Left to right: RDC Vice Chair Casey Allen Johnson, RDC Chairwoman Brenda Jesus, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz), Council Delegate Shawna Ann Claw, and Council Delegate Danny Simpson. The RDC met with congressional leaders to address abandoned uranium mine remediation. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the 25th Navajo Nation Council
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Resources and Development Committee concluded three days of advocacy on Capitol Hill on July 15, meeting with congressional leaders to advance key Navajo Nation priorities, including abandoned uranium mine remediation and stronger federal coordination to accelerate cleanup efforts.
Resources and Development Committee Chairwoman Brenda Jesus, Vice Chair Casey Allen Johnson, Council Delegate Danny Simpson, and Council Delegate Shawna Ann Claw met with federal officials and members of Congress, including White House Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz..
“The five federal agencies responsible for implementing the 10-year plan for Navajo abandoned uranium mine remediation continue to work in silos, delaying progress on cleaning up these hazardous sites,” Jesus said. “Congress has an important oversight role to ensure these agencies fulfill their responsibilities under the 10-year plan. We are calling for a joint congressional oversight hearing to address the lack of coordination and hold the agencies accountable. Our people have waited long enough.”
During the meetings, Jesus emphasized the need for stronger federal oversight and interagency coordination to complete remediation of more than 500 abandoned uranium mines in the Cove Mining District, including 223 sites that remain unfunded.
Jesus also presented remediation solutions developed by the RDC and the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency that have not been adequately considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The proposals include establishing a remediation waste disposal site near Ambrosia Lake, N.M., and using high pressure slurry ablation technology as a treatment and resource recovery model. Jesus noted that the U.S. Department of Energy directed the RDC and the Navajo Nation EPA to coordinate with the State of New Mexico and consult adjacent Pueblo tribes regarding the Ambrosia Lake proposal.
“We have worked closely with the State of New Mexico and consulted with Pueblo communities near the proposed site, and both are open to the project,” Jesus said. “Our cleanup proposals could reduce remediation costs by as much as 75 percent, but the U.S. EPA has not been willing to consider these solutions.”
During a meeting with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, Simpson raised concerns over the U.S. EPA’s selection of a “cap in place” remedy at certain abandoned uranium mine sites despite repeated requests from community members to remove the radioactive waste.
Simpson also said the U.S. EPA has asserted it does not require allottee consent to proceed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund.
“We’ve been trying for more than 50 years to address abandoned uranium mine remediation on the Navajo Nation,” he said. “That’s why we’re here. We’ve proposed a repository site that can support this work, and the U.S. DOE will play a key role if the site is selected.”
Johnson reiterated that Navajo communities affected by abandoned uranium mine remediation oppose “cap in place” remedies.
“Within many of our communities, they want to use ‘cap in place’ remedies that closely border residences and other critical water sources. In my community of Cameron, they want to put a ‘cap in place’ near the Colorado River. Our communities don’t want this solution,” Johnson said.
Jesus said the U.S. EPA continues to reject the Nation’s proposal to use ablation technology, while the March 2026 Interagency 10-year Plan Update demonstrated that the five federal agencies are not effectively coordinating remediation efforts. As a result, the RDC is urging Congress to convene a joint oversight hearing to hold the agencies accountable and move remediation forward.
“The U.S. EPA Region 9 is the biggest barrier we face because of its lack of synergizing recommendations and requests from the Navajo Nation,” Jesus said.
Federal officials and members of Congress, including Sen. Mark Kelly, Rep. Harriet Hageman, and Rep. Eli Crane, expressed support for a joint congressional oversight hearing involving the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Natural Resources, which oversee the federal agencies responsible for abandoned uranium mine remediation, including the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Interior, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
