Remember you can tune in on UStream! NN Council Fall session underway Energy policy and NHA reform to be discussed By Kathy Helms Gallup Independent - 10/21/2013 WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council’s Fall Session kicks off Monday with a full day of reports, starting with the State of the Nation address by President Ben Shelly, followed by a report from Council Speaker Johnny Naize. Oral reports are scheduled from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, the Navajo Nation Controller Mark Grant, Attorney General Harrison Tsosie, Chief Justice Herb Yazzie and Arizona Attorney General Felecia Rotellini. On Tuesday, Council is expected to take up “old business,” which means the Navajo Nation Energy Policy of 2013. The bill was read into the record and discussed for two hours Wednesday, during which time delegates added three amendments. Just before the final vote, in a strategic move to allow some delegates more time to work on amendments, five delegates walked out, causing a loss of quorum. The bill will be back on the table Tuesday unless delegates decide to amend the agenda. Among the more controversial bills under new business, Council is expected to take up the Navajo Nation Housing Authority Reform Act of 2013, sponsored by Resources and Development member Leonard Tsosie and Chairwoman Katherine Benally. The relationship between Resources and NHA has been strained this year, at best, resulting in court actions and peacemaking sessions between the two entities. Another item on the agenda is Legislation 0149-13, “Approving Amendments to CAP-20-13.” The bill would amend legislation pertaining to Navajo Transitional Energy Co., which was authorized earlier this year to purchase BHP Billiton’s Navajo Mine. With exhibits, the bill numbers more than 200 pages. Sidestepping moratorium? Grassroots groups Diné Bidziil and Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining issued a news release Sunday stating that past cumulative harm to the environment and the health of the Navajo people is being overlooked by the Navajo Nation Council in its attempt to fashion an energy policy. On Wednesday, Tsosie attempted an amendment to the energy policy that called for the Navajo Nation to “consent to a demonstration project to adequately assess the safety and viability” of in situ recovery of uranium. Tsosie spoke on behalf of the Eastern Navajo Allottee Association, saying the energy policy should respect and support the wishes of Navajo allottees as they develop resources on their own allotments. Uranium Resources Inc. has proposed to use in situ recovery, or in situ leach technology as it is sometimes called, to mine uranium on its privately held lands in Churchrock and Crownpoint, beginning with Churchrock Section 8. In 2009, URI’s Rick Van Horn said that according to the company’s license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the first mine has to be in Churchrock. “We’re allowed to mine 3 million pounds … During that time we have to demonstrate on a commercial basis that we can indeed restore the groundwater to the ranges that are in our license. After that is done, then we continue mining Churchrock. Crownpoint would be the last area that we would mine.” In 2011 before the New Mexico Indian Affairs Committee, Van Horn said that of URI’s 100 million pounds of uranium ore in New Mexico, only about 45 million pounds is mineable using ISR. “The rest of that is going to have to be mined conventionally, underground. ...We will start with ISR, but conventional is going to have to be part of this equation.” Although many believe the Navajo Nation has a “ban” on uranium mining, the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 was not a ban, but a “moratorium.” The terms of the moratorium are that Navajo cannot have future uranium mining and processing until all of the impacts from past mining and processing have been remediated, according to Navajo Department of Justice. Diné Bidziil views Tsosie’s amendment as a way to weaken or do away with the moratorium. “Why would the Navajo Nation Council want to risk opening doors for one company to experiment with ISL mining and bring more harm to a community that’s already heavily contaminated from past mining? There is no proven, safe way to conduct uranium mining operations,” Norman Patrick Brown of Diné Bidziil said. He said the group believes the “open door” to new uranium mining contained in the energy policy might be a result of Shelly accepting a $10,000 donation from URI for his inauguration in January 2011. At the time, URI’s Mark Pelizza said, “Here and other places we make donations to inaugural committees. It’s not unusual for us. We do it in various states that we operate and various places because inaugurations are expensive.” And Shelly assured that the donation by URI was by no means an indication that any uranium mining and milling will occur on Navajo. “As you know, the Navajo Nation is in a budget deficit. When the transition team requested and presented budget proposals to fund our transition and inaugural activities, the Navajo Nation Council Budget and Finance Committee recommended the team look to private sources to offset the deficit. URI, among other private- sector companies, contributed to the cost of the transition and inaugural activities.” Water issues Jonathan Perry, ENDAUM board president, said it was a major concern for a few members of the Resources committee “to take hasty action on major legislations that will have long-term negative effects on communities.” “Out of 520 abandoned uranium mines only 10 are being addressed by USEPA under Superfund. Only one health study is being conducted. Uranium miners who worked after 1971 are not eligible for medical compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act,” and Navajo families remain exposed to radioactive waste, Perry said. “Navajo Nation Council should be addressing these issues, not new mining.” Amendments that allow ISR operations are putting future drinking water from groundwater supplies at risk, he said. Last October, Ron Linton, program manager for the NRC, said there are five drinking water wells in Crownpoint. At the time the NRC license was issued in 1989, the NRC staff said that if there is in situ recovery of uranium at the Crownpoint properties, those five wells would have to be closed and additional wells would have to be drilled. Production from the wells would have to be done in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Nation. In 2011, Jason John, senior hydrologist with Navajo Department of Water Resources, said the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project consists of a surface water project and a conjunctive groundwater component. Currently, there is groundwater production in the San Juan Basin in the Churchrock area and in the Crownpoint area. “The surface water project is not meant to replace those groundwater supplies in the future,” he said. “We will always use groundwater – at a minimum until the surface water supply arrives, and then at some point those wells will continue to be needed even when surface water supplies are available.” The fall session will be streamed live on the web through the Council’s designated USTREAM channel. Visit ustream.tv/channel/navajo- nation-council or log on to the USTREAM home page and search for ‘Navajo Nation Council’ in the search box.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:32:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015