While the EPA has admitted it was responsible for the spill, and said it has taken responsibility for clean-up efforts, lawyers for the Navajo Nation say the federal agency has done little to remove contaminated elements from the impacted waterways and surrounding land. Metal concentrations exceeded the tribe’s agricultural screening levels for a short duration, but “EPA water quality experts believe the San Juan River is safe for agriculture and irrigation”, according to its website.
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Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye told the Washington Examiner that tribe officials made the decision to move ahead with a lawsuit after receiving reports that the EPA knew the toxic spill was possible, or even likely.
The Navajo Nation joins the state of New Mexico, which filed a suit against the EPA for allegedly causing the spill, known as the Gold King Mine Spill, and against the state of Colorado for not doing more to prevent it.
Without clean water from the Animas River, farmers were forced to delay harvests and to find alternate ways to irrigate their crops.
In July, the Office of the Inspector General for the EPA confirmed that it is conducting a criminal investigation into the Gold King Mine spill due to high “public interest” and inquiry from Congress.
EPA press secretary Melissa Harrison said Tuesday that it can not comment on pending litigation. That is way too long, and the Navajo people are understandably angry.
The agency has also put in place a plan to monitor water quality.
According to the AP, Begaye said of the federal government “they have not done a thing” to help the Navajo Nation. Before then and since, I have been in frequent communication with both the Navajo Nation and the EPA to keep pushing to resolve these issues.
An EPA-led crew triggered the spill during preliminary cleanup work.
Two Democratic senators are throwing their support behind a Navajo Nation lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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“The Gold King Mine is now a poster child for the unacceptable toxic legacy posed by thousands of abandoned mines threatening waterways throughout the Rocky Mountains”.
