Shiprock couple resume life after mine spill

On a recent Wednesday, Yazzie said he wants to see testing results from federal and tribal entities before he decides to again irrigate his farm with San Juan River water.

Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accepted responsibility for the spill, he said, the agency should be supplying a clean water source and start testing the soil on farms.

The toxic spill received nationwide attention and, as The Daily Times reported on Sept. 9, environmental activist and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich visited the farm while touring the Navajo Nation.

An effort by federal lawmakers to address the spill came on Dec. 18 when New Mexico's Democratic U.S. senators, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-Santa Fe, included a provision to support monitoring efforts in the end-of-year appropriations bill before Congress.

Udall said in a press release that the provision will help hold the EPA accountable and ensure it keeps its commitment to prioritizing transparency in water quality monitoring.

"If a situation like a flash flood or thunderstorm were to cause contamination in the water once again, we need the EPA making determinations and giving prompt warnings to impacted communities based on the best scientific advice," Udall said.

Mining interests have successfully blocked efforts to update the Mining Act of 1872, which allows mining companies to obtain claims for a small investment and does not require companies to clean up inactive or abandoned mines.