Navajo Nation enacts toxic waste cleanup law

Wednesday, March 19, 2008  

The Navajo Nation has enacted its own version of the federal Superfund law.

The Navajo Nation Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act became law in March. It allows the tribe to enter into agreements with private companies and federal or state agencies to clean up toxic waste.

With over 500 abandoned uranium sites and other polluted sites on the reservation, tribal officials say the law puts more power into their own hands. "It reduces our reliance on the federal government," Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, told High Country News.

The program, which is expected to be up and running within a year, will be funded by a tariff.

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Tribe takes on toxic waste (High Country News 3/18)