URI CEO Chris Jones – We reserve the right to sue the Navajo Nation if the Council nullifies the uranium subcommittee

Here at Navajo Council 7:30 am meeting on Delegate Edmund Yazzie’s legislation 0091-14, which would nullify Resources and Development Committee Subcommittee on uranium. meeting at Quality Inn in Window Rock.

DELEGATE DANNY SIMPSON
I keep sying that LT needs to take back to council and conjuring lawsuit. Now he’s saying lawsuit, lawsuit. That 42,000 acres is new information and why Navajo Division of Natural Resources attorney Allen asking for executive session.

DELEGATE EDMUND YAZZIE
I know we keep hearing lawsuits that URI threatens to do to us. but the bottom line is that this has to be discussed by entire Council because its impact will last for years.
Before u start accusing people of being bully, look at yourself. Wen you talk, we listen. But when we talk, you interrupt us.
URI, are you going to sue us if we pass this bill?

URI CEO CHRIS JONES
if you had been here earlier, you would heard why URI would file lawsuit and yes, we reserve that right.

DELEGATE JONATHAN NEZ
we have been going at this for months and it’s been causing some unrest. uderstand new mexico land but i come from region where we finally had one uranium mine cleaned up and that is reason for my concern for constituents.

i hear on council floor that dipping into committee authority. but no one had problem taking tax commission from budget and finance committee. and so everyone wants that power to go to Naabik’iyati Committee. so why have standing committees? and for those of us that come to meetings on time, we support that.

i kept mouth shut on world wide web but that needs to be said.

and i just received this nicely packaged info so how much shared with Resources & Development Committee. but i appreciate this meeting. i hope we don’t kick down road. let’s vote on this up or down. if table again then create unrest on reservation. i heard concerns by eastern navajo and brothers of eastern navajo. their heart is there. and if there is lawsuits, then we are giving up our strategies and giving away way too much information.

speaker pro temp bates
do we want to go into executive session

DELGATE RUSSELL BEGAYE
what bothers me is that URi strongly supports RDC legislation that created Subcommittee and that the proposed agreement with URI would also open uranium mining across the Navajo Reservation.

with regard to open other areas, RDC subcomitte merely starts discussion to open uranium mining, and largest deposit of uranium in world in eastern navajo. there is no guarantee that discussions approve. we have some of that land with uranium deposits. RDC legislation starts discussion.

DELEGATE R. BEQAYE
URI ALSO CLAIMS bIA can do in house land trade.

URI CEO CHRIS JONES
there is administrative process for land trade and other is go thru congress with president’s signature. this land trade fits well into both processes.

DELEGATE LEONARD PETE
i asked same question; why did u choose Church Rock. and what is being asked? does the entire Naabik’iyati Committee or Council want to be on Subcommittee? We already have quorum problems.

SPEAKER PRO TEMP BATES
you have three minutes.

DELEGATE RUSSELL BEGAYE
what is in-situ uranium mining? how much of sulfate is used to bring uranium ore to surface? how cleaned out?

URI CEO CHRIS JONES
water is already contaminated. we take uranium out chemically. Process we use allows for reclamation.

SPEAKER PRO TEMP BATES ADJOURNS MEETING BECAUSE COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE ON COUNCIL FLOOR AT 10 A.M. IT’S NOW 10:03 AM.

I ASKED DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE FOR A COPY OF THE RDC SUBCOMMITTEE’S INFOMATION ABOUT THEIR DEALINGS WITH URI. THE SUBCOMMITTEE INFORMATION WAS CONTAINED IN A THREE RING BINDER, WHICH IS ABOUT THREE INCHES THICK.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *