Navajo Nation President Plans To Sue EPA Over River Spill – Albuquerque Journal
The president of the Navajo Nation said Sunday that he intends to sue over a mining spill that dumped three million gallons of wastewater into the Animas River.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Russell Begaye said he has instructed the Navajo Nation Department of Justice to take immediate action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect Navajo families and resources.
The wastewater spilled from the Gold King Mine when an EPA-supervised cleanup crew accidentally breached a debris dam that had formed inside the mine.
The plume, which turned the river orange, has forced many reservation residents in New Mexico and Utah to cease watering crops and livestock. It has also shut down two drinking water wells.
The EPA said Sunday three million gallons spilled into the river, which is three times larger than its initial estimate. The sludge is laced with heavy metals, including arsenic and lead.
New Mexico officials said the plume was beginning to dissipate on Sunday. Preliminary data released by the EPA showed that the levels of metal diminished within several hours.
However, state environment department officials also said that they still need much more information and were only beginning to examine the data.
For more information, check out a map of the spill, before and after photos courtesy of the Durango Herald, and all of our articles on the topic.
Editor's Note: The broadcast version of this story didn't include the fact that EPA was responsible for the spill. The online version has been edited to reflect this fact.
Thousands Of Mines With Toxic Water Lie Under The West – Associated Press
Beneath the western United States lie thousands of old mining tunnels filled with the same toxic stew that spilled into a Colorado river last week, turning it into a nauseating yellow concoction and stoking alarm about contamination of drinking water.
Though the spill into the Animas River in southern Colorado spill is unusual for its size, it's only the latest instance of the region grappling with the toxic legacy of a mining boom.
Until the late 1970s there were no regulations on mining in most of the region, meaning anyone could dig a hole to search for gold, silver, copper or zinc. When mines are abandoned they fill with groundwater and snowmelt that becomes tainted with acids and heavy metals, which can trickle into waterways. Experts estimate there are 55,000 such abandoned mines in the region.
Proposed Increase To Bear Hunting Limits Draws Fire – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
New Mexico officials want to increase the number of Sandias bears that can be killed by hunters, but the plan is drawing fire from critics.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that officials want to raise the limit from five to 11 after a new study put the bear population of the Sandias at 132, nearly double previous estimates.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists say the number comes from a three-year study used genetic testing of bear hairs.
Sandia Mountain BearWatch founder Jan Hayes says the estimates are meaningless because a large number of the region's bears have been relocated or killed over the past few years.
She is concerned that the changes will threaten the bear population in the Sandias.
Report: Monkeys Had 6 Escape Tries At An Albuquerque Lab – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
Federal official say monkeys from a research facility on an Albuquerque Air Force base nearly escaped six times last year.
The Albuquerque Journal reports U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found the monkeys had gotten loose in the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute on Kirtland Air Force Base. The report says the animals had to be lured back into cages with food, among other recapture methods.
A March USDA report says escapes pose safety risks for personnel and animals.
New training and lock systems were implemented after a male rhesus broke the lock on his cage in October of last year. Staff members had to dart the animal.
The lab was fined $21,750 in 2011 for Animal Welfare Act violations.
Lab officials say the inspections helped the institute to improve practices.
Arrested Man Takes Gun Into Albuquerque Jail – The Associated Press & KOAT
A man was able to bring a loaded gun into an Albuquerque jail after police officers and an officer at the jail failed to notice the weapon.
KOAT-TV reports that Jacob Piggott was brought to Metro Detention Center following an arrest. Police officers had patted him down and missed the gun hidden in his waistband.
A metal-detecting wand at the jail also failed to catch the weapon, which wasn't found until a body scan was issued.
An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman says Piggott had the gun stashed in his waistband near his private area.
The department says the three officers involved have been retrained and are back in the field.
The officer at the jail is no longer working on inmate intake pending the outcome of an investigation.
Las Vegas Police Officer Shoots At Wanted Man – The Associated Press
New Mexico State Police are investigating an incident involving a wanted man who was shot at by a Las Vegas police officer and then managed to get away.
The Las Vegas Optic reports 30-year-old Marvin Maestas was wanted in connection with a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on July 22 when officers from the Las Vegas Police Department spotted his vehicle Friday morning.
According to a release from the state police, the officer found Maestas in the car with a rifle. Maestas ignored the officer's commands and then fled the area after striking a police car.
The news release states that the officer fired his weapon at some point during the incident.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave.
It's not clear what new charges Maestas is facing.
1st Trial Wrapped Up For Green Chile Harvesting Machine – The Associated Press
Inventors and investors recently came to southern New Mexico to try to do what many farmers believe can't be done: Mechanically harvest the green chile crop.
Green chile harvesting and de-stemming is now done entirely by hand.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the people behind a chile harvesting machine have wrapped up their first trial of the device.
Chile industry experts say the state's future hinges upon a move to mechanization, as uncertainties in the labor supply, pressure from competing countries and states and an ongoing river water shortage all add to the riskiness of growing the crop, dissuading growers from farming it.
Chief Financial Officer For Albuquerque Schools Put On Leave – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The chief financial officer for Albuquerque Public Schools has been placed on paid administrative leave for reasons that aren't being publicly revealed.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Chief Financial Officer Don Moya was placed on paid administrative leave Friday.
APS spokeswoman Johanna King says she couldn't provide information about the reasons for the leave or how long it might last because Moya's status is considered a personnel matter.
Moya became chief financial officer in July 2010.
In 2013, Moya entered the public fray over what some teachers and parents said was excessive state-required testing for students.
Previously, Moya served as deputy secretary for finance and operations at the New Mexico Public Education Department.
Study Calls For Increasing Bear Kills In Sandias – Albuquerque Journal
A new study finds there are more bears in the Sandia Mountains and that has prompted state officials to propose increasing the number that can be killed by hunters.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the study doubles previous estimates of bears in the Sandias to 132. As a result, the Department of Game and Fish recommend upping the number of bears that hunters can kill to 11 from the current 5.
But Jan Hayes of the Sandia Mountain BearWatch calls the new estimate bogus. She warns that an increase in kills combined with losses in bear populations in the Sandias could eventually mean no bears are left within that mountain range.
If the Game Commission approves the increased hunting limit, it would take effect in the 2016 season.
The three-year study covered four other areas in the state with populations of black bears – the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southern Sangre de Cristos Mountains, northern Sacramento Mountains and southern Sacramento Mountains.
Begaye Signs Into Law Bill To Tax Alcohol At Tribe's Casinos – Associated Press
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye has signed into law a proposal to tax alcoholic beverages sold in the tribe's casinos.
The 3.25 percent tax is expected to raise $73,000 a year.
The revenue would go into a fund administered by the tribe's Division of Public Safety to combat drunken driving on the reservation.
Tribal officials say the tax is directed toward retailers and distributors, but consumers are responsible for paying it.
People legally can buy alcohol and drink it only in tribal casinos and at a tribal marina at Lake Powell in Page.
The measure was previously approved by lawmakers for the Navajo Nation.
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Amtrak Train In Albuquerque – Albuquerque Journal
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a northbound Amtrak train Sunday in Albuquerque.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the incident stranded passengers on board for at least four hours while police investigated. Albuquerque police officer Simon Drobik said a witness reported that a man was hit by the train around 12:20 p.m. after possibly stepping in front of it.
The incident, just south of Lomas and First Street, shut down both directions of traffic on Lomas while officers from Albuquerque police and the National Traffic Safety Board investigated.
First Trial Wrapped Up For Green Chile Harvesting Machine – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
Inventors and investors recently came to southern New Mexico to try to do what many farmers believe can't be done: Mechanically harvest the green chile crop.
Green chile harvesting and de-stemming is now done entirely by hand.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the people behind a chile-harvesting machine have wrapped up their first trial of the device.
Chile industry experts say the state's future hinges upon a move to mechanization, as uncertainties in the labor supply, pressure from competing countries and states and an ongoing river water shortage all add to the riskiness of growing the crop, dissuading growers from farming it.