Thomas Young, Deputy Press Secretary, (719) 393-2354, thomas.young@sierraclub.org
Navajo Nation -- Diné (Navajo) community organizations Black Mesa Water Coalition, Diné CARE, and Tó Nizhóni Ání, supported by the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit seeking a plan for reclaiming the 44,000-acre Kayenta Coal Mine located on the Navajo Nation. The mine is the exclusive provider of coal for the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), which is retiring on December 22, 2019 in favor of cheaper sources of power.
“After a half-century of operation, no lands or waters at the Kayenta Mine have been permanently reclaimed,” said Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Navajo group Tó Nizhóní Ání. “Federal regulators are acting as if Peabody will keep strip mining for coal for another quarter century even though plans for closure of NGS were finalized in 2017. This false hope is simply letting Peabody ignore their responsibility for reclaiming our land and restoring our Water.”
The Kayenta Mine is operated by Peabody Western Coal Company, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy. The Navajo Generating Station, located in northern Arizona, is one of the oldest and dirtiest coal fired power plants in the nation.
The lawsuit claims that federal regulators within U.S. Department of Interior, an owner of the Navajo Generating Station, unlawfully permitted mine operations for Kayenta without accounting for permanent mine closure on December 2019 – which triggers final mine reclamation procedures. The lawsuit is brought under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).
“We need a reclamation plan from federal regulators that meaningfully addresses when our land and water will be returned to us,” said Adella Begaye, President of Navajo group Diné CARE. “For the past 50 years, Peabody has locked up these lands for a single-industrial use and we have seen nothing from federal regulators explaining how our lands will be repaired and our water restored when Peabody stops mining and walks away from this operation in December of 2019.”
“We cannot allow Peabody to sidestep reclamation and further exploit our communities when NGS closes,” said Jihan Gearon, Executive Director of Diné organization Black Mesa Water Coalition. “Peabody Energy has yet to fully reclaim even one of the 44,000 acres of land they have mined on Black Mesa, and without this lawsuit, there are no guarantees they will meet their obligations. Instead, we must ensure the lands and waters of Black Mesa are fully reclaimed to their natural healthy and productive state.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About Black Mesa Water Coalition
BMWC was formed in 2001 by a group of young inter-tribal, inter-ethnic people dedicated to addressing issues of water depletion, natural resource exploitation, and public health within Navajo and Hopi communities. Since then BMWC has grown into a well-established non-profit organization and a leader in social justice and economic transition issues in the Southwest and around the country. Learn more at www.blackmesawatercoalition.org.
About Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment
Diné CARE is an all-Navajo environmental organization, based within the Navajo homeland. We strive to educate and advocate for our traditional teachings as we protect and provide a voice for all life in the Four Sacred Mountains. We promote alternative uses of natural resources that are consistent with the Diné philosophy of Beauty Way. Our main goal is to empower local and traditional people to organize, speak out and determine their own destinies. Learn more at www.dine-care.org.
About Tó Nizhóní Ání
Tó Nizhóní Ání (TNA) "Sacred Water Speaks", is a grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which originated near Big Mountain, on the Black Mesa Plateau in the northeastern region of Arizona. Founded in 2000, it is the first environmental organization based in the heart of Black Mesa and serves as a voice, eyes and ears for the people of the region. It is an organization for Diné, by Diné, on Diné. Tó Nizhóní Ání's mission is to protect and preserve the environment, land, water, sky and to advocate for the wise and responsible use of the natural resources on of Black Mesa. Learn more at www.facebook.com/tonizhoniani/.