WINDOW ROCK - The Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are tired of investigations of the Tuba City Open Dump.
They want it cleaned up.
Studies since 1999 have indicated the presence of uranium and other metals in the dump and shallow groundwater exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards. The tribes have repeatedly indicated that clean closure - or excavation, removal and off-site disposal of all buried wastes - is the only acceptable option to prevent future contamination.
In 2008, the Bureau of Indian Affairs put together a five-year plan of action for the open dump site that outlines how it plans to address the contamination. The tribes have objected to several components of BIA's five-year plan, including the need for additional investigation of the site.
"BIA is spending more money to study the problem," said Navajo EPA Executive Director Stephen B. Etsitty, who was in Washington this week to give a status report on the five-year cleanup plan from the tribe's perspective to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "We've all been pushing for immediate action."
Etsitty said there is a lot of criticism being levied against BIA because "pretty soon the cost of all these studies is going to be more than the cost of cleaning up. All this action that they're taking - just taking more time to study - is going to be costing more than our recommended solution that goes back 10 to 15 years, which is clean closure," he said.
A final interim remedial action report is due in October which will outline immediate steps to protect the community and address current public health threats posed by the site. Actions proposed include fencing the old dump to limit access and reduce potential exposure.
Full Story: http://www.gallupindependent.com/2008/09september/0927
08tuba.html
