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URANIUM ROUNDTABLE OPENS NEEDED CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
Renzi, Udall, Matheson, Promise Continued Commitment on the Issue

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a rare roundtable session Thursday, leaders from Congress, the Navajo Nation, and directors from relevant federal agencies and entities engaged in open dialogue focused on the past, present and future of Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation.

With a standing room only crowd, Congressmen Rick Renzi, R-AZ, Tom Udall, D-NM and Jim Matheson, D-UT led a discussion focused on the prospects of renewed uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, the health effects associated with mining and milling, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, known as RECA, and the environmental aspects of mining. Collectively, the three represent the Navajo Nation in Congress.

Rep. Udall opened the hearing by saying, "This is an opportunity for all parties to come together to outline specific steps that Congress, the federal agencies, and the Navajo Nation can take towards rectifying past wrongs and creating safer communities in the Navajo Nation."

"The Navajo Nation is experiencing a health crisis as a result of the federal government's failure to warn them of known dangers from past uranium mining and milling operations. I share their skepticism of resuming that activity while so many legal and moral obligations go unmet to this day," said Rep. Matheson.

"The Navajo people have been forced to deal with the effects of uranium contamination on their sacred land for too long," said Rep. Renzi. "I look forward to continuing to work with Reps. Udall and Matheson to provide oversight on government agencies and ensuring that Navajo lands are cleaned up and safe for generations to come."

During the course of the three hour roundtable discussion, Tribal officials, led by President Joe Shirley, Jr., from the Navajo Nation emphasized their request for observance and implementation of a federal moratorium on uranium mining both within the reservation’s boundaries and beyond, in what is known as Navajo Indian Country. Additionally, tribal officials emphasized the need to clean-up dangerous, old, exposed mining sites that still exist on the reservation.

The officials cited the Natural Resources Protection law, a Navajo law that places a ban on all uranium mining both within the Navajo Nation boundary, and including surrounding areas that make up the Navajo Nation.

President Shirley noted that in the face of the Cold War, the government mined uranium on their land, and that "now more than 50 years later, the legacy of uranium mining has devastated both the people and the land."

"The tragedy of this legacy is that those who worked in the uranium mines have experienced devastating health effects because of their exposure," Shirley said. "The greater tragedy is that years and decades later their families who live in those same areas are experiencing heath problems today because the remnants of uranium activity continue to pollute the land, the water and their lives. It would be unforgivable to allow this cycle to continue for another generation."

Jerry Gidner, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, said as far as he knows, "there are no pending leases for new mining with the BIA at this time -- certainly not at their regional office, certainly not in my offices here in DC." He emphasized the very difficult jurisdictional issues his bureau deals with on this issue and said any decisions on leases would be made based on environmental reviews, jurisdictional reviews, discussions with the Special Trustee and he assumes the highest levels of the Department of the Interior.

Dr. Charles L. Miller, Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which regulates uranium milling, said he knows of sixteen leases for uranium milling recovery process that are expected in the next several years.

He said that twelve of those applications are expected to propose in-situ leaching facilities, a process he described as "leaching the uranium from the underground rock and into the groundwater and through a series of pumping operations getting it to the surface for processing." In addition, he said he expects approximately eleven expansion or restart applications for existing uranium facilities.

He indicated that "none of the applications are proposed to be on Navajo lands however, two proposed new sites, and one restart site, are located near Mt. Taylor," a sacred site for many Native Americans.

At the roundtable, Congressmen Udall, Matheson and Renzi emphasized that they are committed to continuing the dialogue on uranium mining and its effects and promised to stay involved and seek justice for those individuals and families impacted.

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