Would You Mine For Gold In The National Cathedral? - Uranium In-Situ Mining Opposed
Gold Mining In The National Cathedral!!!
Submitted by Western Shoshone Defense Project
Stop the destruction of sacred Shoshone lands in Nevada
Take Action!
Tell the BLM to leave the Shoshone's sacred lands alone.
Dear Supporter,
This Columbus Day, October 13th -- also celebrated around the country as Indigenous Peoples' Day – is past BUT please help protect sacred sites from mining.
Canadian Barrick Gold is seeking to expand the Cortez gold mine in Nevada onto Mt. Tenabo, a sacred site to the Western Shoshone nation.
The mine expansion would threaten sacred Shoshone gravesites, disturb ritual grounds and could harm important water sources. To the Western Shoshone people, who were worshipping at Mt. Tenabo long before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, mining this area is akin to mining the National Cathedral and the Arlington National Cemetery.
BLM turns a blind eyeThe U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has indicated that it would allow this mine expansion, even though it violates the rights of the Western Shoshone, the U.N. Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the recommendations of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Take Action: Tell the BLM to respect sacred sitesThe BLM is accepting comments for the next 3 weeks on an environmental impact statement of the mine expansion. (The comment period ends on Nov 3rd - just one day before the Presidential elections.)
In support of Columbus/Indigenous Peoples' Day, tell the BLM to reject the Cortez mine expansion because of its impacts on sacred Western Shoshone lands. Tell the BLM that, this day of all days, we should respect the rights and wishes of the people who lived here well before Columbus.
Thank you,
The No Dirty Gold team
INSTRUCTIONS:
Go to the action page.
Read the sample letter and modify if you can. Personalized letter text and/or subject headers will increase the impact of your letter.
Clicking "Send My Message" will send your letter via email to the BLM's Nevada
Office.
Environment Department Opposes Generic EIS For In-Situ Mining
By Kathy Helms
Dine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK – The New Mexico Environment Department voiced opposition Monday to a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for in-situ leach uranium mining in New Mexico.
Secretary Ron Curry sent a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission criticizing the proposal and stating that NMED opposes the use of a GEIS “because of our fear that it will limit the ability of individuals to have meaningful involvement in the federal approval process for these facilities.”
Curry said the state also opposes the GEIS because it fails to apply an in-depth analysis specific to each in-situ leach uranium mining site and could be used to broadly interpret conditions at those sites.
Instead of performing an in-depth environmental review for each license application, the NRC through the GEIS process would only conduct an environmental assessment and rely on the GEIS for the majority of its analysis, according to the state.
Curry asked that a more thorough Environmental Impact Statement, specific to each site, be completed and offered numerous reasons why the state believes the commission’s approach is flawed.
“Given the unique environmental, geographical, cultural, historical, economic and regional aspects of our state, it is contrary to the goals and purposes of the National Environmental Policy act for the NRC to use a GEIS approach in this instance,” he said.
“Residents must be able to participate in this process because of the potential impacts in our state created by renewed uranium mining and past effects of those operations on the health of residents and pollution of the environment.” He cited a July 31, 2007, from Gov. Bill Richardson to NRC Chairman Dale Klein expressing the same concerns.
According to the NRC, the purpose behind developing the GEIS is to improve the efficiency of NRC's environmental reviews for ISL license applications required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The NRC staff plans to use the GEIS as a starting point for its NEPA analyses for site-specific license applications for new ISL facilities. Additionally, the NRC staff plans to use the GEIS, along with applicable previous site-specific environmental review documents, in its NEPA analysis for the restart or expansions of existing facilities.
The majority of uranium resources in New Mexico are located in the Grants Mineral Belt, where large sections are “Indian Lands,” according to Curry. “Given the minority and low income population in New Mexico, environmental justice issues will be involved with most, if not all applications,” he said, citing references from the GEIS.
“In addition, a generic approach is contrary to the principles of government-to-government consultation with the many sovereign Native American tribes and pueblos in New Mexico,” he said.
The GEIS rates impact significance to New Mexico groundwater from Small to Large. “In New Mexico, impacts during operation, restoration and decommissioning would be 'Large,' based on the fact that the aquifer (Westwater Canyon member) is a potential drinking water source and very few, if any ISL sites have been restored to pre-operational conditions,” Curry said.
The GEIS would allow condemnation of portions of an aquifer for ISL mining. New Mexico relies on groundwater for 90 percent of its drinking water supply and all groundwater in the state is protectable as a potential drinking water supply if it contains less than the state standard of 10,000 milligrams per liter for total dissolved solids. Groundwater within the Grants Mining District is known to contain less than 10,000 mg/l, the state said.
Curry added that the Grants uranium district contains thousands of exploration holes, many of which may not have been properly abandoned, and which could provide a conduit for contamination. He noted that operators of proposed ISL facilities must obtain a water right or appropriation permit from the Office of the State Engineer to extract water from the ground and that all surface water discharges require federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
The state questions why prior mining and milling are not considered in background radiological conditions.
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
ATT: NEW - News Blog - American Indian Report - AIR BLOG
http://falmouth-air.blogspot.com
'Mashantucket Pequot And UAW Negotiate
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
Submitted by Western Shoshone Defense Project
Stop the destruction of sacred Shoshone lands in Nevada
Take Action!
Tell the BLM to leave the Shoshone's sacred lands alone.
Dear Supporter,
This Columbus Day, October 13th -- also celebrated around the country as Indigenous Peoples' Day – is past BUT please help protect sacred sites from mining.
Canadian Barrick Gold is seeking to expand the Cortez gold mine in Nevada onto Mt. Tenabo, a sacred site to the Western Shoshone nation.
The mine expansion would threaten sacred Shoshone gravesites, disturb ritual grounds and could harm important water sources. To the Western Shoshone people, who were worshipping at Mt. Tenabo long before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, mining this area is akin to mining the National Cathedral and the Arlington National Cemetery.
BLM turns a blind eyeThe U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has indicated that it would allow this mine expansion, even though it violates the rights of the Western Shoshone, the U.N. Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the recommendations of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Take Action: Tell the BLM to respect sacred sitesThe BLM is accepting comments for the next 3 weeks on an environmental impact statement of the mine expansion. (The comment period ends on Nov 3rd - just one day before the Presidential elections.)
In support of Columbus/Indigenous Peoples' Day, tell the BLM to reject the Cortez mine expansion because of its impacts on sacred Western Shoshone lands. Tell the BLM that, this day of all days, we should respect the rights and wishes of the people who lived here well before Columbus.
Thank you,
The No Dirty Gold team
INSTRUCTIONS:
Go to the action page.
Read the sample letter and modify if you can. Personalized letter text and/or subject headers will increase the impact of your letter.
Clicking "Send My Message" will send your letter via email to the BLM's Nevada
Office.
Environment Department Opposes Generic EIS For In-Situ Mining
By Kathy Helms
Dine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK – The New Mexico Environment Department voiced opposition Monday to a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for in-situ leach uranium mining in New Mexico.
Secretary Ron Curry sent a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission criticizing the proposal and stating that NMED opposes the use of a GEIS “because of our fear that it will limit the ability of individuals to have meaningful involvement in the federal approval process for these facilities.”
Curry said the state also opposes the GEIS because it fails to apply an in-depth analysis specific to each in-situ leach uranium mining site and could be used to broadly interpret conditions at those sites.
Instead of performing an in-depth environmental review for each license application, the NRC through the GEIS process would only conduct an environmental assessment and rely on the GEIS for the majority of its analysis, according to the state.
Curry asked that a more thorough Environmental Impact Statement, specific to each site, be completed and offered numerous reasons why the state believes the commission’s approach is flawed.
“Given the unique environmental, geographical, cultural, historical, economic and regional aspects of our state, it is contrary to the goals and purposes of the National Environmental Policy act for the NRC to use a GEIS approach in this instance,” he said.
“Residents must be able to participate in this process because of the potential impacts in our state created by renewed uranium mining and past effects of those operations on the health of residents and pollution of the environment.” He cited a July 31, 2007, from Gov. Bill Richardson to NRC Chairman Dale Klein expressing the same concerns.
According to the NRC, the purpose behind developing the GEIS is to improve the efficiency of NRC's environmental reviews for ISL license applications required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The NRC staff plans to use the GEIS as a starting point for its NEPA analyses for site-specific license applications for new ISL facilities. Additionally, the NRC staff plans to use the GEIS, along with applicable previous site-specific environmental review documents, in its NEPA analysis for the restart or expansions of existing facilities.
The majority of uranium resources in New Mexico are located in the Grants Mineral Belt, where large sections are “Indian Lands,” according to Curry. “Given the minority and low income population in New Mexico, environmental justice issues will be involved with most, if not all applications,” he said, citing references from the GEIS.
“In addition, a generic approach is contrary to the principles of government-to-government consultation with the many sovereign Native American tribes and pueblos in New Mexico,” he said.
The GEIS rates impact significance to New Mexico groundwater from Small to Large. “In New Mexico, impacts during operation, restoration and decommissioning would be 'Large,' based on the fact that the aquifer (Westwater Canyon member) is a potential drinking water source and very few, if any ISL sites have been restored to pre-operational conditions,” Curry said.
The GEIS would allow condemnation of portions of an aquifer for ISL mining. New Mexico relies on groundwater for 90 percent of its drinking water supply and all groundwater in the state is protectable as a potential drinking water supply if it contains less than the state standard of 10,000 milligrams per liter for total dissolved solids. Groundwater within the Grants Mining District is known to contain less than 10,000 mg/l, the state said.
Curry added that the Grants uranium district contains thousands of exploration holes, many of which may not have been properly abandoned, and which could provide a conduit for contamination. He noted that operators of proposed ISL facilities must obtain a water right or appropriation permit from the Office of the State Engineer to extract water from the ground and that all surface water discharges require federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
The state questions why prior mining and milling are not considered in background radiological conditions.
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
ATT: NEW - News Blog - American Indian Report - AIR BLOG
http://falmouth-air.blogspot.com
'Mashantucket Pequot And UAW Negotiate
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
posted by BobbieoAZ @ 4:33 PM
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