Toxic coal mine: Navajos file suit in Four Corners

Navajo Mine: Forced relocation of Navajos and toxic dumping

Australia's BHP Billiton the latest of the Australian and Canadian corporations exploiting Indigenous lands worldwide

By Dine' CARE

DURANGO, COLORADO — Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment
(“C.A.R.E.”) and the San Juan Citizens Alliance were forced to take legal action against
the Federal Office of Surface Mining (“OSM”) today over the agency’s approval of a
massive mine expansion for the Navajo Mine. OSM’s decisions have already led to the
permanent removal or relocation of numerous tribal members from their homeland and resulted in the permanent dumping of millions of tons of hazardous wastes. OSM recently issued mine permits to BHP Billiton, an Australian Corporation, which would
significantly expand these practices.
BHP’s Navajo Mine is a massive 13,000 acre surface coal mining operation located in the Four Corners Region on the Navajo Nation. The two mine permits challenged by the groups authorize BHP to mine coal for the Four Corners Power Plant and to permanently
dispose of Coal Combustion Waste (“CCW”). CCW consists of toxic solid wastes
(including fly ash, scrubber sludge and bottom ash) from the power plant’s coal-fired
generators.
“Over 1.5 million tons per year of coal combustion waste from the power plant is
backfilled into the Navajo Mine,” said Mike Eisenfeld of the Alliance, “Despite legal
requirements, OSM hasn’t required protections for ground or surface water. It doesn’t
even require monitoring—even though the mine is part of a major river drainage,” said
Eisenfeld. The Navajo Mine lies within the Chaco River drainage which drains north
into the San Juan River. “OSM is creating a massive superfund legacy for the residents
of the Four Corners. This is an irresponsible dumping practice and has to stop now.”
“OSM’s permitting actions will result in the permanent removal and relocation of Navajo
Nation tribal members including elders.” said Lori Goodman of Diné C.A.R.E. and
Navajo Nation tribal member. “The agency and BHP treat this area as if it is uninhabited.
OSM must understand that community members live or graze livestock in these areas.
OSM fails to recognize that this is our homeland.”
Many tribal members living in the mine area only speak Navajo, do not have phones,
electricity or running water, and use the area for ceremonial and medicinal purposes.
“People have lived on this land for generations. Family members are buried on this land.
2
OSM’s failure to even contact impacted tribal members before making these permitting
decisions is simply wrong.”
BHP is the largest mining company in the world and the sixth largest energy
corporation. In the 2006, BHP posted record profits of over $10 billion dollars.
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRepository/companyprofile12feb2007.pdf
The lawsuit challenges OSM’s decision to grant a mine permit renewal and mine
permit revision to BHP as a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act
(“NEPA”). “This lawsuit asks the Federal Court to hold OSM officials in Denver
accountable for their actions.” said Brad Bartlett with the Energy Minerals Law
Center and an attorney for the groups.
OSM’s Denver office that oversees all surface mining activities conducted at the Navajo
Mine. OSM is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Interior. The groups have
asked the U.S. District Court in Denver to compel OSM to undertake an analysis under
NEPA that adequately analyzes the impacts of permanent coal combustion waste disposal
and removal and relocation of tribal members.
The groups will answer questions about the lawsuit at the Open Shutter Gallery in
Durango from 5-7 P.M., Saturday, July 14, 2007. The groups are sponsoring an event
featuring the work of documentary photographer Carlan Tapp. Carlan has interviewed
and photographed Diné tribal members directly impacted by coal-power development in
the San Juan Basin – including the newly proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant.

Photo: Navajo Mine

CONTACT:
Lori Goodman, Diné C.A.R.E., (970) 259-0199
Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance, (505) 360-8994
Brad Bartlett, Energy Minerals Law Center, (970) 247-9334

Dead on the border: Thirty-three bodies recovered in June

Photo: Migrant shrine at the Third Annual Rasquacho Art Show 2007
Pan Left Productions/Photo Brenda Norrell


Coalición de Derechos Humanos:

147 bodies recovered on Arizona border, 33 in June alone

Mounting enforcement causing more migrants to go missing and die

July 13, 2007
Contact: Kat Rodriguez: 520.770.1373

Arizona— Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson-based human rights group, announced that the total number of recovered bodies on the Arizona border reached 147 by the end of June, 2007, up from 133 at the same time last year. Thirty-three bodies were recovered in the month of June alone, twelve of them not as yet identified and nearly a third of them female. These numbers do not reflect any of the 24 bodies recovered in first twelve days of the month of July, with reports coming out almost daily about remains found in the desert by residents, humanitarian groups and law enforcement officials alike. Adding to this increasing tragedy are the families who are desperately searching for news of loved ones who attempted to cross the border and have yet to be heard from. Men, women and children are regularly reported missing to consulate officials and human rights groups, who attempt to search for them in detention centers, hospitals, migrant centers, and medical examiner offices.“Rarely talked about are the desaparecidos, the people who have gone missing with no clue as to their whereabouts,” says Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos. “The desert is an ultimately unforgiving force, and can completely devour remains within a matter of weeks given the brutal conditions. This leaves mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children lost to their families forever, with no hope of ever finding out what became of them.”Every month has yielded more skeletal remains on the Arizona border, indicating that death could have taken place weeks, months, or even years prior to discovery. This—coupled with the fact that migrants do not always carry identification on their person, and their clothing can be torn away by animals or by themselves as they hallucinate and suffocate in the desert heat—makes identifying them even more difficult. Despite the recovery of an estimated 5,000 bodies on the U.S.-México border during the last 12 years, a direct result of the funnel-effect of border and militarization policies, the U.S. government has failed to acknowledge the deadly result of these strategies, and has, to the contrary, continued to increase efforts to militarize the border.“To die because you sought a better future for yourself and your family is a human rights violation,” continued Garcia. “and to die without your family ever knowing what became of you, as they suffer the anguish of not being able to bury your body and mourn your death is a tragedy that we must demand be made right. Human life is the most precious thing on earth, and we all must work to change any government policy that threatens it.”The complete list of recovered bodies is available on the Coalición de Derechos Humanos website: http://derechoshumanosaz.c.topica.com/maag4nkabzTc0b8me9Ne/ This information is available to anyone who requests it from us and is used by our organization to further raise awareness of the human rights crisis we are facing on our borders.

CorpWatch: High Tech Border Fence Falters

Fencing the Border: Boeing's High-Tech Plan Falters
by Joseph Richey
Special to Corp Watch
July 9th, 2007

http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14552