Representatives of the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe asked the Interior Department to delay a decision on a mine application by Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the world.

Tribal leaders and activists want the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to wait until president-elect Barack Obama takes office. They are worried about the impact of coal mining on their reservations.

"This is a sad day for the Hopi and Navajo," Hopi Chairman Ben Nuvamsa said at a protest, The Denver Post reported.

The Bush administration could approve Peabody's permit to merge two mines within the next week.

Get the Story:
Tribes protest proposed Ariz. coal mine on ancestral lands (The Denver Post 12/9)
In Denver, Tribal Leaders Protest Mining Expansion (KUNC 12/8)

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