Calls, letters, e-mail messages and faxes are URGENTLY NEEDED to members of Congress to DEFEAT PROVISIONS of a House energy bill
July 30, 2001
To: People Concerned About Uranium Impacts
From: Chris Shuey, Southwest Research and Information Center
Re: ACTION NEEDED ON WILSON AMENDMENTS
Calls, letters, e-mail messages and faxes are URGENTLY NEEDED to members of Congress to DEFEAT PROVISIONS of a House energy bill that authorize up to $30 million in federal grants to uranium companies using the in situ leach (ISL) mining method and extend the current moratorium on sales of DOE surplus uranium another eight years.
These provisions were proposed by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM1st) and incorporated in the Energy Advancement and Conservation Act adopted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. They could DIRECTLY AFFECT Navajo communities in northwestern New Mexico by facilitating development of the Crownpoint Uranium Project, a proposal by Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI), to construct and operate four uranium ISL mines in Church Rock and Crownpoint in the Eastern Navajo Agency.
In the past week, numerous local, regional and national groups including Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), Concerned Citizens of T'íísts'óóz Nídeeshgish (Crownpoint), SRIC, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, New Mexico and U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, Mineral Policy Center and Taxpayers for Common Sense have blasted the bill's provisions as another environmental injustice on the Navajo people, as corporate welfare for the the uranium industry, and as bad fiscal policy.
Residents of Crownpoint and surrounding communities have generated hundreds of calls, e-mail messages, letters and faxes to Rep. Wilson (R-NM1st) urging her to WITHDRAW her uranium bailout legislation and to Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM3rd) urging him to help the communities defeat the Wilson provisions. But MorE CALLS, E-MAIL AND LETTERS ARE NEEEDED! Here's what YOU CAN DO:
1. Tell Tom Udall to hold firm on his commitment to support the people in his district by offering an amendment that would strike the Wilson uranium provisions when the bill comes to the House floor for a vote on Wednesday. Contact Udall at: DC office, 202-225-6190, fax 202-225-1331; Gallup office, 505-863-0582; Santa Fe office, 505-984-8950; tom.udall@mail.house.gov; 502 Cannon House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
2. Tell Heather Wilson to withdraw her legislation and come to Crownpoint and Church Rock to listen to the communities' concerns about and opposition to any new uranium mining. Contact Wilson at: DC office, 202-225-6316, fax 202-225-4975; Albuquerque office, 505-346-6781, fax 505-346-6723; ask.heather@mail.house.gov; 318 Cannon House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
3. Tell Senator Pete Domenici, who is sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate, to stop supporting uranium mining in Navajo communities and aggressively advocate for compensation for uranium workers and their families and environmental cleanup and health studies in mining communities. Contact Domenici at: DC office, 202-224-6621, fax 202-228-0900; Albuquerque office, 505-346-6791; senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov; 328 Senate Hart Building, Washington, DC 20510
Here are some talking points to include in your messages:
· Uranium companies shouldn't get taxpayer funds to mine uranium by any method.
· HRI's parent company, Uranium Resources, Inc., would be one of ONLY FOUR companies that would qualify for the federal grants proposed in the Wilson legislation.
· The vast majority of people in Church Rock, Crownpoint and the Eastern Agency oppose HRI's Crownpoint Uranium Project and don't want new uranium mining.
· The Navajo Executive order Moratorium on Uranium Mining remains in effect.
· The uranium industry has been using ISL technology for 30 years and still can't clean up the groundwater that is polluted during the mining process.
· The aquifer that HRI plans to mine uranium from is ONLY SOURCE OF CLEAN DRINKING WATER for an estimated 15,000 residents of the Eastern Agency.
· Priorities for federal spending on uranium concerns should focus on compensation for uranium workers and their families, environmental cleanup in mining areas, and health studies in mining communities, especially in the Eastern Agency.
The attached files contain a sampling of recent letters from local, regional and national groups to Wilson and Udall. You are free to use the information in these letters in your own contacts.
We will !QU! you next week on the status of the Wilson legislation.
For further information, contacts in the Crownpoint area are: Kathleen Tsosie or Leona Enrike, ENDAUM, 505-786-5209; Lynta Martinez, CCT, 505-786-7460; Dr. John Fogarty, 505-786-5852. Geoff Fettus at NMELC (505-989-9022) is taking tabs on the progress of the legislation as it moves through the House. For technical background, call myself or Paul Robinson at SRIC, 505-262-1862, or visit our website at www.sric.org/Uranium.
Chris Shuey
Southwest Research and Information Center
www.sric.org
-30-
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