WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren believes to keep a nation healthy; he must keep the people healthy.
Plugging orphaned wells is one way to improve the health outcomes of approximately 400,000 Diné people – a priority of his administration to protect the Nation’s people, animals, lands, water, and natural resources.
On Aug. 13, President Nygren signed a memorandum of understanding to start a process between the Navajo Nation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Fuel Energy and Carbon Management and Office of Resource Sustainability.
The MOU states the parties involved are willing and intend to work together to carry out plugging orphaned wells.
Orphaned wells are abandoned uranium wells and/or oil and gas wells.
According to the Department of Interior website, orphaned wells can lead to health problems from methane emissions and safety concerns from old rusty equipment.
“This MOU is another step in the right direction to keeping our families safe here on the Navajo Nation,” said President Nygren. “We need initiatives like this MOU to start to help us rehabilitate and restore our territory and reduce the health burdens associated with orphaned wells.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 allocated $4.5 billion in funds to plug abandoned wells on tribal, state, and federal lands.