Water Quality & Land Restoration:
Protecting and Restoring our Lands & Water
There are 15,000 abandoned mining sites in New Mexico. 259 of these sites are old uranium mines. Three of them on the Navajo Nation and the Laguna and Acoma Pueblos cause high levels of cancer. In Grant County, there are active copper mines with inadequate restoration plans.
Surface water and groundwater quality is also harmed by contamination from military bases, dairies, manufacturing and commercial sites, and old septic systems.
Local and Indigenous communities have worked for decades to get stronger standards for mining operations and to force mine owners to clean up their pollution.
Our Vision
We work with community members and leaders to stop new mining unless it can meet stringent standards and partner to create solutions for mining waste and site restoration. With a pro-environment legislature, we can fight the mining companies and their strong political influence. We work to ensure our communities and water resources are safe and can support cultural practices and outdoor recreation.
- Strengthen existing laws to prevent industries from polluting our water and land
- Identify a baseline for health in mining-impacted communities
- Create new job opportunities through mining reclamation projects
- Hold mining companies accountable for the impacts they have on communities
- Support the Outdoor Equity Fund that awards grants to rural communities for land restoration, education, and recreation projects
ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THE CHURCHROCK URANIUM TAILINGS SPILL
Every year, tribal and pueblo members and supporters gather to commemorate the July 16, 1979 spill at United Nuclear Corporation’s mill tailings pond. It is the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history, but received almost no coverage compared to the much smaller Three Mile Island reactor accident in March of that year. Photo: Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) addresses attendees with the spill site in the distance; credit: CVNM Staff/Michael Jensen
Related Work
Learn more about Water Quality and Land Restoration efforts.
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On May 25th, 2023, the US Supreme Court released a devastating ruling that gutted the Clean Water Act and eliminated federal safeguards for our waterways. In the decision, the Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot enforce protections for our nation's wetlands. The new danger is that this language…
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In the northern reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert, 30 miles east of the town of Carlsbad and the Pecos River, sits the Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). It is the nation's only deep repository for transuranic nuclear waste, storing such waste from around the country.
Broad-Based Support
CVNM partners with and supports these organizations in order to move the needle on Water Quality & Land Restoration.
Topics:
Air Quality
Effective
Government
Energy &
Climate Change
Environmental
Justice
Land
Water
Wildlife & Habitat
Conservation
| Priority | Bill # | Title | Sponsors | Topics | CVNM Position |
Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 41 | Clean Transportation Fuel Standards more |
Kristina Ortez |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| HB 48/SB 24 | Oil and Gas Royalty Rate more |
Matthew McQueen |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| HB 133 | Oil and Gas Act Changes more |
Kristina Ortez |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| HB 182 | Election Changes more |
Gail Chasey |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| HJR 7 | Commission on Legislative Salaries, CA more |
Angelica Rubio |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| SB 5 | Firearms Near Polling Places more |
Peter Wirth |
|
Support | 2024 | |
| SB 95 | T or C Water Lines more |
Crystal R. Diamond |
|
Support | 2024 |