Editor,
New Mexico calls itself the
Land of Enchantment, but if
Gov. Richardson, our legisla-
tors and environmental regu-
lators do not take a stand, we
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may well become known as the
Land of Hazardous Waste and
Polluted Water. Uranium min-
ing companies are clamoring to
begin again operations in New
Mexico. I live in Murray Acres, a
community north of Grants that
is next to Barrick Gold Uranium
Mill Tailings Superfund Site
No. 0600816.
However, do not be fooled by
what looks like an ongoing ef-
fort. Nothing has actually been
remedied. In fact, what began as
an alluvial aquifer contamination
has now expanded into several
lower aquifers. Many American-
Indian communities in our area
have suffered the same fate.
Companies such as Homestake
and regulators such as the New
Mexico Environment Depart-
ment, the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and the Nuclear Reg-
ulatory Commission can make
uranium mill tailings sound very
technical and manageable, and
surely they have learned some
hard lessons about what not to
do in terms of managing this haz-
ardous waste. However, as citi-
zens, we need to send our legisla-
tors a very clear message - one
that any elementary student un-
derstands: "Clean up your mess
before you start another project."
Whether you are for or against
uranium mining, please support
our communities by pressuring
your representatives to solve our
problems with uranium mill tail-
ings sites before they consider
permitting new ones.
Candace Head-Dylla
Bluewater Valley
Neighbors Association
