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| Ash ponds close to Chaco Wash |
Coal Mine Produces Poison, Not Sovereignty
By Robyn Jackson
Censored News
While considering the proposed transfer of ownership of BHP’s
Navajo Mine, we should start by asking ourselves why BHP is offering to sell at
this time. If we were to thoroughly examine, we would see that coal mines all
over the country are being phased out. In 2012, Alpha Natural Resources closed
8 mines. Coal is in fact, in decline. California and other state and city
governments are working towards transitioning to renewable energy sources.
Considering all this, you might think that BHP’s executives
are trying to relieve themselves of a no longer profitable mine, which also
involves numerous egregious liabilities that will certainly lead to billions of
dollars in remediation and reclamation. For instance, there is the matter of
coal ash. After power plants have burned coal, they are left with the ash that
is often disposed of in dry landfills or mixed with water and contained in
holding ponds. Some might say, “Isn’t this just harmless ash?” The truth is, coal ash often contains
seventeen toxins, if not more, including heavy metals and radioactive elements like radon, thorium
and uranium. A report by the Physicians for Social Responsibility has
found that ingesting these toxicants, whether through eating, drinking or
inhaling, can cause cancer and affect the nervous system creating cognitive
deficits, developmental delays and behavioral problems. Data by the EPA has
also found that living next to a coal ash disposal site can increase your risk
of cancer and other diseases.
So what does Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) do with their
coal ash? We know that from 1971 to 2008, generated coal ash was dumped in
unlined mine pits, covered only by topsoil at Navajo Mine. Yes, for nearly 40
years BHP was accepting toxic waste as backfill. In 2008, BHP stopped accepting
coal ash and FCPP now has holding ponds, west of the facility to store the ash.
Given the height and width of these ponds, the term pond seems inadequate. As of 2009, one of these
embankments had a height of
170 feet. That’s the same height as a 17 story building and this is just one
part of the holding site for wet coal ash. An operation of 50 years of burning
coal should amount to a great deal of waste. In fact, FCPP has generated over
100 million tons of coal ash and most of it is on the Navajo Mine site.
As mentioned, the
coal ash dumped at Navajo Mine is unlined. This makes the toxins in the ash
much more susceptible to leaching into above and underground waterways, rivers,
aquifers and drinking wells. Additionally, these toxins can travel in the
environment from erosion and runoff and as fine particles or dust. There are
examples of communities who have been adversely affected by coal ash and its
contamination of their water supply.
Coal ash disposal sites have been quarantined as no longer safe for
people due to high levels of toxins. The most famous incident of a coal ash
catastrophe was the 2008 TVA Kingston, Tennessee, coal ash spill. A holding
pond containing 40 acres of coal ash failed, spilling into a river valley that
included homes. Now that area has two contaminated rivers and homes that residents
were forced to sell to the Tennessee Valley Authority, who owned the plant. As
of 2011, the TVA has estimated the total cost of cleanup at Kingston to be 1.2
billion dollars. Interestingly, the TVA is largely able to make this payment
through higher electric bills to their ratepayers. Such a great example of how
responsible these companies are.
Then again, as
Pat Risner, President of BHP NM Coal stated in a December 2012 letter to the
Durango Herald, “There are different views on what corporate responsibility
entails.” Exactly what BHP considers
their responsibility needs to be clarified. Currently a reclamation or
remediation plan for CCW by BHP is nonexistent. Which means, who exactly is
liable for paying for clean-up? What if the unlined coal ash on Navajo Mine
site leached out? Is BHP thinking that the Navajo Nation should clean that up
itself? After 50 years of Navajos providing cheap electricity for others and
allowing BHP to make huge profits, is that really all they can say to us? Think
about it. In 2011, they made a profit of 15 billion on total revenues of 70
billion. They are, after all, the biggest mining company in the world.
The Navajo government can ill afford to take on clean-up
costs that amount to over a billion dollars.
As it is, a 2010 report has found levels of boron and selenium
downstream from the FCPP coal ash ponds are higher than upstream levels. These
downstream levels are two times over what is safe for aquatic life. There is
more evidence that coal ash has saturated the ground in Area I of Navajo Mine,
parallel to the San Juan River. Another study determined that coal ash
constituents, including selenium are making their way into the San Juan River
ecosystem. The evidence is undeniable and frightening.
Of course, BHP wants nothing more than to leave behind this
mess. Have we forgotten that BHP is a business, with the sole purpose of making
a profit? But for our communities and our nation, this is more than just some
area to make money off of. We have a relationship and long history to this
place. This is our home. This is our land, our air and our water.
As our stories explain, we were put here by the Holy People.
We were told that this would be our home to take care of. Most are aware that
we have sacred mountains that designate our boundaries, but the major rivers
that surround our territory are also sacred and act as boundaries: like the San
Juan, which represents the male water that is said to protect and look after
our people. In the traditional Navajo view, rivers serve as energy sources
which our ceremonies, prayers and chants are tied to. Included in these
ceremonies, prayers and chants are the many plants and animals that make up the
southwest landscape and the Navajo universe. We are taught that the well-being
of all these creatures and the ecosystems that support them, including our
mother (earth) and father (sky), is linked to our overall well-being and
spiritual health as Diné.
Exactly how does 50 years of water, air, and soil
contamination fit into our traditional view? Is it really okay that coal mining
and coal combustion has disrupted so many lives? I would like to know how this
translates into tribal sovereignty, as the Shelly administration stated in a
Farmington Daily Times article last month. What precisely is the long-term plan
of the Shelly administration and the council delegates? Power plants are
closing down all over the country. Four Corners is one of the oldest. Its
engineers will tell you that they have to continually jump start the thing
because it’s constantly falling apart. If the tribal government is really
thinking that they will turn around and sell Navajo Mine coal to the operators
of the Four Corners Power Plant, that is without a doubt very limited planning.
APS recently announced that they are shutting down three units, which means a
direct reduction in coal demand for that facility.
What’s more, is this really all our tribal government can
come up with? Why lock ourselves down this path that has ill served our people
as a whole? There are other alternatives, like solar and wind. There is
potential, as a 2008 report: Energy and Economic Alternatives to Desert Rock
spelled out. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to take a path that is much more in
line with our traditional beliefs of sustainability, respect and reciprocity?
Or are we going to continue down a path of increased pollution and social and
environmental injustice?
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