Bob Uram, Director
Office of Surface Mining
1951 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20240
e-mail: <ruram@hdqgw.osmre.gov>
Bob Armstrong
Assistant Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Washington, DC
e-mail: <batkinson@ios.doi.gov>
RE: Kayenta Mine Renewal Application For Federal Permit AZ0001C (by PWCC)
June 10, 1995
Dear Sir:
OSM must conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the whole
permitting process for the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines and enforce without
discrimination the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, the Clean
Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and
the Clean Air Act. This is necessary to ensure the survival and well-being
of the Dine' (Navajo) citizens living in the coal fields.
Water rights held by the Navajo Nation must be respected by Secretary
Babbitt and the Hopi Tribal Council. And what is missing in the water
dialogue is the basic question: IS THE PIPELINE LEGAL, PERMITTED, AND
WAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) DONE? And does continued use
of this slurry pipeline endanger the public health and safety and the
health of the livestock? Alternative non-aqueous based transportation
systems are available to slurry coal. And while we agree with the reality
of drawdown effects on the Navajo aquifer, with no ability to recharge,
we feel that ANY CONTINUED USE of an aqueous based water transportation
system to slurry coal JEOPARDIZES THE SURVIVAL OF THE DINE' PEOPLE. OSM
must block and table any decision on Peabody's Black Mesa mining permit
until an alternative non-aqueous based transportation system to slurry coal
is implemented, remediation activities are initiated, and all the necessary
permits are in place.
OSM must investigate selenium, copper, and other toxic forming
substances for airborne and ground water CONTAMINATION, and the
TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS on vegetation, livestock and public health, as
well as an investigation of the interactive toxicological effects of
SELENIUM, COPPER AND OTHER HEAVY METALS. A full geophysical study needs
to be done pertaining to possible contamination of regional aquifers and
water basins. OSM must also investigate surface and ground water drying
up and being polluted as a result of mining operations--including, but
not limited to: unlined water impoundments and sedimentation ponds,
topsoil removal and stockpiling, coal removal, and inadequate and
inappropriate contouring of restored areas.
In response to pressure by local residents, OSM conducted a water test
of the "Benally" spring, a tributary of the Moenkopi wash that confirmed
the presence of EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF LEAD, COPPER, AND ARSENIC, and advised
the residents not to let their livestock drink the water. We want to
ensure that OSM initiates a comprehensive investigation of water, plant,
and soil contamination. And while a Lake Powell pipeline would give
another source of water for ensuring continuing Peabody operations, the
use of any water source to slurry coal with continued pipeline operations
would create an environmentally-hazardous situation, jeopardizing the public
health and safety and that of the livestock upon which local residents depend.
Plans for domestic use of water from the Lake Powell pipeline must be
blocked because Lake Powell is contaminated. A Safe Drinking Water Act
investigation must be conducted. When the city of Las Vegas tried to
obtain permission to use water from Lake Powell as a drinking-water source,
they were denied due to contamination. Is this really the source of water
you want people to drink when we live above pristine water in the Navajo
aquifer? It does not make any sense to create yet another pipeline, this
time carrying contaminated water from Lake Powell for domestic use. Why does
an 18" slurry pipeline have more right to Safe Drinking Water than the people
and livestock? People have died in Lake Powell and it is against Dine'
beliefs to drink water in which people have died. And discarded batteries,
toilet bowls, and bathtubs continually dumped in Lake Powell have been
featured on television news specials.
BOTH THE BLACK MESA AND KAYENTA MINES ARE OUT OF COMPLIANCE, using UNLINED
COAL PILES. AT THE old KAYENTA MINE THEY ARE STILL USING OLD STOCK PILES
BY THE ENGINEERING BUILDINGS. And these storage piles hold water from rain
thereby CAUSING TOXIC RUN-OFF. We request 100% containment of all unlined
coal stock piles. And Rte. 41, Forest Lake Road, and all haul roads and
public roads, must be investigated for contamination from the use of
magnesium chloride as a dust suppressant. There is no data on long term
effects of the use of magnesium chloride on the health of people and animals.
OSM must investigate CONTAMINATED PONDS AND SOIL IN THE RECLAIMED AREAS of
Peabody Western Coal Company. We require proper stripping distances and top
soil storage. Section 515 (b) (5) and (6) of the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 [30 CFR $ 515 (b)(5) & (6)] states: "...stockpiling
of topsoil materials for lengthy periods creates deterioration." We also
refer to NON-ENFORCEMENT of 25 CFR and 30 CFR STRIP-MINING REGULATIONS.
Certain medicinal plants found ONLY on Black Mesa are being eradicated,
thereby destroying and endangering residents ability to conduct traditional
spiritual and healing ceremonies. And due to the physical changes of the
landscape into shadeless, shelterless rolling grasslands, traditional land-use
patterns have been disrupted, and inhospitable and lifeless lands created.
PEABODY NEVER POSTED RECLAMATION BOND MONEY and therefore no assurance
exists that when slurry-pipeline operations cease reclamation/remediation
activities will be conducted. ALBUQUERQUE OSM INSPECTORS SHARE OUR CONCERNS.
Leaks in the coal-slurry pipeline are causing contamination of the Moenkopi
wash system. And with leaks known here, we can only assume that there are
leaks all along its 273-mile journey. OSM does not have the authority to
permit what Congress never intended to allow. According to 30 CFR $ 1265, the
past use and continued use of the coal-slurry pipeline violates Congressional
intent--by depleting water from the aquifer and by having water come into
contact with coal. Peabody's Black Mesa and Kayenta minesare required to
obtain permits for access roads or other access ways; including use of an
unanticipated slurry line. And IT REMAINS THE OPINION OF ALBUQUERQUE OSM
INSPECTORS THAT PEABODY BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN PERMITS FOR THE COAL-SLURRY
PIPELINE AND THE RAILROAD; THEY WERE READY TO ISSUE A CESSATION ORDER TO PWCC
WHEN HIGHER OFFICIALS in Washington, DC made this into a political issue and
STOPPED THEM FROM DOING SO. To wit, local residents filed a case with the
Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA).
Peabody must stop stripping surface land 8-10 years beyond where current
mining activities are taking place, thereby destroying plants and animals,
sacred sites, and the livelihood of nearby residents. The stockpiling of
topsoil materials for lengthy periods has caused deterioration, erosion, and
air pollution. OSM MUST INVESTIGATE ILLNESSES IN PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK CAUSED
BY EXCESSIVE COAL DUST and demand that Peabody relocate their air quality
monitoring stations as supported by EPA's Multi-Media/Multi-Agency Task Force.
OSM must require that Peabody stop blasting local residents' homes apart
and repair our homes as needed. As noted in 30 CFR $ 816.62, Federal law
requires mines to issue blasting alerts to citizens who live as far as a
half-mile beyond the permit area, the legal boundaries of the mine. However,
Peabody does not give warnings unless residents live within a half-mile of the
spot where the explosives are detonated. The law allows people alerted of a
pending blast to request a company survey of the state of their homes before
hand. The results of the survey are to be used to compare the conditions of
homes before and after to determine whether or not blasting is harming them,
so that companies can alter their practices or pay for repairs. However,
residents living within the mine's boundaries NEVER got advance notice of a
blast and have never even HEARD of giving a warning or doing a survey. No
pre-blast surveys were EVER conducted as a gauge for blasting damage on
residents' homes as required, and many homes have been maged by blasting
effects.
OSM has explicitly ALLOWED Peabody to IGNORE protections for graves,
religious, cultural, and archeological sites, and requirements to minimize
land disturbance. The destruction of offering places and sacred sites
is a VIOLATION of the Navajo Grave Protection Act and the American Grave
Protection Act. Also OSM must stop Peabody from DESECRATING our HUMAN
REMAINS, since they have repeatedly uncovered human remains during dozing
operations and advised employees to ignore this. LOCAL RESIDENTS DEMAND
EQUAL PROTECTION OF GRAVE AND CEREMONIAL SITES.
Local residents must be guaranteed protection so that they are not
forced to drink CONTAMINATED WATER or accept TOXIC CONTAMINATION of their
land due to continued use of an ILLEGAL, UNPERMITTED COAL-SLURRY PIPELINE.
We request that you work diligently and without discrimination to honor your
trust responsibility to Black Mesa area residents as citizens living in the
coal fields.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Julian W. James, FOR THE DINE' ALLIANCE and the Elders and residents of
the HPL and the NPL of the Joint Use Area
Julian W. James (= <jjames@athena.mit.edu>)
35 Litchfield St., Apt. # 2
Brighton, MA 02135
cc: Navajo Nation (President Albert Hale, The Navajo Nation
cc: Dine' Alliance (Pinon, AZ)
cc: SEAC Southwest; Newsdesk at `EnviroLink'
cc: President Clinton, Vice President Gore
cc: Senators Kennedy, Bingaman, Daschle, Boxer, Simon, Harkin