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Legal technicality leaves Navajo no redress for uranium contaminated land

The Navajo Nation only became aware that the two sites nearby were also contaminated in the early 2000s.

Federal Appeals Court Rules DOE Not Responsible for Navajo Uranium Cleanup By LAWRENCE HURLEY, NYTimes.com January 28, 2011 A federal appeals court ruled today that the Department of Energy does not have to remediate two sites on Navajo Nation land that are adjacent to an old uranium mine.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled (pdf) against the Navajo Nation and the El Paso Natural Gas Co., the successor company to the mine operator, on technical grounds.

Under the 1978 Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation and Control Act, which was enacted to address uranium cleanups, Congress specifically stated that decisions on which sites to remediate were not subject to judicial review.

The mill itself, in Tuba City, Ariz., was one of the properties DOE initially agreed to remediate.

The Navajo Nation only became aware that the two sites nearby were also contaminated in the early 2000s.

In 2003, DOE denied a Navajo request to remediate the sites….

Federal Appeals Court Rules DOE Not Responsible for Navajo Uranium Cleanup – NYTimes.com

January 29, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | indigenous issues, Legal, USA