Letters | A letter to the 10th grade class at Thoreau High School

A letter to the 10th grade class at Thoreau High School

Dear students,
It lifts my spirits to see students engaging in the public discourse about how to address the long legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. My job as a scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to help protect communities by cleaning up the mine waste rock and contamination left by mining companies decades ago. My job also includes helping people to understand the difficult decisions necessary to protect people and the environment from the long-term health impacts of uranium mine waste. As a scientist, I look for solutions that are best for everyone, but solutions that satisfy everyone are rare.

Your passion is clear, so hopefully I can help clarify some points that were raised in your April 18 letter to the Navajo Times about the U.S. EPA’s and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended cleanup plan for the Quivira and Section 32/33 mines. Here are a few points of clarification.

First and foremost, we at the U.S. EPA are listening to you. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak at your high school and answer your questions in person. I understand why you might be skeptical of a government scientist, but I ask that you keep your minds open to what I have to share. I also note that U.S. EPA is accepting comments from the public on the recommended cleanup plan you referenced in your letter until May 22, 2024.

I had never heard of Holtec until I read your letter. From what I’ve researched, Holtec handles and manages waste resulting from nuclear power generation. I want to assure you that they have nothing to do with the recommended cleanup option for the Quivira and Section 32/33 mines.

You are correct that our recommended plan for the cleanup of the Quivira and Section 32/33 mines is to remove the waste from the Red Water Pond Road and Pipeline Canyon Road Navajo communities and place it in a proposed state-of-the-art disposal facility located about 6 miles east of the Town of Thoreau at the Red Rocks Landfill property. This recommended plan includes moving about 1 million cubic yards of low-level mine waste rock. It will not be transported in barrels but in covered trucks, since it is solid soil and rock, not liquid. Also, it is essential to clarify that the recommended plan addresses only two mines, not 19. There are no plans for more than the Quivira and Section 32/33 mines waste rock to go to the proposed Red Rocks Landfill facility.

The Red Rocks Landfill property has been owned by the operator, the Northwest New Mexico Regional Solid Waste Authority, for decades. Since 1996, it has operated a municipal solid waste landfill on the northern half of the property. No residents are on the property or near the proposed state-of-the-art disposal facility.

Finally, no one at the U.S. EPA that I know of has said that Thoreau collectively supports the recommended cleanup plan. We consider each individual comment on its own merits and will respond to them collectively when we select a cleanup approach.

I deeply respect your concerns and hope to have the opportunity to explain to you in person why we believe this is the best option for addressing the legacy of mining contamination in the affected Navajo communities. While I understand that there are no perfect solutions, I want to emphasize the positive impact that this cleanup plan can have on the environment and the health of the communities. I am hopeful that, with open-mindedness and engagement, we can work together towards a better future.

Kenyon Larsen, remedial project manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 9 – Pacific Southwest

Chief of staff should not have power

Editor,
What has been talked about in the Navajo Nation Council about the Navajo Nation Office of the President, vice president in relation to the signature approvals by the NNOPVP Chief of Staff Patrick J. Sandoval while the NNP Buu Nygren is gallivanting off of the Navajo Indian Reservation, should be tested on the legality alone. Sandoval is a political appointee. He should not have plenary power in any capacity within the Executive Branch of the Navajo Nation.

First, what has Sandoval signed? And does he have power to do so? I ask this because it was not long ago Sandoval, former NNP Joe Shirley tried unsuccessfully to pocket tribal property worth tens of thousands of dollars, including Navajo Nation 4×4 vehicles. No one should have a blank check to NNOPVP property, nor possibly executing outside the bounds of their capacities as politically appointed chiefs of staff.

Buu gets a boo from the east for failing as an elected leader of the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. His data on the NN census is, in my opinion, inaccurate which costs the Diné millions of federal dollars.

It would be a shame if the NN returns hundreds of millions of dollars back to Wááshindoon.

Pat Murphy
Albuquerque

Time to turn the tables

Editor,
This is another viewpoint of what was shared by Mr. Michael J. Roy of Gadiiahi-Shiprock, N.M. in Navajo Times issue of April 25, 2024, “Toxicity in highest government office.” The viewpoint following hereof is expressed with common sense, insights, and common knowledge.

As Indigenous people, when alleged human exploitation of our female social servants by those in “authority” it could be viewed as acts of cultural and spiritual betrayals. The term “authority” in its basic form, is to “author” something, as to cause an origin of work, in creation of jobs, projects, work procedures, techniques, or duties. With what is reported the voting public must be curious as to who “authored” these passive-aggressive sexual harassments and squandered our public assets.

Question: Why are alleged possible misogynists gratifying themselves with such sexual perversions and violence towards our female tribal vice president, a public official who is second in command to the presidency? Supposedly, our tribal government already has a sexual harassment policy with standardized safeguards of procedures for immediate resolves within their instituted legal maze. As proven time and time again, this is where perverts and criminals have more rights than their victims. And as for justice, it is but an imaginary, odd embodiment of a long dress foreign lady gripping a balancing scale on one hand while flaunting a sword blindfolded, whereby she cannot see what is actually unfolding before her; she needs to be in exile.

Our reservation social problems, including sexual harassments and intimidations, are collective individuals issues; and still vast. It seems our imitative tribal government’s predetermined “according-to-the-law” mindset cannot resolve our social difficulties because, instead of imprisonment and fines for crimes, our law and order books only gather dust somewhere. And stupidity without foresight incites, if the alleged occurred crimes are not on the law books then there is no crime, nor a conviction. This is to say, within our society there seems to be very little or no participation in enforcement, protection, prevention, and no safety-nets for those affected if crimes as such do occur. It further seems we would rather bask in safe places of laziness and cowardice, while overly possessed with our profound indifference and sheer arrogance, instead of seeking ways to enhance our Indigenous social experiment.

Obviously, if we look into the toxicity within the workplace, we may realize that violence is the senseless waste and decay of energy by those who generate them. In this case the violent energy is stirred up by those in authority may be simply because they do not understand their own delusional fears in the workplace, like a woman in charge, and not know how to manage their own insecurities of life. By the way, taken back, both parents are the first teachers of a child and violence is a learned behavior.

Then again, there is the mental indoctrination of how one can imitate the dominant society in reactions and gestures to their frustrations with unresolved issues of insecurities and anxieties. These are nothing more than ego-boosting trips just to feel good about themselves. In plain language, if the alleged victim consents, such personal assault of violence through harassment, bullying, and intimidation are inducing fear, then comes the hijacking, stealing, and parasitic feeding off the energy of others for self-gratifications. It seems such parasitic frenzy feeding on their victim’s fears and energy happens because the abusers do not know how to constructively recharge their own innate life-force.

Enough is enough! For possible real solution and a prevention process for any type of violence, whether be sexual harassment, bullying, or intimidation, gestured towards our social servants, especially our Indigenous women, as well as towards our vulnerable citizens, it is suggested to “turn-the-tables-on-the-abusers.” Become a creative author, implement spiritual spankings through periodic “public shaming” exercises for verified sexual predators, abusers, and thieves.

Robert L. Hosteen
Beclabito, N.M.

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