Meetings will address recovery after spill

FARMINGTON — Navajo Nation officials will hold three information sessions this week to provide updates about the tribe's recovery from the Gold King Mine spill.

The updates will be provided by the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, according to a press release from the tribe.

"We want the Navajo people to obtain full, fair and prompt recovery for all damages suffered. Additionally, we want to ensure that the public is informed about the status of ongoing recovery efforts and efforts to clean up the environmental damage caused by the Gold King Mine spill," Attorney General Ethel Branch said in the release.

The Aug. 5 spill released more than 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater into the Animas and San Juan rivers.

The tribe kept the San Juan River closed for all use until data from the tribe's EPA indicated the water was safe for certain uses. Since then, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye has ordered the river reopened for livestock and irrigation usage.

The first information session will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at the Shiprock Chapter house off U.S. Highway 64.

Other sessions will from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Monument Valley Welcome Center near the Arizona-Utah state line and from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Aneth Chapter House in Utah.