After 40 years of inaction, agencies create plan for uranium contamination in Navajo Nation

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with four other government agencies, released a Five-Year Plan to deal with uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation on Monday, after urging from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The contamination is a result of uranium mining in the region from 1944 to 1986 that was conducted under lease agreements with the Navajo Nation. According to the report, the mining has left the Nation with "over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs), four inactive uranium milling sites, a former dump site, contaminated groundwater, structures that may contain elevated levels of radiation, and environmental and public health concerns."

In his opening statement at an October 2007 hearing on the uranium contamination, Committee Chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) called government inaction on clean-up efforts "an instance where the government has never worked effectively" and "a bipartisan failure for over 40 years."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Indian Health Service joined the EPA in submitting the comprehensive plan to Rep. Waxman. The five relevant agencies met in December 2007 with short-term plans, and then again in May 2008 with longer proposals that were revised and compiled into the plan sent Monday.

A letter submitted with the completed plan from EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri indicates the agencies and the committee will meet again in September to discuss the plan's status.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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