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Environmental Issues INTRODUCTION The United States is home to
more than 550 federally recognized tribes with a population still residing on
314 reservations. The Navajo’s are one Nation sited in the four Corners area of
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The Navajo County was formed on March
21, 1895; our land stretches as the biggest known Indian reservation in the
Untied States. Almost 66 percent of the Navajo County’s 9,949 square miles is
Indian reservation land. The population statistics is 89,225 with a race of
other ethnics of about 48 percent on the reservation. The Navajo’s are the
fastest growing segment of our Nation’s population exceeding from 4,600,275
individuals, increasing at a rate of 2.7 percent per year,(general information
Navajo county-population statistics, 1997) The climate on the reservation is a hot
and dry environment with windy plateaus that has an average rainfall of ten
inches yearly. The elevation is about 6,500 feet above sea level, the terrains
has many canyons and covered mesas. The sky is usually a deep, clear blue with
tufts of clouds drifting by, but when storms come it turns an ominous
blue-black. The geographic location provide
the area with an average growing season of around 160 days, ensuring growth of
a wide array of crops when irrigation water is available. Today, Navajo
County’s principal industries are tourism, coal mining, manufacturing, timber
production and ranching. We as a tribe composed of many claims and contributors
to the energy production within the United States. The basic concepts of water
on our reservation brings concerns of where it comes from, how it moves, where
it is stored, how it is used, how man’s activities affect it. The tribal land has many issues
concerning the water, land, environment, and economic issues, with projects
over lapping one another. We must analyze the issues of maintenance and
operation and try to implement good standards of workmanship. So the state of Arizona and the tribe itself well be asked to contribute
more than their “equitable apportion.” Realization of the potential in economic
growth and contribution to the national welfare depends upon the maximum use of
limited of water supplies, which fall primarily in the form of snow or rain
fall in the high the mountains. In addition the project provides
municipal and industrial water supplies, flood control, extensive recreation,
and fish and wildlife preservation. The Navajo’s are entitled to enormous
amount of open land on the open plain’s of the reservation. As long as it fulfills the
purpose of the reservation needs which includes two complicated examinations of
matter in search for truth: 1)
Purpose of the reservation is at least entitled to enough
water to satisfy its subsistence needs and maintain its visibility. 2)
Winters rights do not extend beyond this it,” reserves
only the amount of water necessary to fulfill the purpose of the reservation,
no more.” A Brief History of the Winters Doctrine The concept
of reserved rights originated from the landmark case Winters vs. United States.
The now famous Winters doctrine simply states that when the Federal government
simply reserved a quantity of water necessary to fulfill the purpose of the
reservation. These broad
purposes entitle a tribe to sufficient water for agriculture, livestock,
domestic, recreational, cultural, and other uses. Without
question,” broad purpose” reservation imply a wide range of water uses and very
large water supply. These “specific purpose” reservations necessary imply sufficient
water to sustain fish, wildlife, natural plant, or forest habitat. They also
imply that the reservation can only be a permanent homeland if the tribe is
entitled to use water for these specific purposes. Winter right date back to establishment of the
reservation or time immemorial the original treaty, statute, or executive order
establishing the reservation. Typically, Indian reservation was established
well before non-Indian settlement, giving tribe’s very senior and reliable
priority dates. Tribes have
the right to use groundwater just as well as surface water this includes rivers
and streams, as long as they underlie or are contained within the reservation. IRRIGATIONS ON OUR LAND When winter comes and covers the mountain peaks with snow,
it’s the beginning of a hydrologic cycle. Down below resides the reservoir that
consumes the runoff from the mountain. On our reservation agriculture plays a partial role of the
many needs of water usage. It is important that the reservoir in keep under surveillance
with monitoring devices. A qualified Technician should understand the
operations and functions of managing the out flow from lakes and rivers. In
many of the streams through out the reservation an irrigation system runs
nearby landowners that reside down below the reservoir. All landowners that receive
irrigation flow have got to go through the Tribal systems. Water Code is a
department that keep track of water usage each irrigation are entitled to One of the most important
functions of the Irrigation Engineer is to provide quality control on the field
data being collected by the Technician. This could only be done if the
Irrigation Engineer periodically participates with each technician in the
collection of field data and then carefully analyzes the field data provided by
the Technician. This requires that the field data be evaluated as quickly as
possible so that that the Technician can be provided with feedback regarding
the quality of the field data. The
Engineer also has a major responsibility for data analysis. The Irrigation
Engineer needs to provide a weekly report on water budgets for the area of the
project under the IE jurisdiction of the Head of Operation. On the
Navajo Reservation, the Safety of Dams Program plays a great role for small
communities. SOD falls under Water Management and with proper skills it
involves Maintenance and Operation. Some reservoirs that are widely separated
from one another are monitored on a weekly basis. Part of SOD’s
responsibilities is to help maintain a certain amount of flow to nearby
irrigation fields. For amount irrigation it must be
maintenance of all structure in its structure in its surroundings. Proper
understanding of what is in the reservoir will determine good judgment for all
irrigation down stream. In it’s
1963 decision Arizona vs. California, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the
Winter doctrine and established “ practically irrigable acreage” (PIA) as a
standard for quantifying reserved water rights on a reservation set aside with
the intent that its inhabitants pursue agriculture. This Standard applies
whether a reservation was set aside by treaty, statue, or executive order. Under the
PIA standard for quantification, tribes are legally entitled to the amount of
water needed to irrigate all practically irrigable acreage within their
reservation boundaries. A PIA analysis typically involves: 1)
Calculation of the amount of irrigation water needed to
sustain the crops; 2)
Designed of irrigation and conveyance system capable of
delivering the needed waters: and 3)
Development of feasible cropping patterns for the
irrigable land. 4)
Comparison of land development and production cost with
crop revenues to determine the total acreage that is economical to irrigate. Under the federal Clean Water
Act, the EPA provides funds to develop water quality assessment, monitoring,
and regulation of water resources. EPA policy allows tribes, as well as states,
to assume control over EPA programs under certain conditions. Tribal government
throughout the northwest has taken advantage of this opportunity to develop
water quality management programs and to enhance environmental regulations on
reservations. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Hundreds of plants and animals species depend on the
rivers, lands, and reservoirs Reclamation manages. We are committed to
protecting their habitat through innovative water management practices and
working with water users as well as local, state, and federal agencies. This brief strategy document will be developed as a basis
for the study of mercury as a pollutant on the reservation using as its basis
the risk-based framework in the Mercury Study Report and will include the
following summary information: 1)
A description of research that will address a better
ecological and health potential risk, document needed to better access
potential health and ecological risks, to more completely document exposures,
and to better manage such risk, 2)
A description of ongoing EPA research activities and or
other studies that, included various modeling and monitoring studies. The strategy will identify the scientific and technical
information needs and priorities for research in the relevant areas. Some
research areas that may be addressed are: emission characterization,
deposition, bioaccumulation, ecological toxicity, health effects, exposure,
monitoring, risk communication, and risk management-related prevention,
control, and remediation of mercury and mercury compounds. Based on the mercury research/monitoring strategy, The
Office of Research and Development (ORD), and other EPA offices, in cooperation
with the greater scientific community, will develop and implement an EPA
research/monitoring plan. The plan will build on ongoing research efforts in
the areas of mercury fate and transport modeling/monitoring, assessment methods
development for health and ecological impacts, risk communication, and advances
in pollution prevention and other risk management technologies and approaches. Persistent Bioaccumulative Pollutants:
Pollutants that persist in the environment for many months or years, and which
accumulate in plants, fish, and wildlife are called “persistent bioaccumulative
pollutants.” Persistent means that the pollutant does not break down or
become non-toxic easily (or at all) in the environment. Bioaccumulative
means that the pollutant concentrates in the bodies of the animals, including
humans, that ingest contaminated food on a regular basis. One of the most
common persistent bioaccumulative pollutants is mercury. The tendency of these substances
to linger in the environment and to build up in plant and animal tissue poses
the greatest risk to human health and the environment. People and other animals
generally receive the highest doses of these pollutants when they eat
contaminated foods, especially contaminated fish. To reduce the risk to humans
from this pollution, States and Tribes issue fish advisories cautioning people
to limit their consumption of fish with high levels of pollutants such as
mercury. As it moves
through environmental media, mercury undergoes a series of complex chemical and
physical transformation. Most of the mercury in the atmosphere is elemental
mercury vapor, which circulates in the atmosphere for up to a year. Mercury in
water, soil, sediments, or plants and animals is in the form of inorganic
mercury salts and organic forms of mercury. The inorganic form of mercury, when
either bound to airborne particles or in a gaseous form, is readily removed
from the atmosphere by precipitation and is also dry Mercury accumulates most
efficiently in the aquatic food web. Predatory organisms such as at the top of
the food web generally have higher mercury concentrations. Studies by EPA have
shown that mercury accumulated in fish tissues. Consumers
need to be concerned about their exposure to mercury; some exposures may be of
concern. Those who regularly and frequently consume large amounts of fish are
of highest risk to exposure of mercury in regions where mercury is known to
exist in the past. Mercury: mercury
has long been known to be toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative pollutant with a
wide range of ecosystem and human health effects. Mercury Poisoning: The
primary health effects from mercury are on the development of the brain and
nervous system of children who eat contaminated fish, and in fetuses whose
mothers eat contaminated fish. It is likely that subtle nervous system and
developmental effects (such as attention deficit order) occur in children
chronically exposed to relatively low concentrations of mercury. Exposure to
high concentrations of mercury over a long period of time can also result in
brain damage in adults. It is also thought that serious nervous system and
reproductive disorders are occurring in some populations of fish-eating birds
and mammals. STRATEGIC APPROACH A successful
action plan for identifying and reducing risk from exposure to mercury requires
a new multimedia approach. First step, EPA has analyzed current regulations,
initiatives, and programs that manage and control mercury, and has identified a
set of cost –effective options to move toward achieving further reduction. The
Action Plan is continuing to look for opportunities to address mercury through
a more integrated multimedia approach The Agency proposes to take the following
actions, in consultation with other federal agencies, and with the involvement
of states, tribes and other stakeholders. The study of mercury on the
reservation will be conducted as follow: 1) Field
laboratory and research facilities 2) Oil
pollution control studies 3) Waste oil
disposal studies 4) Agricultural
pollutions 5) Sewage in
rural areas 6) Grants and
research and development Are some of the ways we can help our land and water. Summary and Conclusion |