Two Cabinet Secretaries Send Letter To EPA Fighting For Environmental Cleanup

Santa Fe – New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Secretary Ryan Flynn and Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) Secretary David Martin have sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offering assistance to help the EPA and the Navajo Nation determine the full extent of environmental contamination at uranium mine sites and the best use of funds that resulted from a major settlement between the federal government and a former major uranium mine company that operated in New Mexico.

"We offer our technical assistance and historical knowledge of these contaminated uranium mine sites in New Mexico, which still need to be cleaned up," said EMNRD Secretary David Martin. "We look forward to working with the EPA and the Navajo Nation to determine what is needed for remediation at these contaminated sites."

The decision to fight for the appropriate allocation of environmental settlement funds comes after both Secretaries Martin and Flynn reexamined the Chapter 11 Tronox Bankruptcy Proceedings and successive Fraudulent Conveyance Claims Settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2009, the New Mexico Attorney General declined to file a proof of claim in the Tronox Bankruptcy. In a letter sent April 23, 2014, the secretaries write: "Going forward, we are committed to determining the extent and impact of uranium mining at Kerr-McGee sites in New Mexico, and we will do everything in our power to ensure these contaminated sites are remediated."

"The State of New Mexico should not have declined to participate in this lawsuit back in 2009," said NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn. "That was a major mistake that needs to be addressed for the sake of protecting our environment, and we are pleased the EPA is going to allow us to participate in this process moving forward."

The Navajo Nation welcomed the assistance of the state cabinet secretaries. "The Navajo Nation Department of Justice (DOJ) has had the good fortune to work with numerous highly qualified professional representatives of the New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division," said David Taylor, lead uranium attorney for the Navajo Nation DOJ. "We've worked together closely and productively on the many complicated issues facing New Mexico and the Navajo Nation from past uranium mining and processing. We look forward to continuing that relationship as we move forward to address uranium contamination on our lands that knows no boundaries."

The Tronox Bankruptcy case led to a court decision on December 13, 2013 that found the defendants (Kerr-McGee Corporation and other subsidiaries) liable for damages anywhere between $5.2 billion and $14.2 billion. The final settlement totaled $5.15 billion and is the largest bankruptcy award ever relating to government environmental claims and liabilities. Many sites that are of primary importance to the State of New Mexico are included in the settlement.