Navajo Council Resources & Development Committee’s Subcommittee Vice Chairperson Leonard Pete and Chairperson Leonard Tsosie. The subcommittee is to draft agreement between URI and Navajo Nation for proposed In-Situ Uranium Mining Demonstration Project near Church Rock, N.M. The subcommittee is meeting with URI at tribal Economic Development Division in St. Michaels, Ariz. on April 30, 2014. Photo by Marley Shebala.
NAVAJO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
we asked for work plan of your demonstration project and we never got it.
SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR LEONARD TSOSIE
Guess Navajo would have to be regulator?
NEPA DIRECTOR STEPHEN ETSITTY
we are
SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR TSOSIE
who is responsible for anaylyzing it and things are up and up?
NEPA DIRECTOR STEPHEN ETCITTY
our drinking water program is in place to deal with development of drinking water wells. we work w division of resources on non-drinking water. all gas and oil development and all oil recovery we oversee Class 2 injection wells. that programs shud be in place to monitor oil industry for protection of water. the program needed to regulate the injection wells for ISL facility wud be underground injection control program and that wud be Class 3 and we wud need to develop for this particular industry and it wud take us some some time and go thru administrative process to approve programs. but we have technical capacity to do that. UIC-underground injection control. our drinking water program, UIC, all work and coordinate all this info when put heads together to respond to these technical issues. we wud have to apply to US EPA for delegation. and under our own safe drinking water act, we can establish program and don’t need USEPA. we can do under navajo statutory authority.
SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR TSOSIE
but in absence of program?
who becomes point of contact? to send all this reporting data.
NEPA DIRECTOR ETSITTY
Me
SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR TSOSIE
how much cost for UIC?
NEPA DIRECTOR ETSITTY
$100,000 annually and took us 12 years to develop and submitted to NEPA in 2007 and recevied primacy in 2009. it will take about million dollars to develop and additional cost to process, make jurisdictional claim and states review.
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
my experience with states is quote USEPA. after u receive primacy, it’s EPA funded.
NEPA ETCITTY
that’s correct.
RDC SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON
as chair, it wud be good to establish and seriously consider.
NEPA DIRECTOR ETCITTY
in curent energy policy there is section for nuclear energy development and do all this.
RDC VICE CHAIRPERSON ROSCOE SMITH
is there baseline radiation contamination.
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
three samples from each well and spaced evenly. we sample many wells, many times. South Texas has background information and only get if put in wells and then test. we have few and will understand better at church rock than any other four corners area. it’s unbelievable. test surrounding wells so know if any changes. i’ve looked at all In-Situ uranium sites but all the time, the water reflects chemistry of rocks surrounding it. have rocks with higher concentration of uranium so see high levels compared to drinking water. and it decades to radon. generally, in my data base, radium and astonishing high levels of radon gas where no one drink water. USEPA 300 and 4,000 levels and not see million units. and why? because why rock is. if lot of iron then run through water softner.
NEPA FREDA
do u have any background statements about contamination of water?
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
i have two sets of data. the data on section 8, unit 1 west of crownpoint. what i do have and day presentation, 155 ISL wells nationally. have data for section 8. Just taking gallon of water out and circulate gallon so not taking water.
SUBCOMMITTEE VICE CHAIRPERSON LEONARD PETE
what can be injected into aquifer to prevent water from moving?
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
god create hydrologic system and can’t but can stop migration of minerals and perhaps uranium stay behind. add gas that acts opposite of oxygen.
Groundwater flows to north and thru solid rock and moves very slowly. regional analysis from federal EIS and based on data from four wells there in field and tested in section 8 with limited data so far. water moves at church rock ten feet per year so moves very slowly. if excursion, the company does not take corrective action in day; water move ten feet and year, 1,000 feet. not crisis. it is very slow process for corrective action. It cannot move faster because two things cannot occupy area at same time.
NEPA FREDA
how did u prove that what water existed before uranium. once expose uranium to air, it becomes contaminated.
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
First oxygen introduced cuz groundwater recharging and rock orange and reached point where water can’t overcome organics in water. what impact does exploration have on uranium?
NEPA FREDA
in those parcels, there has been exposure to oxygen so how can you prove that data not pre-industrial activity.
URI VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS MARK S. PELIZZA
when water oxidized, you impact other dissolved minerals and not just uranium. so uranium at well all by itself and if water looks like water across basin and go to a different area and looks different. al elements studied during process existed there naturally. we are not adding other chemicals.
