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In an environmental justice win, last week the Navajo Nation settled a lawsuit it brought against mining companies resulting from a destructive oil spill in 2015 that poisoned rivers in three western states.
Why this Matters: This spill was devastating, contaminating 200 miles of river on Navajo lands — farmers and water utilities had to stop drawing from those rivers.
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This week, the Navajo Nation has extended the closure of tribal government offices and ordered residents to stay home for another three weeks as the number of coronavirus cases rises outside the reservation. In May the Navajo Nation had the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the United States, outpacing hot spots like New York. Driving […]
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Bloomberg News reports that Peabody Energy, the largest coal producer in the country, operated two coal mines on Navajo and Hopi reservation lands that pulled so much water from the Navajo Aquifer that many wells and springs have now run dry. This comes when water is more necessary than ever for essential hygiene since Covid-19 has hit the Navajo Nation harder than any state.
Why This Matters: Peabody never replenished the aquifer water it took under a suspect agreement with the Tribes — as much as 1.3 billion gallons of water from the aquifer annually — and one-third of residents have no running water in the midst of the worst pandemic in generations.
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After a resident of the Park tested positive last week for COVID-19, the Interior Department finally closed Grand Canyon National Park to the public after the local health officials in Arizona called for it given the increase in the county’s numbers of positive tests and a large outbreak of the virus on neighboring Navajo Tribal lands.
Why This Matters: Again the Trump Administration was behind in recognizing the coronavirus threat to communities near national parks.
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Late last year, the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant that for 40 years provided power to the City of Los Angeles closed, but now the city and the tribe are working together to turn the former coal plant into a renewable energy hub to provide wind, solar, and hydro power to the City according to Earther. This will restore $40 million in revenue that the Tribe lost when the power plant closed and that in turn will help to bring electricity to 15,000 people who live in parts of the Navajo reservation that still do not have it.
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