Sunland Park, Santa Teresa Community Deserve Clean and Safe Drinking Water

Las Cruces Sun News
July 17, 2024
by Vivian Fuller, Daisy Maldonado, Mark Alonzo and Lia Rasberry

Residents of Sunland Park and Santa Teresa are deeply troubled by the ongoing issues with the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) water supply. Despite repeated assurances from CRRUA, community members continue to face problems with arsenic contamination, discolored water, health concerns and escalating water rates.

For years, many CRRUA customers have experienced yellow and brown water flowing from our taps, raising concerns about the safety of our drinking water. We have experienced persistent rashes, hair loss, and dry skin; our water is discolored and smells of sulfur. The presence of inorganic arsenic compounds in the water is particularly alarming, given their highly toxic nature and potential for causing both acute and long-term health issues, including cancer.  …

Downwinders continue to seek justice 79 years after the Trinity Test

New Mexico Political Report
July 17, 2024
by Hannah Grover

For most of his life, Paul Pino believed his community had dodged the bullet when it came to nuclear fallout. It wasn’t until he’d retired from teaching high school history that he learned that his home, Carrizozo, had in fact experienced radiation fallout on a July morning in 1945.

Then the pieces started coming together. He’d seen family members die of illnesses that can be linked to radiation exposure.  …

Gathering Will Mark 45 Years Since the Largest Radioactive Release in U.S. History Hit New Mexico

 KUNM
July 11, 2024
by Jeanette DeDios

It’s been 45 years since the largest radioactive release in U.S. history occurred at Church Rock New Mexico. Members of the Navajo Nation will gather on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the uranium spill.

On July 16th, 1979, a dam ruptured and released more than a thousand tons of radioactive waste and nearly 95 million gallons of toxic radioactive wastewater spilled into the nearby Rio Puerco and surrounding Navajo Nation lands. …

Mountain View Residents Allege City of Albuquerque Has Violated Their Civil Rights

June 6, 2024
New Mexico Political Report
by Hannah Grover

Residents of the Mountain View neighborhood in the South Valley of Albuquerque have filed a complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding environmental justice and air pollution in minority and low-income communities. The South Valley of Albuquerque is in an unincorporated area of Bernalillo County, but abuts the city and is heavily impacted by city decisions.  …

EPA Finally Doing the Right Thing with Uranium Waste in Red Water Pond Road Community

Albuquerque Journal

June 2, 2024

By Teracita Keyanna and Edith Hood / Red Water Pond Road Community Association

Uranium waste is a problem with no easy solutions. A proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency to remove uranium mine waste from our community, the Red Water Pond Road community 11 miles north of Church Rock, to the Red Rock landfill property 5 miles east of Thoreau, has generated some disagreements among members of the Navajo Nation. …

Clearing the Air: Why We Support Moving Uranium Mine Waste to the Red Rock Landfill

Navajo Times

By Edith Hood and Teracita Keyanna

May 16, 2024

Editor’s note: Teracita Keyanna and Edith Hood are members of the Red Water Pond Road Community Association. The community is 11 miles northeast of Churchrock, New Mexico.

A proposal to remove uranium mine waste from our community, the Red Water Pond Road community, 11 miles north of Churchrock in the Eastern Agency, to the Red Rock Landfill property five miles east of Thoreau, has generated some disagreements among members of the Navajo Nation. We are writing to give our community’s perspective and to help base the conversation on accurate information. We want to work together as one people to collaborate and figure out a plan to protect ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren….