into the water by the ton.
Obama Administration vs. Tombstone(the short version of the story is that the 0bama Admin. attempts to wipe Tombstone off the map over arsenic in one of its two wells.)
The Navajo should mount up and arrest every EPA goon they can find within 500 miles. Throw them in jail or a concentration camp and let Navajo justice work itself out.
They are justified as it is a matter of their national sovereignty.
How can there be a nation within a nation, with its own laws?
No it wont - the volume and limited data released on chemistry demonstrate that it will be so diluted by the time it flows into Powell as to be insignificant.
I AM NOT saying that it isn’t of major concern to those in the immediate vicinity (tens of miles) of the discharge; however three million gallons in the combined flow of the Animas/San Juan and Colorado is trivial.
Fish kills, wildlife impacts in the first few miles is very likely; regardless of the claims by the EPA toxicologist.
Animas River (Duranglers.com fishing guide website)One of the last free-flowing rivers in the state of Colorado, the Animas River is a unique and rare treasure. With the newest and one of the best Gold Medal Water fly-fishing sections in Colorado, the Animas is a river that should be on your list of places to fish.
The Animas River is evidence of how human perception of the landscape has evolved over the past 250 years. Today the Animas Valley and the river itself seem alive, bountiful, and full of beauty. When Juan Rivera passed through this corner of Colorado in 1765, he named the river El Rio de las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, “The River of the Lost Souls in Hell.” To Rivera and his Spanish compatriots, the valley was remote, bleak, and had little to offer them in the way of riches.
(more at the link)
I doubt that there is one live fish left in those waters.
Think of how many water users will be affected by this. Got a farm that uses this water for irrigation? Got a farm with an organic certification? Better not get any of that sludge on it or it could be years before you get re-certified.
Low bid contractors?
More like contractors who bribed EPA officials or someone else in the Obama Administration for the contract.
Funny about that.
I've never been big on conspiracy theories; but when does misfeasance rise to the level of malfeasance?
The dam is still leaking. They breached it (accidentally), but they have no ability to stop it?
This pollution is headed for the Colorado River. Think Lake George - all the way to Baja.
Accidents happen; but, good grief!!!
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