HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 66
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Ray Begaye
A JOINT MEMORIAL
RECOGNIZING THE HEALTH RISKS OF URANIUM MINING AND PROCESSING IN NATIVE AMERICAN AND NON-NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES; REQUESTING A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACTS OF PAST URANIUM MINING AND PROCESSING ACTIVITIES IN NEW MEXICO; RECOMMENDING A SUSPENSION OF ALL PERMITTING AND LICENSING OF URANIUM MINING AND PROCESSING ACTIVITIES IN NEW MEXICO PENDING THE COMPLETION OF THAT ASSESSMENT.
WHEREAS, the uranium mining industry and the federal government in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s failed to advise uranium miners and their families of the health risks associated with uranium mining and processing; and
WHEREAS, Native American uranium miners in particular were not provided protective clothing or respirators; the uranium mines in which they worked were not ventilated or were poorly ventilated; and uranium mine and mill wastes were used for housing construction by Native American families who were unaware of the health risks of using such construction materials; and
WHEREAS, beginning in the early 1950s, the United States public health service conducted studies that revealed respiratory illnesses such as lung cancer, silicosis, tuberculosis, pneumonia and emphysema were causing high rates of death among underground uranium miners; and
WHEREAS, by 1959 public health service studies of uranium miners revealed there was a statistically significant association between uranium mining and lung cancer; and
WHEREAS, Navajo, Acoma and Laguna uranium miners, widows and family members testified in congressional hearings in the 1970s about the hardships their families suffered from the illnesses and premature deaths associated with the miners' work in the uranium mines and mills in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of abandoned, unreclaimed uranium mines still exist in communities in northwestern New Mexico, and scores of Native American and non-Native American families still live in close proximity to those mines; and
WHEREAS, state and federal studies have repeatedly shown that surface water, ground water and soils were and remain irreversibly contaminated by past uranium mining and milling activities, and that livestock that grazed in the mining areas were found to have hazardous levels of radioactive materials in their edible organs and muscle; and
WHEREAS, no comprehensive studies of the public health impact of past mining and processing and the continuing environmental impacts of abandoned mines have been conducted in New Mexico's uranium mining districts; and
WHEREAS, more than a dozen companies have applied for permits or licenses to explore for uranium and to construct new mining and milling facilities on hundreds of thousands of acres in northwestern New Mexico without agreeing to assist the state or Indian tribes in remediating the environmental impacts of past uranium mining activities; and
WHEREAS, at least thirteen Navajo Nation chapters, along with major Navajo institutions, including the Navajo Nation council, as well as the Pueblo of Acoma and the all Indian pueblo council, have adopted resolutions opposing efforts of the uranium mining industry to resume uranium mining and milling operations in and near the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Acoma cultural province; and
WHEREAS, such proposed new uranium mining activities may adversely affect the land, water, air and cultural resources of the Navajo Nation and the New Mexico pueblos, including Mount Taylor, which is a sacred site for the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Acoma;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state of New Mexico and its governmental agencies and political subdivisions recognize the ongoing public health risks of past and future uranium mining and processing activities in and near the Navajo Nation, the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna and communities throughout the Grants mineral belt; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health, in collaboration with the department of environment and the mining and minerals division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department, and with appropriate agencies of the Navajo Nation and the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, be requested to compile and report on an assessment of existing uranium-mining-contaminated areas within New Mexico, including all areas in Indian country, and to make recommendations for environmental restoration, public health studies and other measures needed to address the legacy of past uranium mining and processing; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health present its report to the governor and to the appropriate interim legislative committees by October 30, 2007 and make its report available to the public in both hard copy and electronic form; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all local, state, federal and tribal agencies be requested to refrain from issuing any permits or licenses for uranium exploration, mining and processing until completion and submission of the report by the department of health to the governor and appropriate interim legislative committees; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of health, the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the secretary of environment, the office of the attorney general, the president of the Navajo Nation, the speaker of the Navajo Nation council, the attorney general of the Navajo Nation, members of the Navajo Nation council resources committee, the governors of the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the chair of the federal nuclear regulatory commission, the administrator of the federal environmental protection agency, the chief of the federal department of agriculture, the acting director of the bureau of land management of the federal department of the interior, the federal assistant secretary for Indian affairs and members of New Mexico's congressional delegation.
- 5 -