Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate the tribe as its own EPA region. He says the agency struggles to serve the 27,000 square mile nation. Arizona Public Radio’s Justin Regan reports.
The Navajo Nation is part of EPA region 9 along with 4 states and about 150 tribes.
Begaye and Navajo Vice President Jonathan Nez wrote a letter to President Obama last week asking for the new designation. They say the EPA’s notification system for environmental catastrophes, like last summer’s Gold King Mine spill, isn’t adequate. Navajo officials say it took more than a day for the agency to notify tribal leaders of the spill.
Begaye and Nez also say the San Francisco based region 9 office is too far away from the Navajo Nation. That’s led to communication and trust problems regarding the clean-up of abandoned uranium mines on tribal lands. EPA officials say they work directly with the Navajo Nation on environmental issues, and are reviewing the request.
