WATER · ISSUE 3 OF 5
Contamination & Uranium Cleanup
What it is
The Navajo Nation has more abandoned uranium mines than any other land area in the United States. Contamination plumes from past gas drilling also sit under some communities. NNEPA is the Nation’s environmental regulator; federal EPA handles uranium legacy cleanup under a multi-agency task force. A plume under Little Water was named on the record in the candidate interviews. Uranium hauling risk was named by Donovan Begay.
The seam: A citizen with a contamination concern may not know whether to go to NNEPA, federal EPA, IHS, or their chapter. All four may be involved. None is solely responsible.
Learn
Understand the system — then consult an expert
The Seams — contamination jurisdiction is a documented seam: two laws meet and nobody owns the handoff.
Who’s in Charge? — NNEPA vs federal EPA vs IHS vs chapter: the jurisdiction map.
Infrastructure 101 — water quality and the gap between delivering water and delivering clean water.
Consult an expert: Ask about contamination reporting →
Plan & Assess
Where candidates stand — weigh it yourself
Infrastructure — candidates side by side — who named contamination and what they proposed.
Boil snow — the Little Water plume reference and uranium hauling, verbatim.
Ask any candidate: What is the contamination status in this chapter? Who monitors groundwater near abandoned mines? Full list →
Act
What you can do now
Report a concern: NNEPA is the first door for environmental concerns on the Nation. Federal EPA has a Navajo uranium cleanup task force. Find the right door →
Report & track: Community survey → · Share what you observe →
Report & Monitor
Track progress — hold the right office accountable
What should be public: A map of known contamination sites, NNEPA monitoring reports, and status of each abandoned uranium mine. What should be public → · What we could not locate →