Water delivered to sustain agriculture and livestock on Native American land after Gold King Mine toxic spill but liquid allegedly tainted with black oil substance

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The president of the Navajo Nation said he feels betrayed that water supplied by the Environmental Protection Agency appeared to be tainted with a black oily substance.

The water was delivered by the EPA to Shiprock, New Mexico, on Friday 14 August, to sustain agricultural operations and livestock after an EPA accident released a toxic plume from Gold King Mine into their natural water supply.

When the water arrived, Joe Ben Jr, a representative of Shiprock’s farm board, said he rejected it after noting signs of contamination.

EPA officials told the Navajo president, Russell Begaye, that Ben is “an unstable individual” who was “agitating” – potentially to achieve some kind of political edge in the escalating discord between the EPA and the Navajo nation, according to Begaye.

The officials reported feeling threatened and subsequently evacuated all EPA personnel from Navajo territory, according to Begaye.

Begaye said he initially did not question the EPA’s assurances.

But when he arrived in Shiprock and inspected the water for himself, he saw black objects floating in the water. When he squeezed them, he said they turned into a greasy streak.

“I was astounded,” Begaye told the Guardian by phone on Thursday. “I couldn’t believe there were black oily streaks in the water.”

He said he filled up a cup three or four times to be sure, and each time, the same oily black spots appeared in the water. When he ran water from the intake valve, his hand was reportedly coated with oil and grease.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he added. “I couldn’t believe the EPA’s higher-ups basically told me a lie.”

The EPA contracted Triple S Trucking, which is part of the Aztec Well family of companies that services the oil and natural gas industry, to deliver the water while irrigation pumps that normally deliver water from the San Juan river are shut down pending water quality assessments.

Ben said he requested certification from Triple S Trucking and the EPA that the barrels used to store the water, allegedly used in fracking operations, had been thoroughly cleaned. But no such report was forthcoming, Ben said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Navajo Nation president, Russell Begaye: ‘I couldn’t believe the EPA’s higher-ups basically told me a lie.’ Photograph: Jon Austria/AP

In a prepared statement, the EPA reported that Triple S claimed to have steam-cleaned and inspected tanks prior to delivering water sourced from the Bloomfield Utility Department in New Mexico for use at Shiprock.

The agency also promised to explore the Navajo Nation’s allegations.

“The US EPA will work closely with Navajo Nation authorities to investigate a recent complaint about water contamination in one tank provided by US EPA for agricultural purposes in the Shiprock, New Mexico area,” the report said.

At the president’s behest, Navajo police seized three of the tanks to use as evidence, and independent analysis of the water quality is being sought.

“It is not the normal conduct of our community to challenge the government,” Ben told the Guardian. “But I was brought on board to protect the natural resources of the Navajo Nation.”

Begaye said some farmers, out of desperation, gave their animals some of the water to drink and irrigated crops such as alfalfa, watermelon and corn.

As a result, he said crops and Navajo land are now tainted with the oily substance.

Navajo farmers have just five months to raise crops for subsistence or barter. This yield has to support them and their families for the entire year.

“Now they are likely to lose all of that,” Begaye said.

The incident builds on mistrust among the Navajo community. Since a toxic spill delivered mine waste containing high levels of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals, to waterways from Colorado’s Animas river to the San Juan river that passes through Shiprock, Begaye has expressed public outrage at the EPA’s inconsistent public information about the spill.

In a video posted on his Facebook page earlier this week, Begaye said he would not drink the water in Cement Creek near Gold King Mine despite assurances it was safe, after he dipped a cup in the creek and brought out yellow-colored water.

In another video posted on his Facebook page from Shiprock on Wednesday, Begaye demonstrates how his finger became streaked in black when he wiped an opening to one of the water tanks.

“This is what they expect our animals to drink?” he asked.

Following data collected from 7 to 15 August near Hogback, New Mexico, the EPA says the San Juan river’s water quality in the Navajo Nation has returned to pre-spill conditions.

“EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye had a productive phone conversation on August 19 to review water quality data,” the statement reads.

Begaye announced on Thursday that he would reopen the river on Saturday. But he says his decision was based on data collected by the Navajo Nation’s own environmental protection agency.

He wants to reassure Navajo farmers the agency will continue to closely monitor three different irrigation systems for signs of heavy metals once the river is reopened, and will immediately shut them down if necessary.

“We don’t trust the EPA,” he said.