Updated: Nov 2nd, 2024

The Gold King Mine Spill’s Impact on the Navajo Nation Research Paper

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Table of Contents

The Gold King Mine leak
Impacts on the Navajo Nation
The Possible Compensation that the Navajo Nation Deserves
Mine Spill and Navajo’s Reservation Life
Class and Racial Aspects
Possible Solutions
References

The Gold King Mine leak

Over 2,000 Navajo peasants have been unable to use their customary water stream due to the Gold King Mine leak, which is a classic illustration of the lengthy history of mistreatment against the Navajo Nation. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tried to separate wastewater from a defunct mining site in Colorado in August 2015, debris from the operation seeped into the Animas River, a branch of the San Juan River Lohmann (2022). The leak caused temporary suspensions in places with groundwater supplies and halted farmland cultivation in several regions. The Animas River basin was swamped by water poisoned by gold mining waste from the 1990s, which colored the river’s contents bright yellow (Lohmann, 2022). Therefore, this paper discusses how the spill affects the Navajo Nation, how their reservation life is already difficult, and how the mine spill makes getting water more expensive and difficult. In addition, the research emphasizes the class and racial aspects of the spill and offers possible solutions at the end.

Impacts on the Navajo Nation

Midway through the planting period, the polluted overflow from the Gold King Mine disaster struck the Navajo Nation, which borders the San Juan River in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. It inflicted natural and built environment devastation due to the religious meaning of the Animas River’s waters (Perkins, 2021). The escaping metal deposits plunged the Animas and San Juan Rivers across New Mexico and the Navajo Nation into Utah’s Lake Powell. The plume prompted towns within and outside the United States to block drainage ditches and drinking waterways and substantially curtail agricultural, fishing, and recreational river use.

The federal government donated tanker trucks filled with drinkable water for use by impacted farmers. Still, for many of them, it was too late, as their crops had already withered in the absence of fresh water. As documented in Lohmann (2022) EPA president confirmed, “When the spill occurred, we went to the Gold King Mine site and saw firsthand the impacts to the land and water. The Gold King Mine blowout damaged entire communities and ecosystems in the Navajo Nation.” Due to the federal administration’s propensity to victimize the land and breach agreements with Native Americans, they had a deep-seated mistrust of it (Perkins, 2021). Additionally, shoppers exhibited hesitation to buy locally sourced produce, causing the Shiprock Farmers Marketplace to close for three years after the disaster.

The Possible Compensation that the Navajo Nation Deserves

When the EPA launched its first public conference regarding the catastrophe on August 7 in Durango, Colorado, the organization admitted blame for the tragedy and outlined its preliminary management strategy. Before entering the Animas River, it would construct settlement pools where particles could settle to the bottom and water could be purified. On October 19, 2015, the EPA established a temporary recycling facility eight miles north of Silverton. Prescribed to combat wastewater from Gold King and other local industrial plants, the system costs more than $2.4 million per year to maintain and more than $1.5 million to develop (Gold King Mine spill, 2021). The intermediate treatment center is still in service as of January 2021, filtering an estimated 300 gallons per minute of toxic water leaking from the Gold King Mine. The EPA’s investigation, publicized on August 26, 2015, determined that a failure to analyze the hydrostatic pressure within the Gold King Mine was the primary cause of the incident (Gold King Mine spill, 2021). Instead of drilling straight into the obstruction to determine the water intensity, the personnel should have bored vertically into the entrance canal from a different point.

According to the assessment, proper drilling and testing would have averted the unexpected discharge. The EPA stated in December 2016 that it would pay $4.5 million to states, cities, and American Indian municipal entities affected by the leak. In addition, the Navajo Nation accused the EPA in November 2016 of $162 million to offset the expenses of the leak, which included $3.1 million for compensation claims charges and $159 million for water infrastructure initiatives and surveillance (Gold King Mine spill, 2021). In reaction, the EPA stated that the community had submitted a claim for only $1.4 million and would be reimbursed $603,000 (Gold King Mine spill, 2021). All these efforts were meant to reduce the spill’s impact on the Navajo people.

However, the disparity between EPA and Navajo estimates could not be addressed quickly. The EPA paid the Navajo Nation around $90,000 after the spill to distribute water to impacted regions. Still, by September 2015, the bureau contended that the river’s purity had returned to pre-spill levels. Included among the Navajo Nation’s denied requests for EPA funding was a $250,000 program to improve the San Juan River water supply (Gold King Mine spill, 2021). However, the EPA’s reimbursement to the Navajo Nation is insufficient because the leak caused permanent damage. Multiple regulatory testing for heavy elements such as arsenic, zinc, manganese, copper, and lead revealed that the post-spill quality of groundwater substantially satisfies drinkable purposes and farming criteria.

Due to spillage, the agricultural activities of the Navajo community were significantly impacted. An investigation by Laylin (2015) enumerated that two out of thirty samples of corn crops produced with contaminated water contained lead content above the acceptable limits. EPA took responsibility and initiatives to reduce the impact of the spill on the environment and lives of the Navajo Nation by, for instance, prescribing to combat wastewater from Gold King and other local industrial plants by spending more than $2.4 million annually on maintenance and $1.5 million for development. EPA could contact non-profit organizations such as wearespark.org, which aids decision-makers in resource efficiency by giving real-time intelligence via aesthetically engaging data visualizations (W E. A R E. S P A R K., 2022) to monitor the rate of leakage and provide appropriate compensation. Therefore, to offset the Navajo Nation from the impact of the spill, EPA should reimburse $50 million allocated for damages, including $3.1 million for unreimbursed expenses and $59 million for water development projects and monitoring.

Mine Spill and Navajo’s Reservation Life

In the following aspects, Navajo Nation reserve life delivers poor and harsh living conditions. Providing sufficient accommodation in many tribal villages is challenging due to their isolation and resource limitations. Displacement and congestion are also persistent challenges since many families would not turn away loved ones needing a dwelling. Moreover, American Indians’ life expectancy has risen but still lags behind that of other Americans by a few years. The absence of adequate health facilities and services contributes to many Navajo citizens living on reserves receiving insufficient medical services.

Since the Navajo Nation resides in reserved land within American society, the community faces several challenges regarding acquiring safe water for drinking following the spill. Due to this kind of segregation, obtaining water has become expensive and difficult among this particular group. Lohmann (2022) enumerated that the Navajo Nation believes that the EPA has not adequately cleaned and restored the impacted lands and has filed a lawsuit against the organization. By the EPA not conducting enough tests on the silt of the river, long-term health implications would be experienced. As a result of the mistrust between the Navajo Nation and the government, these individuals are forced to spend a considerable amount of money to obtain water.

Class and Racial Aspects

Non-whites endure discrimination in housing, health care, and education sectors, indicating that class and race have historically persisted throughout American culture. For instance, the Navajo Nation’s residential dilemma is exacerbated by the fact that much of the current housing is inadequate and in dire need of repairs. Despite efforts by the Indian Housing Authorities, the need for suitable housing on reserves is dire. About one-third of Navajo dwellings lack drainage and kitchenette, as well as bedrooms, and 15% lack access to water (Gold King mine spill left lingering troubles on Navajo Nation, 2022). In addition, the neighborhood of Mexican Water had not received assistance from the EPA for several months following the spill. This region is quite remote, as there are no motorways around, and the closest food store is 35 miles away (Gold King mine spill left lingering troubles on Navajo Nation, 2022). Even regions that received EPA relief grumbled that the condition did not meet their expectations.

Possible Solutions

To reduce some of the detrimental effects of racial segregation in the American society regarding housing and access to adequate healthcare services, the incorporation of the Navajo Nation into the White population would help. In addition, the federal government should adhere to the various treaties signed with the Navajo Nation and fulfill the agreed activities to better the lives of the community. Finally, improving social amenities within the reservation areas improves the quality of life in Navajo society. Building proper roads, medical institutions, and learning facilities would help reduce losses incurred in moving goods to the market and minimize death due to inadequate healthcare facilities.