Last year's industrial accident at Gold King Mine didn't just toxify the Animas River, it also jeopardized the lifestyle of Navajo Indians who have lived near and fished that river for centuries. And, ironically, the damage was caused by the very agency that is charged with protecting the environment against exactly this kind of disaster: the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA was cleaning up an abandoned mine with paid contractors when they broke a dam wall and millions of gallons of waste flowed into the Animas.
A recent spike in Navajo suicides may be connected to the environmental damage of their community. A spokesperson for the Navajo says that the EPA has taken far too long to clean up its own damage. The accident occurred in August, and now, five months later, there is no evidence that clean up is moving apace.
Please join me in demanding that the EPA expedite a full and fair compensation process to compensate Navajo whose health, economic, or cultural interests have been damaged by the spill with a firm deadline and an acknowledgement that damages may present themselves for years to come. Please also join me in asking that the EPA establish clear objectives for what recovery/clean-up looks like and require regular reports on progress toward achieving those objectives.
To the Environmental Protection Agency:
We the undersigned are outraged to learn that you have taken so little action to clean up your own environmental disaster. The toxic spill that ruined a huge stretch of the Animas River happened in August of last year. And yet there appears to be no evidence that you have even started a clean up process. Meanwhile, the Navajo who rely on that river are devastated. There has been an uptick in suicides that may be caused, at least in part, by this disaster. Please expedite a full and fair compensation process to compensate Navajo whose health, economic, or cultural interests have been damaged by the spill with a firm deadline and an acknowledgement that damages may present themselves for years to come. Please also establish clear objectives for what recovery/clean-up looks like and require regular reports on progress toward achieving those objectives.
