Executive Order No. 04-2023

THE NAVAJO NATION

Executive Order No. 04-2023

ADDRESSING THE IMPACTS OF ABANDONED URANIUM MINES AND ADVOCATING FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO REMEDIATE SAID IMPACTS

WHEREAS:

1. The President of the Navajo Nation serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Executive Branch of the Navaio Nation govemment with full authority to conduct, supervise, and coordinate personnel and program matters. 2 N.N.C. § 1005(A); and
2. The President shall have the power to issue an executive order for the purpose of interpreting, implementing, or giving administrative effect to statutes of the Navajo Nation in the manner set forth in such statutes. 2 N.N.C. § 1005(C)(14); and
3. Between 1944 and 1989, approximately 30 million tons of uranium (Łeetso) was extracted from the Navaio Nation, leaving a legacy of polluted lands and water and adverse economic, environmental, and human health effects on the Navajo Nation and its people; and
4. The Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 was enacted to ensure that no further damage to the culture, society, and economy of the Navajo Nation occurs until all adverse effects from past uranium mining and milling have been eliminated or substantially reduced. 18 N.N.C. §§ 1301-1303; and
5. The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and its Superfund Program, the Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action Department, the Navajo Nation Department of Health, and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice are primarily responsible for implementing Navajo laws to address the legacy of uranium mining and milling on the Navajo Nation; and
6. In consultation with the Navajo Nation, Multiple Agencies of the Federal Government developed a Ten-Year Plan (2020-2029) to address uranium contamination within the Navajo Nation. It identifies the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as federal partners to work with the Navajo Nation to continue addressing the legacy of the uranium mining and milling on the Navajo Nation, building on two previous Five-Year Plans (2008-2012 and 2014-2018) with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, as the lead federal partner for the investigation and cleanup of abandoned uranium mines; and
7. Chapters and Community Organizations across the Navajo Nation have called on the Nygren Administration to address the impacts of abandoned uranium mines and advocate for immediate action to remediate said impacts.

THEREFORE:

I, Dr. Buu Nygren, President of the Navajo Nation, by the power vested in me under 2.N.N.C § 1005 (C)(14), I hereby order:

1. The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and its Superfund Program, the Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action Department, the Navajo Nation Department of Health, the Navajo Nation Washington Office and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice shall work with Chapters and Community Organizations to identify outstanding issues related to the impacts of abandoned uranium mines and seek remedies consistent with community input to the full extent authorized by law and in the best interests of the Navajo Nation.
2. The same Navajo Nation entities shall remind the federal partners of their obligations under the Ten-Year Plan and their commitments to address the legacy of uranium mining and milling within the Navajo Nation.
3. The same Navajo Nation entities shall identify statutory and regulatory changes to expedite the clean-up of abandoned uranium mines, prevent any new contamination, and work with the Navajo Nation Council to facilitate such changes as needed.
4. The establishment of a Voluntary Advisor position to advise President Nygren on matters concerning the legacy of uranium mining and milling on the Navajo Nation; and I hereby
5. appoint Mr. Jonathan Perry, President, Eastern Navajo Dine’ Against Uranium Mining, to this post until December 31, 2026.
6. Executive Director Stephen B. Etsitty of the Navajo Nation EPA and Mr. Jonathan Perry, Voluntary Advisor, shall report to President Buu Nygren on efforts to fully implement this Executive Order and ways to eliminate any impediments to realizing the goal of the remediation of uranium contamination.

EXECUTED this 17th day of JULY 2023.

Dr. Buu Nygren, President

THE NAVAJO NATION

ATTEST:

Ethel Branch, Attorney General

Navajo Nation Department of Justice

Download Executive Order No. 04-2023 (PDF)