[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
H.R. 4374, ``ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL ACT''
=======================================================================
LEGISLATIVE HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND
MINERAL RESOURCES
of the
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
Thursday, July 13, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-47
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
or
Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
52-952 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
BRUCE WESTERMAN, AR, Chairman
DOUG LAMBORN, CO, Vice Chairman
RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Member
Doug Lamborn, CO Grace F. Napolitano, CA
Robert J. Wittman, VA Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
Tom McClintock, CA CNMI
Paul Gosar, AZ Jared Huffman, CA
Garret Graves, LA Ruben Gallego, AZ
Aumua Amata C. Radewagen, AS Joe Neguse, CO
Doug LaMalfa, CA Mike Levin, CA
Daniel Webster, FL Katie Porter, CA
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, PR Teresa Leger Fernandez, NM
Russ Fulcher, ID Melanie A. Stansbury, NM
Pete Stauber, MN Mary Sattler Peltola, AK
John R. Curtis, UT Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NY
Tom Tiffany, WI Kevin Mullin, CA
Jerry Carl, AL Val T. Hoyle, OR
Matt Rosendale, MT Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA
Lauren Boebert, CO Seth Magaziner, RI
Cliff Bentz, OR Nydia M. Velazquez, NY
Jen Kiggans, VA Ed Case, HI
Jim Moylan, GU Debbie Dingell, MI
Wesley P. Hunt, TX Susie Lee, NV
Mike Collins, GA
Anna Paulina Luna, FL
John Duarte, CA
Harriet M. Hageman, WY
Vivian Moeglein, Staff Director
Tom Connally, Chief Counsel
Lora Snyder, Democratic Staff Director
http://naturalresources.house.gov
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
PETE STAUBER, MN, Chairman
WESLEY P. HUNT, TX, Vice Chair
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, NY, Ranking Member
Doug Lamborn, CO Jared Huffman, CA
Robert J. Wittman, VA Kevin Mullin, CA
Paul Gosar, AZ Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA
Garret Graves, LA Seth Magaziner, RI
Daniel Webster, FL Nydia M. Velazquez, NY
Russ Fulcher, ID Debbie Dingell, MI
John R. Curtis, UT Raul M. Grijalva, AZ
Tom Tiffany, WI Grace F. Napolitano, CA
Matt Rosendale, MT Susie Lee, NV
Lauren Boebert, CO Vacancy
Wesley P. Hunt, TX Vacancy
Mike Collins, GA
John Duarte, CA
Bruce Westerman, AR, ex officio
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CONTENTS
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Page
Hearing held on Thursday, July 13, 2023.......................... 1
Statement of Members:
Westerman, Hon. Bruce, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Arkansas.......................................... 1
Ocasio-Cortez, Hon. Alexandria, a Representative in Congress
from the State of New York................................. 3
Stauber, Hon. Pete, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Minnesota......................................... 4
Panel I:
Crane, Hon. Elijah, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Arizona........................................... 6
Statement of Witnesses:
Panel II:
Culver, Nada Wolff, Principal Deputy Director, Bureau of Land
Management, Washington, DC................................. 7
Prepared statement of.................................... 8
Questions submitted for the record....................... 11
Nygren, Hon. Buu Van, President, Navajo Nation, Window Rock,
Arizona.................................................... 12
Prepared statement of.................................... 13
Questions submitted for the record....................... 18
Ashland, Anita, Senior Land Consultant, Enduring Resources,
Centennial, Colorado....................................... 18
Prepared statement of.................................... 20
Questions submitted for the record....................... 25
Atencio, Mario, Vice President, Torreon/Star Lake Chapter,
Navajo Allottee Spokesperson, Cuba, New Mexico............. 30
Prepared statement of.................................... 32
Questions submitted for the record....................... 47
Hesuse, Delora, Navajo Tribal Member and Allottee, Nageezi
Chapter, New Mexico........................................ 48
Prepared statement of.................................... 50
Questions submitted for the record....................... 52
Additional Materials Submitted for the Record:
Submissions for the Record by Representative Westerman
NABIAP Resolution-11-23.................................. 70
Navajo Nation, Letter to Secretary Haaland, dated May 3,
2023................................................... 72
EPA e-mail, dated June 15, 2023.......................... 73
Eastern Navajo Land Commission, Letter dated July 6, 2023 74
COLT Resolution: 06-02-2023-Resolution #02-2022 (WR-Las
Vegas)................................................. 78
Eastern Navajo Land Commission, Letter to Chair Stauber,
dated July 24, 2023.................................... 80
Eastern Navajo Agency Council, Letter to Chair Stauber,
dated July 24, 2023.................................... 83
Submissions for the Record by Representative Grijalva
To Nizhoni Ani, Letter to Committee, dated July 12, 2023. 87
Coalition, Letter dated May 6, 2022, in Support of the
Proposed Mineral Withdrawal............................ 88
Environment America, Letter to the Committee, dated July
12, 2023............................................... 108
E-mail Messages from 956 Constituents.................... 108
Letter to Committee from 6 Organizations, dated July 12,
2023................................................... 109
Submissions for the Record by Representative Leger Fernandez
Pueblo of Acoma, Governor Brian Vallo, Statement for the
Record................................................. 112
Greater Chaco Coalition Members & Supporting
Organizations, Letter to Sec. Haaland, dated July 13,
2023................................................... 117
Letter to Committee from 29 Navajo Nation citizens, dated
July 11, 2023.......................................... 123
David Tsosie, Navajo Nation Nahata Dziil Chapter,
Statement for the Record............................... 127
Cheyenne Antonio, Greater Chaco Coalition, Statement for
the Record............................................. 130
23rd Navajo Nation Council, Hon. Lorenzo C. Bates,
Memorandum dated October 13, 2016...................... 132
Resolution of Counselor Chapter--#COUN-2015-03........... 133
Daniel Tso, Chair of the Counselor Health Impact
Assessment, Statement for the Record................... 135
Dine Medicine Men's Association--Resolution.............. 138
State of New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands,
Executive Order No. 2019-002........................... 141
Gadii'ahi-To'koi, Navajo Nation, Letter to Committee,
dated July 11, 2023.................................... 145
Kendra Pinto, Navajo Nation Counselor Chapter, Statement
for the Record......................................... 146
Myron Lizer, Navajo Nation Vice President, Statement for
the Record............................................. 147
Ojo Encino Chapter--Resolution OJOE-03-09-15/002......... 149
Navajo Nation, Letter to Senate from President Begaye,
dated August 22, 2018.................................. 151
Navajo Nation Dilkon Chapter--Resolution DIL-07-075-15... 152
Sam Sage, Navajo Nation Enrolled Citizen, Statement for
the Record............................................. 154
National Congress of American Indians--Resolution MKE-17-
008.................................................... 157
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter--Resolution 2015............... 159
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter--Resolution TSL 04/2016-027.... 161
Wendy Atcitty, Navajo Nation Enrolled Citizen, Statement
for the Record......................................... 164
LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 4374, TO NULLIFY PUBLIC LAND ORDER NO.
7923, WITHDRAWING CERTAIN LAND IN SAN JUAN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, FROM
MINERAL ENTRY, ``ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL ACT''
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Thursday, July 13, 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Committee on Natural Resources
Washington, DC
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The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:28 p.m. in
Room 1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Pete Stauber
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Stauber, Gosar, Fulcher, Collins,
Westerman; Ocasio-Cortez, and Grijalva.
Also present: Representatives Crane; Leger Fernandez, and
Stansbury.
Mr. Westerman [presiding]. The Subcommittee on Energy and
Mineral Resources will come to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a
recess of the Subcommittee at any time.
Under Committee Rule 4(f), any oral opening statements at
hearings are limited to the Chairmen of the Subcommittee and
the Full Committee, and the Ranking Minority Member.
I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Arizona,
Mr. Crane, be allowed to participate in today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
I will be filling in for Mr. Stauber until he gets here,
but I now recognize myself for opening remarks.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRUCE WESTERMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARKANSAS
Mr. Westerman. I would like to start by thanking our
witnesses for taking the time to be here today, and would also
like to thank Representative Crane for introducing this
important piece of legislation.
In his first 2 years of office, President Biden broke a
record for leasing the fewest acres for oil and gas drilling
offshore and onshore than any other administration dating back
to the end of World War II.
Additionally, in his first year in office, oil production
on tribal lands experienced its first decrease in several
years, dropping from 11 percent, from 101.8 million barrels in
2020 to 90.8 million barrels, and down again in 2022 to 80.8
million barrels. This war on American energy has sent prices at
the pump and utility bills unnecessarily soaring. Since
President Biden took office, energy prices have gone up 37.2
percent, which is the larger increase than any of the last
seven presidents.
Last year, nearly 34 percent of American households reduced
or skipped basic expenses to pay energy bills. And not only is
this attack on American energy costly, it is also misguided.
Global energy consumption is on track to grow by nearly 50
percent by 2050. And conventional energy sources like petroleum
will remain the largest energy source over that time. Natural
gas and oil are projected to provide nearly 50 percent of the
world's energy by 2050, with petroleum usage growing through
2050.
Since 1995, total world energy use rose by 50 percent as
the world's population grew by just over 2 billion. The world
is expected to add 2 billion more people by 2050, which will
result in a similar increase in energy use, the point being
that we need to produce more energy, not less.
We also need to be doing it here, not overseas, as it is
safer and cleaner and produced more efficiently here in
America. For example, Russian natural gas to Europe has an
emission profile that is 41 percent greater than U.S. LNG
exported to Europe. And minerals mined overseas by China
involve forced labor and even child slave labor.
We have heard claims in this Committee by those opposed to
oil and natural gas that companies have too many leases, and
are operating on too much land. But just the opposite is true.
Leased acreage is at an all-time historic low. Only 23.8
million acres of leases are currently leased, down 80 percent
of the high of 120.7 million acres in 1995. In fact, the
onshore acres under lease has almost dropped in half over the
past decade, while production has greatly increased.
Actions by this Administration to lock up Federal lands for
mineral development like the one we are discussing today and
like the one in Chairman Stauber's district are moving our
country in the wrong direction. What is worse is that these
actions will have significant negative impacts on local
communities. Navajo Nation allottees stand to lose roughly $194
million in revenue due to this withdrawal, and the
Administration appears to not care about that.
Last month, we had a hearing on the BLM's recently released
Public Lands Rule. In that hearing, we heard the same thing we
are hearing today. The Department of the Interior refused to
listen to the people on the ground, and instead decided to
steamroll those who don't agree with them in the name of
climate change. I am in strong opposition to these actions and
will do all I can to stop them.
With that, I look forward to hearing our witnesses and to
discuss these important issues.
I now recognize the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Ms.
Ocasio-Cortez, for her opening statement.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, A
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you to
our witnesses here today, particularly those traveling great
distances to be here with us.
President Nygren, it is also good to see you. Thank you for
coming from New Mexico.
Today, the Subcommittee is holding a hearing on legislation
to nullify the Chaco Canyon withdrawal, which was put in place
by the Biden administration to protect the integrity of sacred
sites in and around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
The withdrawal prohibits new oil and gas leasing on Federal
land within a 10-mile radius of the park for 20 years. H.R.
4374 would undo that progress.
I strongly oppose this legislation, and I am grateful for
the opportunity to weigh in. I know many of my colleagues have
been working to protect Chaco Canyon from further fossil fuel
development for many years. So, let's start by taking a step
back.
Long before our modern extractive industries came to be,
the Greater Chaco Region in what is now New Mexico was the
heart of Chacoan culture. Today, the sovereign Pueblo nations
of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation have intimate connections
with the Greater Chaco Region, recognizing the area as a
spiritual place to be honored and respected.
Chaco Canyon also sits nearly at the center of the San Juan
Basin in northwest New Mexico, a hotspot for oil and gas
development. Over the last decade, U.S. oil production has more
than doubled, due in large part to operations in New Mexico and
the San Juan Basin in particular. And we are now producing more
oil and natural gas than ever before.
While oil and gas development has created jobs and
supported economies, it has also had the impact of
significantly harming local air and water quality, health, wild
natural places, and sacred sites. On top of that, it is
contributing to our climate crisis.
In the San Juan Basin, the relationship with oil and gas
development is particularly complex. Local governments,
including tribal governments and citizens, receive royalties
from extraction, which helps support government services and
boost the economy. But the story of oil production also has a
grim underbelly.
First, oil and gas is a volatile industry, and that
prosperity does not always last: a pattern that has repeated
itself many times in different regions over the past several
decades.
Second, there were also at least 1,400 oil spills in New
Mexico last year alone, a record since 2018, and the San Juan
Basin also has the unfortunate distinction of having some of
the highest concentrations of methane pollution in the United
States. Methane pollution is linked to airway damage,
aggravates lung diseases, causes asthma attacks, increases
rates of pre-term births, and much more.
Oil spills can pollute clean water sources already in short
supply for our communities. With nearly 140,000 people living
and 30,000 children attending school within half a mile of an
active well or other oil and gas facilities in New Mexico, this
pollution significantly affects public health.
The Federal Government has a significant role to play here.
Oil and gas development in New Mexico disproportionately takes
place on Federal land, and for far too long the Bureau of Land
Management failed to consider the impacts of such development
on nearby communities, especially tribal communities. More than
90 percent of the Federal land in northwest New Mexico has
already been leased. Communities are suffering unknown
consequences because we have thus far failed to adequately
understand the cumulative impacts of so much development on
public health, cultural resources, and the environment.
The Administration's actions to end further leasing near
Chaco Canyon is a meaningful step in the right direction. It is
the result of decades of efforts from tribes, elected
officials, and the public.
Some places are too special to drill. Even the Trump
administration recognized this, proposing to sell oil and gas
leases near Chaco Canyon three times over the 4-year term, but
canceling the sales in each instance due to opposition, instead
committing to further cultural consultation. In fact, no
leasing has taken place within the 10-mile boundary of this
withdrawal in at least 10 years.
I do understand that BLM has found that there would be 47
fewer oil and gas wells drilled in the region over the 20-year
life of the withdrawal, and 4 percent of allotments could
experience high to moderate impacts on the future ability to
lease oil and gas. I do not want to downplay these very real
impacts on the local economy, but with these impacts also come
improvements to health and safety.
As we look to the future, we must make sure that frontline
communities, such as those testifying today, and energy
communities see new forms of investment and diversified
economies. We must strike a balance for all needs of our
Federal lands, and make sure we are making decisions informed
by science, consultation, and community input, as the
Administration has with the Chaco Canyon withdrawal.
Make no mistake, I am committed to continuing to working
with the Navajo Nation, allottees, and other impacted
individuals on the economic challenges of this proposition.
Again, I am opposed to this legislation, and firmly support
the Administration's actions to protect this landscape.
To close, I would like to submit for the record written
testimony from the All Pueblo Council of Governors, a Puebloan
leadership organization and political entity, and the Hopi
Tribe in opposition to this legislation.
Mr. Stauber [presiding]. Without objection.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I yield back. Thank you.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you, Representative Ocasio-Cortez.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. PETE STAUBER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
Mr. Stauber. Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources will discuss H.R. 4374, sponsored by Representative
Crane, which would nullify the Bureau of Land Management's
Public Land Order 7923.
This decision removed nearly 336,000 acres for mineral
development in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico, which will
prevent Navajo Nation allottees in the area from accessing oil
and gas reserves underneath their lands that they rely on for
their livelihoods. We will hear from the Navajo allottee today
about how this withdrawal will severely restrict development in
the area, and how the lack of development will affect the
livelihoods of local allottees.
The Navajo Nation clearly expressed their opposition to
this withdrawal throughout the public comment process. Earlier
this year, the Navajo Nation Council passed a resolution
opposing any buffer zone around the Chaco Culture National
Historical Park. The resolution states, ``The 25th Navajo
Nation Council is concerned that any buffer zone, in addition
to the withdrawal of public land, will have a detrimental
impact to the Navajo Nation allottees by preventing the
development of new oil and gas resources on allotments as a
result of the allotments being landlocked.''
I would like to submit this resolution to the record.
The resolution was followed by a letter from Navajo Nation
President Buu Van Nygren, who is testifying with us today, and
Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, Crystalyne Curley. The
letter details their opposition to the withdrawal, as it would
have a significant negative impact on, ``elderly culture
bearers who rely on income from oil and gas royalties to meet
their basic needs.''
I would like to submit this letter for the record, as well.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, these concerns were
ignored by the Department of the Interior under this
Administration. And I know very well the frustration and
concerns of those affected by unilateral mineral withdrawals,
as this same Administration and Secretary of the Interior took
over 225,400 acres of copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum-rich
lands off the table in my home state of Minnesota, the biggest
copper-nickel find in the world.
What is worse is that Secretary Haaland didn't even know
what minerals were there before she took this action. She had
no idea there were valuable critical minerals in that find. In
an appropriation hearing earlier this year, when asked if she
banned critical minerals mining in northeastern Minnesota, the
Secretary said, and I will repeat it, ``I don't know what kind
of minerals were there. I don't think they were critical
minerals.''
These withdrawals demonstrate a clear fact, that the
Department and this Administration do not care for local voices
and will stop at nothing to push their agenda to appease their
radical and extreme anti-mining and anti-fossil fuel special
interest groups.
Even more concerning is that these actions will leave the
United States more dependent on China, Saudi Arabia, Russia,
and other countries who perpetuate forced and child slave
labor.
Yet, again, the Biden administration's motto holds up:
Anywhere but America; any worker but American.
Public lands play an important role in rural economies in
the West and across the country. We must ensure that we fully
understand the impacts of these decisions before they are
taken.
With that, I look forward to the discussion today, and I
thank the witnesses for taking the time to be here, including
Representative Crane, in order to discuss this important piece
of legislation.
Now, I will begin our Member panel, and I would like to
recognize Mr. Eli Crane from the 2nd District of Arizona for
his testimony.
Representative Crane.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. ELIJAH CRANE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to be
here today.
Thank you, President Nygren. I appreciate it.
I want to take a minute to welcome the entire panel, and,
again, President Nygren, to the Committee today. For those of
you that don't know, I am proud to represent over half the
tribes in Arizona, including Navajo Nation. They are great
partners in preserving American history and culture, and I have
had many conversations with them on the importance of tribal
self-sufficiency.
In June, the Biden administration issued a Public Land
Order banning hundreds of thousands of acres of Federal mineral
estate surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park
for 20 years. This effectively prevents all private landowners
and Navajo allottees from the mineral leasing land in this
area. The ban will have significant negative economic impacts
on both Navajo Nation and the American taxpayer, severely
limiting tribal revenue, economic development, self-
sufficiency, and American energy production.
I understand Chaco Canyon carries both cultural and
historical significance for communities in the region, but the
development of this land should be determined by those with
lawful sovereignty and the 20,000 Navajo allottees who would be
affected by this policy.
I introduced the Energy Opportunities for All Act because
the Biden administration did not properly seek out tribal input
and have effectively implemented a destructive choke hold on
tribal revenue and economic prosperity. I am happy that
President Nygren is testifying on how this Public Land Order
affects Navajo Nation, and I encourage you all to listen to his
counsel and co-sponsor my legislation.
Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Stauber. I thank you for your testimony, Representative
Crane.
The Subcommittee will now move into our second panel of
witnesses to speak on the legislation before us today. I will
now introduce our panel.
The Honorable Nada Wolff Culver is Principal Deputy
Director for the Bureau of Land Management; the Honorable Buu
Van Nygren is the 10th President of the Navajo Nation, and was
elected last November; Ms. Anita Ashland is Senior Land
Consultant with Enduring Resources in Centennial, Colorado; Mr.
Mario Atencio is a Navajo Nation allottee, and is Vice
President of the Torreon/Star Lake Chapter in Cuba, New Mexico;
and Ms. Delora Hesuse is a Navajo Nation tribal member and
allottee in the Nageezi Chapter in New Mexico.
I now recognize the Honorable Wolff Culver for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF NADA WOLFF CULVER, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR,
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Culver. Good afternoon, Chair Stauber, Ranking Member
Ocasio-Cortez, and members of the Subcommittee. I am Nada Wolff
Culver, the BLM's Principal Deputy Director. I appreciate the
opportunity to provide testimony on the Department of the
Interior's 20-year withdrawal of public lands around Chaco
Culture National Historical Park from mineral development.
Public Land Order 7923, signed by Secretary Haaland on June
2, 2023, responds to decades of efforts from Tribal Nations,
elected officials, and the public to better protect sacred and
historic sites, as well as the health and welfare of local
tribal communities in northwest New Mexico. The order protects
more than 4,700 documented sites outside the national park from
the impacts of oil and gas and solid mineral development.
Engagement with the Department of the Interior has shown a
widespread, deep concern regarding the impacts of oil and gas
development on tribal cultural resources within the area around
the national park, culminating in direct advocacy that includes
a 2014 resolution from the All Pueblo Council of Governors and
a 2017 resolution from the National Congress of American
Indians seeking protection for the Greater Chaco landscape.
Members of the New Mexico delegation have introduced
legislation protecting the area encompassed by the recent order
since 2018. Congress has included language in multiple annual
appropriation bills prohibiting the BLM from oil and gas
leasing. Across the last three administrations, the BLM has not
issued an oil and gas lease within the 10-mile buffer for about
10 years. The state of New Mexico halted leasing of state lands
in the same area in 2019.
The development of PLO 7923 continues the long-standing
history of engagement with those seeking enhanced protections
for the Greater Chaco Region, and those seeking clarity on what
protections would mean on the ground. This Administration's
discussion with tribes commenced in 2021, including visits to
the region and meetings with the Navajo Nation and allottees.
The Bureau of Land Management published a notice of
proposed withdrawal in June 2022, opening a 120-day public
comment period that included six public meetings with meetings
in Farmington, Nageezi, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than
110,000 verbal and written comments were received during the
initial public outreach and review period.
The BLM then provided a comment period and public meetings
for a draft environmental assessment. The BLM invited 24 Tribal
Nations to conduct government-to-government consultations on
the proposal. Department leadership and the BLM met with Navajo
allotment holders several times in 2022 and 2023. Secretary
Haaland also engaged directly with tribal leaders and Navajo
allottees.
In evaluating the effects of the withdrawal, the BLM
responded to historic concerns and more recent questions. The
withdrawal will significantly increase protections for cultural
sites. Within the Chaco Culture National Historical Park there
are 2,800 documented archeological sites. There are an
additional 4,730 documented sites within the 10-mile withdrawal
radius around the park.
In its environmental review, the BLM considered several
alternatives, including no withdrawal, a 5-mile withdrawal
radius, and the 10-mile withdrawal radius. The BLM found that a
5-mile withdrawal would protect approximately 1,900 documented
sites, significantly less than the 10-mile withdrawal.
The withdrawal applies to oil and gas and certain mining
activities on Federal minerals. All other uses of these lands
continue, as well as valid existing rights such as oil and gas
leases. The BLM estimates 47 new Federal wells in the context
of the 3,200 projected in the area could be forgone in the 20
years of the withdrawal.
The BLM also estimated potential impacts on allotment
lands. While the legal rights of allotment owners are not
changed by the withdrawal, BLM responded to concerns by
estimating the indirect effects of the withdrawal of Federal
minerals. The BLM's evaluation found that the lease ability of
the vast majority, over 90 percent, of unleased allotments
would be unaffected by the withdrawal, and that seven new wells
would be forgone.
While the BLM has not leased Federal lands within 10 miles
of the park over the last decade, the Department has continued
to issue drilling permits and hold lease sales on nominated
allotment parcels, including a sale held in January 2022. The
protections provided by the Public Land Order, the result of
years of ongoing engagement with Tribal Nations, elected
officials, and regional and local communities offer meaningful
benefits for cultural protection, air quality improvements, and
reduced disturbance from oil and gas development.
H.R. 4374 would undermine these bipartisan efforts and the
crucial safeguards provided by the withdrawal. The
Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4374.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. I am
happy to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Culver follows:]
Prepared Statement of Nada Wolff Culver, Principal Deputy Director,
Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on H.R. 4374,
the Energy Opportunities for All Act, which would nullify the force and
effect of Public Land Order (PLO or Order) No. 7923, a withdrawal of
certain public lands in northwest New Mexico to protect important
Puebloan and Tribal cultural sites in the Greater Chaco Region.
Pursuant to Section 204 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA), Secretary Haaland signed PLO 7923 into effect on June 2,
2023, withdrawing the public lands within a roughly 10-mile buffer
around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park (the Park) from
location and entry under the U.S. mining laws and from leasing under
the mineral leasing laws for 20 years, subject to valid existing
rights. The Order, which responds to decades of efforts from Tribal
Nations, elected officials, and the public to better protect the sacred
and historic sites and Tribal communities currently living in northwest
New Mexico, would protect more than 4,700 documented sites within the
withdrawal area from the impacts of new oil and gas leasing and solid
mineral development. These protections are essential to ensure the
integrity of irreplaceable cultural sites, which are of continual
cultural and religious significance to regional Tribal communities.
H.R. 4374 would undermine these crucial protections within the
Greater Chaco region, leaving sites, objects, and landscapes vulnerable
to impacts from oil and gas and solid mineral extraction. The
Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4374.
Overview
The tremendous cultural and religious importance of the Greater
Chaco landscape has long been recognized nationally and
internationally. President Theodore Roosevelt first protected the lands
now known as the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 1907, and
the park and six other nearby sites were designated as a United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World
Heritage Site in 1987. The broader landscape of the Greater Chaco
Region contains important cultural resources, sites sacred to many
Native people, and is of high value to local and regional communities.
Between approximately AD 850 and 1150, the Chacoan peoples
flourished, with Chaco Canyon serving as a social, cultural, and
religious center. The Chacoan peoples erected great houses,
astronomical sites, and ceremonial kivas, set in a landscape of sacred
mountains, mesas, and shrines that continue to have deep spiritual
meaning to this day.
However, this important cultural landscape is at significant risk
from impacts associated with oil and gas development and solid mineral
development. The Greater Chaco Region sits within the San Juan Basin,
which contains several heavily developed oil and gas bearing
formations, and the potential for expanded exploration and development
poses risks to the region and its important cultural landscapes.
Greater Chaco Landscape Cultural Resources
The richness of the Chacoan culture is clearly visible in the grand
scale of the architecture set in a landscape of mountains, mesas, and
shrines that are sacred to and have deep spiritual meaning for many
people to this day. UNESCO has recognized increased threats to Chaco
Canyon's ``integrity from adjacent development (including associated
utilities and roads), energy exploration, extraction, as well as
transportation projects and proposals.''
There are 2,800 documented archaeological sites in the Park and an
additional 4,730 documented sites within the 10-mile withdrawal radius
outside the Park. In conducting its environmental review, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) considered several alternatives, including no
withdrawal, a 5-mile withdrawal, and a 10-mile withdrawal. The BLM
found that a 5-mile withdrawal would protect approximately 1,900
documented sites. The 10-mile withdrawal affords substantially greater
protections, protecting approximately 2,830 more documented
archaeological sites than the 5-mile withdrawal. In addition, the 10-
mile withdrawal would afford greater protection to Chacoan outliers,
which are archaeological sites, such as roads and structures like those
in Chaco Canyon that were constructed in and around the San Juan Basin.
The 4,730 documented sites protected by the 10-mile withdrawal area
around the Park would otherwise be potentially impacted by additional
mineral development. Fluid mineral development activities that cause
ground disturbance, such as the construction of roads, pipelines,
processing facilities, and earthworks have the potential to physically
alter these cultural and historic sites. Where avoidance measures are
not possible, these ground disturbing activities could destroy,
displace, or otherwise physically alter aspects of integrity that
qualify these sites for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places. It can be especially challenging arid landscape. While the BLM
seeks to minimize the impacts of mineral development on cultural sites,
depending on where future mineral development occurred, it may not be
possible for BLM stipulations to mitigate all adverse impacts to
cultural resources.
Regional Oil & Gas Development
As noted previously, the Greater Chaco Region sits within the San
Juan Basin, an area of significant oil and gas development. Currently,
there are 79 existing oil and gas leases encompassing approximately
94,010 acres of Federal mineral estate within or partially within the
proposed withdrawal area; approximately 71,260 of the leased acres lie
within the proposed withdrawal area. As of April 1, 2023, 78 of the 79
leases are held by production (meaning there is one or more
economically producing well on the lease, so the lease can continue to
produce and remains valid beyond its primary term).
Given the long-standing interest in protecting the cultural sites
of the Greater Chaco landscape, the BLM, under several administrations,
has not issued an oil and gas lease within the 10-mile buffer for
approximately 10 years. This approach has been reaffirmed by Congress
over the past several years with the inclusion of language in annual
appropriation bills prohibiting the Bureau from oil and gas leasing in
same area. A moratorium on new mining claims has been in place since
January 2022 while the BLM undertook the assessment of the proposed
withdrawal.
This withdrawal does not affect existing leases, nor does it apply
to minerals owned by private, State, or Tribal entities. During the
term of the withdrawal, production from existing wells could continue,
and additional wells could and would likely be drilled on existing
leases and non-Federal land.
Significantly, much of the acreage in the withdrawal area
identified as high or medium potential for oil and gas development is
already under lease, and therefore not subject to the withdrawal. The
BLM estimates that the larger region of the Mancos Gallup geologic
formation in New Mexico is expected to have more than 3,200 new oil and
gas wells drilled over the next 20 years, in addition to the 37,300
past and present wells. As a result of the withdrawal, operators might
be expected to forgo the development of 47 new oil and gas wells on
Federal minerals and 7 wells on allotments. The BLM conservatively
estimates that the withdrawal would result in a roughly 2.5 percent
decrease of oil production in the San Juan Basin, and an even smaller
decrease in production of natural gas. At the same time, the BLM's
analysis found a benefit to the health and quality of life of local
communities from the reduction of development of Federal minerals in
this area.
Navajo Allotee Mineral Development
The BLM recognizes the particular concern regarding the
withdrawal's potential impacts on Navajo Allotee Mineral Owners, and
takes those concerns seriously; however, the Bureau's analysis
demonstrates the withdrawal under PLO 7923 will have a relatively small
and indirect impact on Navajo Allotees and other non-Federal mineral
owners.
The withdrawal under PLO 7923 only applies to Federal lands and
minerals and would have no significant impact on the rights associated
with lands and minerals owned by the State of New Mexico, Tribal
Nations, private landowners, or individual allotment holders.
The BLM's environmental analysis of the withdrawal considered the
potential impact of limiting development of Federal lands and minerals.
The BLM analyzed 1,233 base allotments within or intersecting the
proposed withdrawal area boundary as well as 35 base allotments
adjacent to, but outside of, the withdrawal area. These 1,268 base
allotments consist of 1,358 simple, geographic, and resource
fractionated allotments. Overall, 98, or just over 8 percent, of the
unleased 1,186 allotments analyzed may see a high or moderate impact on
future leaseability. The proposed withdrawal would likely not adversely
affect the leaseability of the vast majority (over 92 percent) of these
allotments within or adjacent to the withdrawal area. The Department of
the Interior (Department) has continued to hold lease sales for
allottee minerals in the area, including most recently on January 13,
2022. Of the 40 tracts up for lease, a single tract received a market
value lease. Six other leases were issued after negotiations for below
market value.
Consultation, Outreach & Engagement
The withdrawal under PLO 7923 is the result of nearly a decade of
continual BLM and Department engagement with Tribal Nations, regional
communities, and elected officials, many of them seeking elevated
protections for the important cultural sites and landscapes of the
Greater Chaco Region. Since at least 2014, resource management planning
efforts have demonstrated a deep concern regarding the impacts of oil
and gas development on Tribal cultural resources within the region,
culminating in direct advocacy, including a 2014 resolution from the
All Pueblo Council of Governors seeking protections for the landscape,
a 2017 request from the Navajo Nation seeking a moratorium on leasing
and activities related to hydraulic fracturing in the Greater Chaco
area, and a 2017 resolution from the National Congress of American
Indians seeking explicit protections from oil and gas development
within the withdrawal area.
The development of PLO 7923 reflects and continues this long
history of engagement with those seeking enhanced protections for the
Greater Chaco Region and those seeking clarity on what protections
would mean on the ground. In July 2021, political leadership from the
Department visited the Greater Chaco Region to tour the Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, meet with Pueblo leadership, and meet with
Navajo Nation leadership and allottees. After concluding these
meetings, BLM published a notice of proposed withdrawal in the Federal
Register in January 2022, opening a 120-day public comment period that
included 6 public meetings, including meetings in Farmington, Nageezi,
and Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than 110,000 verbal and written
comments were received during the public outreach and review period.
The BLM continued that engagement, including two in-person public
meetings during a 30-day review period of the environmental assessment.
The BLM also invited 24 Tribal Nations to conduct government-to-
government consultations on the proposal. Department leadership and the
BLM also met with Navajo allotment holders several times in 2022 and
2023, and Secretary Haaland engaged directly with Tribal leaders,
including President Nygren of the Navajo Nation.
The All Pueblo Council of Governors, representing the 19 Pueblos in
New Mexico, has consistently called for the withdrawal of Federal lands
in the Greater Chaco region that hold immense cultural significance to
them. Since 2018, the New Mexico Congressional delegation has
introduced legislation to permanently protect Federal lands around
Chaco Canyon with a 10-mile buffer. The State of New Mexico halted
leasing of their minerals around Chaco Canyon through a state-level
moratorium in 2019.
In addition to the 20 year withdrawal under PLO 7923, the
Department is undertaking a broader assessment of the Greater Chaco
cultural landscape to ensure that public land management better
reflects the importance of sacred sites, stories, and cultural
resources in the region. The BLM and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are
co-leading discussions with Tribes, communities, elected officials, and
interested parties to explore ways the Department can manage existing
energy development, honor sensitive areas important to Tribes, and
build collaborative management frameworks toward a sustainable economic
future for the region. The first phase of this larger effort, known as
the Honoring Chaco Initiative, included a set of 45 broader interviews,
as well as planning sessions that culminated in 2.5 days of meetings
with approximately 30 participants comprised of Tribal Historic
Preservation Officers, Tribal organizations, Tribally-led non-
governmental organizations, and representatives of the State of New
Mexico to discuss the future of management in the Greater Chaco region.
Conclusion
The Greater Chaco region protects sites and landscapes of unique
cultural and religious significance for Tribal Nations. The area
remains an ancestral homeland and a place of continued spiritual
practice and connection for many. However, thousands of sites within
this region remain at risk from the impacts of oil and gas development.
PLO 7923 would provide this landscape with 20 years of protection,
responding to community calls for protection for the cultural
landscape, as well as health and safety, while providing space to
consider the appropriate and ongoing management of this unique region.
These protections, the result of nearly a decade of ongoing engagement
with Tribal Nations, elected officials, and regional and local
communities, offer meaningful benefits for cultural protection, air
quality improvements, and reduced disturbance from oil and gas
development.
H.R. 4374 would inappropriately undermine these important
protections, putting this irreplaceable landscape at risk once again.
For these reasons, the Department strongly opposes H.R. 4374. Thank you
again for the opportunity to present this testimony, and I look forward
to your questions.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to Nada Culver, Principal Deputy
Director, Bureau of Land Management
Ms. Culver did not submit responses to the Committee by the appropriate
deadline for inclusion in the printed record.
Questions Submitted by Representative Westerman
Question 1. Before Secretary Haaland issued Public Land Order 7923
withdrawing thousands of acres of land around Chaco Park from mineral
development, did she meet and consult with the Navajo allottees whose
lands will be negatively affected by the Order?
1a) Can you tell us when those meetings or consultations took
place?
1b) Can you state when, where and who was hired as Navajo language
interpreter when DOI, or its departments met with Navajo individuals?
Please provide the record.
1c) Was Chaco Buffer Zone discussed in any meetings by Secretary
Haaland's family members, individually or in their capacities as
consultants? Please provide the record.
Question 2. President Biden and Sec. Haaland have repeatedly
stressed the importance of the Federal Trust Responsibility to Indian
tribes.
2a) Is it the Administration's position that Public Land Order 7923
is consistent with the Trust Responsibility when it comes to the Navajo
Nation and its tribal members?
Questions Submitted by Representative Grijalva
Question 1. Ms. Culver, can you expand on the Bureau of Land
Management's outreach to the Navajo Nation and Navajo Allottees prior
to issuing Public Land Order No. 7923?
______
Mr. Stauber. Thank you for your testimony.
I will now recognize President Buu Van Nygren for 5
minutes.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. BUU VAN NYGREN, PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION,
WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA
Mr. Nygren. [Speaking Native language] Chairman Stauber,
Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez, and members of the Subcommittee.
My name is Buu Nygren, President of the Navajo Nation.
[Speaking Native language.]
This past November, I was honored to be elected as the
youngest president ever of the Navajo Nation. Today, the Navajo
Nation provides governmental services to more than 400,000
members. Our on-reservation population is about 200,000, and
makes up one-third of all Natives living in Indian Country. Our
reservation is more than 17.5 million acres. Our 110 chapters
span portions of 11 counties across states of Arizona, New
Mexico, and Utah.
Joining me today is Navajo Nation Council Delegate Danny
Simpson, who represents the eight chapters and the withdrawal
areas.
Thank you for the opportunity for me to testify today on
H.R. 4374, the Energy Opportunity for All Act. This Act
addresses the Public Land Order creating a 10-mile buffer zone
around Chaco Canyon.
Chaco Canyon and the Chaco Wash Region has been home to the
Navajo people since time immemorial. We, the Navajo people and
the Navajo Nation Government, take our role as stewards of
Chaco Canyon very seriously. We have preserved and protected
Chaco Canyon since our ancestors' time, well before the park
was created. We will continue to do so forever.
I boiled down my testimony today in two major points: (1)
respect for sovereignty and (2) the impact of the allottees.
The Navajo Nation Government is in the best position to
know what is best for the Navajo people. We have proven over
hundreds of years that our Nation and our Navajo people are
good stewards of land and cultural resources, including Chaco
Canyon. The legislative body of the Navajo Nation Council and I
are unified in our opposition to the 10-mile buffer.
The withdrawal was done without meaningful consultation,
and fails to honor the Navajo Nation's sovereignty. Respect for
tribal sovereignty must be consistent, even when it is not
convenient.
The Nation offered compromise that honored Navajo
sovereignty and the rights of our allottees, but that was
rejected with inadequate explanation from the Administration.
The lack of meaningful consultation is deeply concerning. The
Navajo concept of [Speaking Native language], which is
translated as ``respect,'' means listening to each other,
compromising, and working together.
The withdrawal elevates outside special interest groups,
and disregards the sovereign interests of the Navajo Nation and
the livelihoods of our allottees. I heard directly from the
Navajo people who feel that they were not being heard, and
their fears for their livelihoods were not being addressed.
The 10-mile buffer zone includes numerous allotments, and
negatively affects the interests of over 20,000 allottees.
Navajo allottees rely heavily on the royalty payments and the
infrastructure development from oil and gas activities. Many
derive their income from mineral development. Impacted
allottees say that they receive royalties averaging around
$20,000 a year. The disadvantaged communities in this region
have a median income below $27,000, which is below the Federal
poverty guidelines.
Having grown up with very little, I seek to maximize
economic opportunities and be a voice for our most vulnerable.
These tribal members have been able to get by due to their
royalties received and ancillary benefits derived from resource
development. We are concerned about the future livelihoods of
the allottees.
The Secretary provided no meaningful response to our
repeated concerns that the withdrawal will have negative
impacts on the allottees who rely on the oil and gas revenues.
Nonetheless, we remain ready to work with the Secretary to re-
evaluate the withdrawal and ensure a balanced approach.
In conclusion, the Nation supports the protection of both
Chaco Canyon and the ability of Navajo allottees to make a
living for their rightful mineral interests. The Navajo Nation
therefore supports this bill, and urges its passage.
[Speaking Native language.]
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nygren follows:]
Prepared Statement of the Honorable Dr. Buu V. Nygren, President of the
Navajo Nation
Ya'at'eeh, Chairman Stauber, Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez and
Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Dr. Buu Nygren, President of
the Navajo Nation (``Nation''). I represent over 400,000 enrolled
tribal members, almost half of whom live on the Navajo Nation and
collectively represent about one-third of all Native people living on
Indian reservation lands in the United States. The territorial reach of
the Nation extends more than 27,000 square miles and spans portions of
11 counties across the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The
Nation makes up almost a third of all tribal trust lands in the United
States. We are the largest Indian Nation in the country by both
constituency and sovereign territory.
Thank you for convening this hearing to discuss the Energy
Opportunities for All Act, an important bill to the Nation and its
members. And thank you for inviting me to testify about this bill,
tribal sovereignty, and the United States' trust responsibility to
tribes and allottees. The Nation urges the Subcommittee and the broader
Congress to pass the Energy Opportunities for All Act to honor and
respect the Navajo Nation's sovereignty and ensure that Navajo
allottees are able to receive the value of the resources they were
allotted by the United States in exchange for lands throughout the
Southwest.
Chaco History is Navajo History
Chaco Canyon and the Chaco Wash region have been home to the Navajo
people since time immemorial. The Chaco Culture National Historical
Park (``CHCU'' or ``Park'') is located between Albuquerque and
Farmington, New Mexico in a canyon cut by the Chaco Wash, spanning
30,000 acres. Although it has not been used as a societal center for
Chacoan people for nearly 800 years, Chaco Canyon has served as an
important area to the Navajo people continuously since that time.
Indeed, a number of modern Navajo clans trace their ancestry to the
Chacoan people and many Navajo families were forcibly relocated off
Park lands, even as recently as 1947.
The National Park Service's website for Chaco Canyon recognizes
that ``[Chacoan] descendants are the modern Southwest Indians. Many
Southwest Indian people look upon Chaco as an important stop along
their clans' sacred migration paths--a spiritual place to be honored
and respected.'' Chaco Canyon features prominently in Navajo creation
as the place where many of our people were enslaved by Naahwiilbiihi,
the gambler, until they were freed through divine intervention. Many
present-day Navajo Holy Way ceremonies trace part of their origins to
Chaco Canyon or Chacoan Outliers. Today, the Navajo families that
remain living close to CHCU continue to access the Park to make
offerings, pray, and conduct ceremonies. Our people also continue to
gather firewood, plants, and pinyon nuts from the Park, and conduct
educational and ceremonial camps there.
We, the Navajo people and the Navajo Nation government, take our
role as stewards of Chaco Canyon very seriously and have continuously
preserved and protected Chaco Canyon since our ancestors' time, well
before the United States created a Historical Park, and we will
continue doing so indefinitely. Hence the continued strong preservation
of structures and artifacts in the region.
CHCU was designated by President Theodore Roosevelt as a National
Monument in 1907 and became a U.S. National Historical Park in 1980.
The CHCU is protected from development and interference by Federal law.
The lands and cultural resources surrounding CHCU that fall within the
jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation are protected by an extensive network
of Federal and Navajo statutes and regulations, including the Navajo
Cultural Resources Protection Act, the National Historic Preservation
Act, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act among others.
Recent efforts by the Nation to preserve Chaco Canyon and related
resources include the National Park Service-funded Chaco Sites
Protection Program administered by the Navajo Nation Historic
Preservation Department through a cooperative agreement with the
National Park Service between 1992 and 2014. Through this agreement,
the Nation and the Park Service worked collaboratively to ``coordinate
and mutually assist in protection and resource management actions''
both within the Chaco Canyon Park Service Unit and on Navajo lands
outside the Park. The resources at issue included 39 Chaco ``great
houses,'' over half of which are located on Navajo lands. The National
Park Service stopped funding the Program in 2014. Since then the Navajo
Nation Historic Preservation Department has used the information from
the Program to continue protecting Chacoan sites on Navajo land and
have made multiple requests to the National Park Service to reinstate
the Program.
Underlying the CHCU and the San Juan Basin, the Mancos Shale
formation is a highly productive source of natural gas, with nearly
40,000 oil and gas wells drilled in the last sixty years--23,000 of
which remain active.
Public Lands Order 7923 Disregards the Voice of the Navajo Nation and
Fails to Honor Navajo Sovereignty
This brings me to the Secretary of the Interior's withdrawal of a
10-mile ``buffer'' area around CHCU that will be prohibited from future
mineral development through issuance of Public Lands Order 7923. This
Order was issued over the objections of the Navajo Nation, the
Indigenous sovereign most directly impacted by the Order, and with
inadequate consultation with the Navajo Nation government.
I think we can all agree that Chaco Canyon and related cultural and
historical resources should be protected. Indeed, we, the Navajo Nation
and Navajo people, have been protecting and preserving those resources
since time immemorial. But we don't all agree on how to go about doing
this. There is a right way, and that includes meaningful sovereign-to-
sovereign consultation with the Navajo Nation government, whose
jurisdiction extends to Park boundaries and is interspersed throughout
the 10-mile buffer zone imposed by the Secretary, and that has taken
into consideration the perspective of the descendants of the Chacoan
people who continue to live near the Park.
Indeed, the Nation worked hard to broker a compromise with the
administration that would honor Navajo sovereignty and the historic and
cultural ties our people have to Chaco, and balance the rights of our
allottees to maximize the productive value of their land and provide
for their families in an economically challenged region. We did so by
offering a 5-mile buffer zone that addressed some of our deepest
concerns by carving out the most productive oil and gas development
zone even while providing additional protections to Chacoan resources.
Notably, this was based on the geology of the region and cognizant of
the fact that oil and gas development any closer than six miles from
the Park boundary is largely infeasible.
However, this minimally disruptive and reasonable compromise was
rejected by the administration with very little nation-to-nation
engagement and discussion. This is an affront to Navajo sovereignty and
is not what should have happened. Instead, there should have been
meaningful sovereign-to-sovereign consultation to ensure that the
Nation's sovereign status was honored and respected, and that the
interests of Navajo tribal members directly impacted by the Park and
the proposed buffer zone were fully considered and taken into account.
The disregard and disrespect shown to the Navajo Nation here sets a
deeply disturbing precedent for how this administration will engage
with Indigenous Nations going forward on issues that matter deeply to
us.
The history of engagement between the Nation and the administration
on Chaco has been challenging. The Department of the Interior met with
the Navajo Nation on a handful of occasions to discuss its views of the
proposed withdrawal but failed to truly consider the impacts to
vulnerable communities when rejecting the Nation's reasonable
alternative. The Nation offered viable compromise solutions that would
protect Chaco Canyon beyond the boundaries of the CHCU while still
providing viable economic development and self-determination to the
Nation and its members. As a people who are Indigenous to this area and
landscape, we are deeply committed to its preservation and protection,
and believe that there are several alternative solutions that protect
Chaco Canyon while also providing a livelihood to our tribal members.
On November 15, 2021, without advance consultation with the Navajo
Nation, President Biden announced a new effort by the Department of the
Interior to protect the area around CHCU that included swaths of Navajo
Indian Country. Navajo Nation's then-President Jonathan Nez sent a
letter to President Biden requesting consultation on the shared
sovereign land interests and the significant expected impacts on lands
allotted to Navajo tribal members.
Over the Nation's objections, on January 6, 2022, the Bureau of
Land Management (``BLM'') formally proposed to withdraw approximately
351,000 acres of public lands surrounding CHCU for a 20-year term.
Following the proposed withdrawal, BLM initiated a 90-day comment
period from January 6, 2022 to April 6, 2022, which was subsequently
extended to May 6, 2022. BLM held two in-person public meetings in
urban communities off the Navajo Nation and outside of the directly
impacted Navajo communities, and one virtual meeting, which the Nation
and allottees attended. The Navajo Nation's Resources and Development
Committee also attended a leadership meeting with the Farmington BLM
Field Office on March 11, 2022 to raise concerns about the proposed
withdrawal, during which the Nation requested a meeting with Secretary
Haaland. In March, 2022, then-President Nez met with Secretary Haaland
requesting a reduction of the buffer zone from 10 miles to five. After
that meeting, the Nation submitted comments opposing the proposal on
May 6, 2022.
As part of the regulatory review process, in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA''), BLM completed an
Environmental Assessment (``EA''). The 30-day public comment period for
the Chaco Canyon Withdrawal EA began on November 10, 2022. On December
10, 2022, the allottees submitted comments opposing the withdrawal and
explaining in detail how the draft EA arbitrarily refused to consider
any alternatives that would be less impactful to vulnerable
communities, including the five-mile compromise buffer zone proposed by
the Nation. The comments also pointed out that BLM failed to consider
economic impacts to the region and Navajo tribal members and allottees,
ignored the actual geography of the region, and was completed without
any meaningful effort to consult with the Navajo Nation. Although
Navajo allottees and the Nation raised their concerns and offered
compromise solutions throughout the notice and comment process, the
draft Withdrawal EA neglected to address a viable alternative that
would not destroy tribal members' mineral interests and, for many, a
primary means of income.
On April 25, 2023, Speaker Crystalyne Curley and Members of the
25th Navajo Nation Council met virtually with the Secretary to voice
the Nation's concerns about a 10-mile buffer, explaining that the
affected allottees and surrounding Navajo communities did not support
any buffer zone at all, and conveying that the Nation's position had
changed from supporting a five-mile buffer to withdrawing support for
any buffer zone.
On June 2, 2023--with no advance notice and over numerous and
consistent Navajo objections--the Department of the Interior issued
Public Lands Order 7923 withdrawing 336,404.42 acres of public lands
surrounding CHCU from location and entry under the mining laws and from
leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act for a 20-year term ``in order to
protect these public lands . . . from the potential impacts associated
with oil and gas development activities and from adverse effects of
locatable mineral exploration and mining, subject to valid existing
rights.'' The final EA resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact
that contained sparse analysis of the economic impacts to Navajo
allottees and the Navajo Nation, and estimated the withdrawal would
cause just $588,831 in foregone royalties over the 20-year withdrawal
period.
The withdrawal disregards and fails to honor the Navajo Nation's
sovereignty. Our requests and eminently reasonable solutions were not
responded to in a meaningful way. It also ignores that Navajo people
have protected Chaco Canyon for many hundreds of years, since before
the Department of the Interior existed. For the Navajo Nation, this is
an issue of great significance because it elevates outside special
interest groups' agendas over the sovereign interests of the Navajo
Nation and the economic interests of our directly impacted allottees
and local community members. Navajo leaders are in the best position to
know what is best for our people, and we have proven over several
hundred years that our Nation and our people are good stewards of land
and cultural resources, including Chaco Canyon.
The withdrawal is not in line with President Biden's stated
commitment to honor the nation-to-nation relationship with Indian
tribes and respect that tribes are in the best position to determine
for themselves what is in their own best interest. The manner by which
the Order was issued over the objections of the Nation, with little
meaningful consultation, and with no effort to find a mutually
agreeable compromise solution suggests that the Department of the
Interior was intent on creating the 10-mile buffer, regardless of any
impacts to the Nation or its members, and regardless of whether the 10-
mile buffer would be the least disruptive way to protect Chaco Canyon.
The Department still has not demonstrated that the solutions presented
by the Navajo Nation were less effective at protecting Chaco Canyon
than the 10-mile buffer. Indeed, prior to the withdrawal, BLM and all
tribes with an interest in Chaco Canyon spent many years developing a
new Resources Management Plan, EIS, and Programmatic Agreement
addressing development of natural resources and protection of our lands
and cultural resources. The withdrawal does not address the Management
Plan, EIS, or Programmatic Agreement, which involved several tribes.
Significant time, effort, and tax dollars were spent on preservation
plans and agreements that now seem to be moot, with no guidance or
explanation.
This is not the meaningful consultation or respect for tribal
sovereignty and self-determination tribes are due. And it completely
ignores the impact the withdrawal will have on Navajo allottees, people
the Department has an obligation to protect. Under meaningful
consultation, an effort to mitigate adverse impacts to the Nation's
allottee members would have been pursued. Additionally, when soliciting
public comments from Navajo allottees, those meetings should have been
held on the Nation in the directly impacted Chapters, technical
resources should have been on hand to answer questions, and Navajo
translation should have been provided. Going forward, the Nation is
willing to work with Interior on a way to provide for meaningful
consultation with the Nation and the Navajo people.
Navajo Allottees Will Bear Disproportionate and Significant Adverse
Impacts
The 10-mile withdrawal area includes numerous allotments and
negatively affects the mineral interests of over 20,000 allottees. In
addition, the withdrawal area overlaps with Navajo trust land and
includes four Navajo Chapters (local units of Navajo government similar
to counties). It is immediately adjacent to an additional five Navajo
Chapters. Six of these Chapters as well as the Eastern Navajo Agency
(which includes 33 Chapters in the area immediately adjacent to CHCU)
supported by formal resolution and vote a five-mile buffer zone when
they thought a compromise with the Department was possible. The five-
mile buffer would have only impacted an estimated 2,111 allottees. When
it became clear in 2023 that a compromise was not likely to be broached
by the Department, four of the local Chapters withdrew their support of
any buffer and opposed imposition of any buffer through new
resolutions.
The voice of the local Navajo governments and residents to the
region directly impacted by the withdrawal is of utmost import to the
Nation. Eastern Navajo Agency lies within a portion of New Mexico that
remains one of the least economically developed places in the United
States. Navajo allottees living in this rural region rely heavily on
the royalty payments and infrastructure development from oil and gas
activities for their livelihoods--with many deriving the lion's share
of their income from mineral development. According to impacted
allottees, they receive royalties averaging around $20,000 per year.
This is in a region with a median income below $27,000. For many in
this country, it is difficult to imagine existing on $27,000 per year,
or even less. These tribal members have been able to get by due to
royalties received from their mineral interests and the ancillary
benefits derived from resource development in the region.
It is deeply disheartening to read the Department's EA estimating
that royalty losses for Navajo allottees will be only $588,831. This is
a gross underestimation of the losses that will be sustained by Navajo
allottees, and completely discounts the impact the withdrawal is
already having on them. Enduring Resources, one of the active resource
developers in the region, estimates that Navajo allottees actually
stand to lose nearly $200 million in royalties over the next 20 years
due to the withdrawal, which was not addressed in the EA. It is as if
the United States hit allottees with a bus and is saying ``actually, it
was a Matchbox car.''
As we stated in our May 6, 2022 comments, allottees' interests will
be completely nullified in areas where allotted lands are not
contiguously aligned or grouped in such a way that allows a company to
extract minerals through horizontal drilling. This will result in
minerals remaining stranded, stagnating future development. The EA
barely addressed this necessary consequence of the withdrawal, or the
devastating economic impacts on allottees. In addition to the pure
financial impacts, we also indicated in our comments that much of the
infrastructure--such as roads and electric and water lines--in the area
has been put in place by mineral development companies, not the United
States or the State of New Mexico. Without these companies, the
infrastructure in the region will deteriorate, potentially cutting off
residents from access to critical services. The EA paid little
attention to these significant impacts to Navajo allottees. This
failure is incredibly disappointing considering the level of poverty in
that region and the United States' trust obligations to tribes and
Indian allottees for whom it manages mineral interests. These
deficiencies cannot be ignored, and the Navajo people living on and
around these lands cannot be erased.
Conclusion
Given the extensive federal and tribal statutory and regulatory
framework that already protects Chaco Canyon and related resources,
Public Lands Order 7923 is unnecessary. Furthermore, the manner by
which it was issued--with no advance notice to the Nation and a mere
handful of government-to-government meetings over the strong objections
of the Nation and an offer of a compromise that would have met all
interested parties' goals--fails to honor Navajo and tribal
sovereignty. For this to happen to the largest Indigenous Nation in the
country in its own backyard is deeply disturbing. Tribal sovereignty
must be respected even when it is not politically expedient. We expect
more of our trustee and this administration. Nonetheless, despite these
disappointing actions, we have been and remain ready to work with the
Secretary should she choose to reevaluate the withdrawal and work with
the Nation to ensure a balanced approach that protects both cultural
heritage as well as Navajo allottees' ability to make a living from
their rightful mineral interests. The Nation supports the protection of
Chaco Canyon, and in protecting Chaco those human beings who have
continued to live in the area cannot be left behind. Indigenous Nations
are not relics; our people remain living and breathing and have complex
human needs. Elected tribal leaders are best positioned to strike the
balance between cultural continuity, adaption into modernity, and
preservation of economic opportunity for our constituents. As
Indigenous sovereigns, our perspective should matter greatly, and guide
our trustee in its actions that bear directly upon us and our people.
That was not done here. Absent a change of heart by the Secretary and
Department, we believe that enacting the Energy Opportunities for All
Act is critical to ensure that tribal sovereignty is respected, and
that tribal members do not suffer crippling economic losses due to the
withdrawal. The Nation supports this bill and urges its passage.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to the Hon. Buu Van Nygren,
President, Navajo Nation
The Honorable Buu Van Nygren did not submit responses to the Committee
by the appropriate deadline for inclusion in the printed record.
Questions Submitted by Representative Westerman
Question 1. In your testimony you mention how the Nation worked
hard to broker a compromise with the administration that protects the
historic and cultural ties to Chaco while also allowing allottees to
maximize the productive value of their land and provide for their
families.
1a) The Administration was clearly not open to this compromise, did
they provide you with their rationale?
Question 2. We have heard how the withdrawal will prevent Navajo
Allottees from obtaining significant revenues from energy production,
but you also mentioned in your testimony that the withdrawal will also
have a significant impact on the local infrastructure.
2a) Will this withdrawal cut residents off from access to critical
services?
______
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much for your testimony.
We will now recognize Ms. Ashland for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF ANITA ASHLAND, SENIOR LAND CONSULTANT, ENDURING
RESOURCES, CENTENNIAL, COLORADO
Ms. Ashland. Chairman Westerman, Ranking Member Grijalva,
Chairman Stauber, and Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez, thank you
for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Enduring Resources
today, and the oil and gas industry operating in the San Juan
Basin of northwestern New Mexico.
Enduring Resources is in a uniquely qualified position to
offer its expertise on this topic because we operate 247 Mancos
oil wells right in this Lybrook area outside of Chaco Canyon
and outside of the withdrawal area. We appreciate the
opportunity to call your attention to some little known facts
about the oil and gas development in this area.
Fact No. 1, we would like to concur with President Nygren
that the allottees are neither confused nor misinformed about
the impact of the Chaco buffer withdrawal on their unleased
minerals. There are 418 unleased allotments that affect over
16,000 allottees with mineral resources that will never be
developed because of the Federal minerals that surround them.
[Slide.]
Ms. Ashland. I would like to show you Exhibit No. 1, which
is a map of the San Juan Basin, and it shows in purple the
allottee tracks. It also shows, from the number of black dots,
that the San Juan Basin, as a result of drilling since the
1950s, has been largely developed, except in the southwestern
portion where the allottee lands are located, and where the
Chaco buffer withdrawal is located.
The currently producing and proposed Federal units are
shown on the map, and the area highlighted in yellow is the
area that is prospective in Enduring's analysis for
development.
The green fruitland outcrop that you can see on the map
marks the extent of the Mancos formation reservoir. And how
this resource is developed is with large Federal units of
consolidated minerals with long laterals. The Mancos oil wells
are about a mile deep, and we now have the ability to drill 2-
to 3-mile laterals, four to eight laterals per pad, and each
pad takes up only about 3 acres of surface disturbance.
The withdrawal will prevent the development of a
significant amount of an allottee fee mineral oil and gas. And
although there are no operations near Chaco, nor any geologic
potential for future development within a 6-mile radius of
Chaco Park, significant oil reserves will be lost as a result
of the withdrawal.
[Slide.]
Ms. Ashland. The map marked Exhibit 2 is a zoom-in of the
previous map, and it illustrates the potential future
development that will be lost as a result of the withdrawal.
And you will note from the map that there is no oil and gas
development anywhere within a 6-mile radius of the park
because, geologically, the area does not contain developable
oil and gas reserves.
Enduring used an industry-accepted tool to predict oil in
place in two separate reservoirs of the Mancos formation, the
Gallup and the silt. And this map illustrates how the outermost
area of the Chaco buffer withdrawal could be developed if
Federal minerals were available to be leased. The green
horizontal sticks depicted on the map illustrate the long
lateral wells that would reach out from the large well pads
into the Gallup and silt formation.
Enduring disagrees with the BLM's environmental assessment
stating that only 47 wells would be prevented from development.
This map shows otherwise. Over 233 wells could be developed in
that area, translating into over 86 million barrels of oil, and
25.85 billion cubic feet of natural gas lost as a result of the
buffer withdrawal.
Enduring estimates that approximately 56,320 acres outside
of the currently existing Mancos Gallup's Federal units could
be economically developed if the buffer withdrawal had not
occurred. Of that, 10,720 acres, or 19 percent, are Navajo
allotments. Therefore, the impact of the withdrawal falls
largely on the allottees. Without the Federal leases, we are
unable to create Federal units and drill long laterals, and
their minerals will not be developed.
[Slide.]
Ms. Ashland. Fact No. 3 is that the Chaco buffer withdrawal
is well protected by current statutes and BLM policies. The
issuance of the withdrawal failed to consider the role of the
other Federal environmental laws that are protecting culturally
important sites such as Chaco. The Mineral Leasing Act, the
Federal Land Protection and Environmental Protection Policy
Act, Historical Preservation Act, they all direct the BLM to
consider the environment and historic and cultural resources
before approving any drilling locations. This is an area that
is heavily regulated now, has many checks and balances built
into it, and many protections for sensitive sites.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Ashland follows:]
Prepared Statement of Anita Ashland, Senior Land Consultant, Enduring
Resources, LLC
Introduction
I am here today on behalf of Enduring Resources, LLC ( Enduring).
We are part of the oil and gas industry operating in the San Juan
Basin, located in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. We
want to testify to some of the little-known facts regarding the
issuance of Public Land Order No. 7923 (``Chaco Buffer Withdrawal''),
withdrawing over 336,000 acres of federal minerals from development in
a greater than ten-mile buffer surrounding the Chaco Culture Historical
National Park (``CCHNP''). As we will explain, the impact of the
withdrawal falls most heavily on the adjacent Navajo allottee mineral
owners, making unleased allottee minerals worthless from the standpoint
of energy development.
Since 2018, Enduring has been operating in the San Juan Basin
producing oil and natural gas from a leasehold consisting of federal
minerals (59%), Navajo allottee fee minerals (24%) and state and fee
minerals (17%). Of the allottee leasehold, 91% of the leases have been
drilled and are currently being produced. The remaining undeveloped
allottee leases lie within the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal, where Enduring
holds approximately 18,000 net acres of federal and allottee leasehold.
Existing undeveloped federal and allottee leases will expire due to the
inability to develop allottee minerals without leased federal minerals.
No new federal leases mean no future lease bonus payments, rentals or
royalties will be paid to allottees because without federal leases, it
is uneconomic and infeasible to lease or to develop only allottee
leases.
Enduring produces in the Mancos shale formation using horizontal
drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing completions. The Mancos
formation is developed by drilling wells approximately one mile below
the surface, with laterals up to three miles in length. Drilling long
laterals requires large blocks of minerals. Four to eight laterals can
be drilled from one 3-acre well pad. Each lateral costs an average of
$6.5 MM and on average returns $6 million in revenue per year, with a
projected 20-year life cycle.
Enduring has invested over $25.5 million in a water handling system
to eliminate the need to vent or flare methane. Most significantly,
this system allows Enduring to eliminate the use of scarce fresh water
in completions and instead to use recycled water. This water system not
only reduced the operational need for fresh water, but also reduced the
air emissions and safety concerns resulting from water truck traffic.
Enduring works closely with its allottee lessors and understands
the significant economic and quality of life challenges faced by the
allottees. The conditions of poverty that exist on the Navajo
Reservation and, particularly in the Eastern Agency Chapters, are
shocking. Revenues from oil and gas production constitute the principal
economic activity that sustains the Navajo allottees, whose family
members and elders continue to reside without electricity or running
water in prefabricated homes or in ho'gans (traditional round or
hexagonal dwellings with a wood- or coal-burning stove) in the Navajo
Nation's Nageezi, Huerfano, and Counselor Chapters. Oil and gas royalty
income can double modest incomes. Allottees in the Eastern Navajo
Agency whose mineral rights have been so developed typically receive
royalty payments totaling about $20,000 per year, in a region where the
median annual income is below $27,000.
Current total revenue earned by 20,000 allottees in the San
Juan Basin from Enduring:
2020: $13,225,686.08
2021: $22,009,596.50
2022: $39,908,770.64
2023 first quarter: $4,930,600.61
Total for less than 3.5 years : $80,085,795.83 paid to 20,000
allottees.
Shortly after I joined Enduring in January 2020, Enduring was
forced to shut in its oil wells as result of the COVID-19 pandemic and
the precipitous drop in oil prices to a negative value. I was
responsible for sending a letter to all of its allottee lessors telling
them that the wells were being shut in and that their royalty payments
would be suspended until production could be restored. After the letter
went out, many allottees called Enduring in great distress. I
personally talked to dozens of allottees who were desperate to know
when the company might be able to resume production. I heard first-hand
heart-wrenching descriptions of the widespread illness and loss of
family members to COVID, that they didn't know how they would pay rent,
buy food or make their car payments without their oil money, and how
much they depended on their checks. Fortunately, Enduring was able to
begin turning wells back on after about 60 days, but the low oil prices
kept their royalties low for the rest of that year, creating extreme
hardship.
I. Fact #1: Allottees are neither confused nor misinformed about the
impact of Public Land Order No. 7923 on their unleased
minerals--there are 418 unleased allotments, affecting 16,615
allottees, with mineral resources that will never be developed
because of the federal minerals surrounding them.
Navajo allotments were created when Congress passed the General
Allotment Act in 1887. The act stated that the head of each family
would receive 160 acres of tribal land and each single person would
receive 80 acres. Title to the land would be held in trust by the
government for 25 years. After 25 years each individual would receive
United States citizenship and fee simple title to their land and
minerals. Tribal lands not allotted to Native Americans on the
reservation were to be sold to the United States and the land would be
opened for homesteading. As a result, the allotments are located today
in a checkerboard pattern with federal minerals.
This mixed ownership is shown on Exhibit ``1'', which is a map
illustrating mineral and surface ownership and showing the extent of
the impact of the ten-mile Chaco Buffer Withdrawal on allottee lands
and minerals (shown in purple). The map also shows that the San Juan
Basin, as a result of drilling since the 1950s (black dots are wells),
has largely been developed except in the southwestern portion where the
allottee lands are located and where the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal is
located. There are 53 leased allotments within the Chaco Buffer
Withdrawal, each generating roughly $6.2 MM per year in royalties for
an average of 5,462 individuals.
The area highlighted in yellow is the area prospective for the
development of Mancos formation oil, and the green Fruitland Outcrop
marks the extent of the Mancos formation reservoir. To develop oil and
gas in this area requires long laterals and large units of consolidated
minerals; this is the challenge in the checkerboard area. Without
federal oil and gas right-of-way access, long (2-3 mile) lateral wells
will not be able to pass through federal minerals to allottee minerals.
Without federal oil and gas minerals there are insufficient allottee
minerals to justify the expense of modern oil and gas development. It
is impossible to access, or economically develop, Navajo allotments
without federal minerals and rights-of-way. Without federal oil and gas
the allottee minerals will not be developed. It is an obvious fact that
there will be an impact on the allottees from the Chaco Buffer
Withdrawal. The withdrawal will prevent the development of a
significant amount of allottee fee oil and gas minerals.
II. Fact #2: Although there are no oil and gas operations near Chaco,
nor any geologic potential for future development within a 6-
mile radius of Chaco, significant oil reserves will be lost as
a result of Public Land Order No. 7923.
The map marked Exhibit ``2'' illustrates the potential future
development that will be lost as a result of the Chaco Buffer
Withdrawal, the outline of which is shown on the map. Currently
producing and proposed federal units are shown on the map. The yellow
illustrates currently leased minerals. Allottee lands are shown in
purple, the Fruitland Outcrop in green marks the end of the
unconventional Mancos formation potential. You will note that there is
no oil and gas development, nor future potential for development,
within a 6-mile radius of CCHNP because geologically, the area does not
contain developable oil and gas reservoirs.
No oil and gas company has studied the Mancos shale more
comprehensively or has the operational experience than Enduring. Using
an industry-accepted tool to predict oil in place in two separate
reservoirs of the Mancos formation, the Gallup and the Silt, this map
illustrates how the outermost area of the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal could
be developed if federal minerals were available to be leased. The green
horizontal ``sticks'' depicted on the map illustrate the long lateral
wells that would reach out from large well pads into the Gallup and
Silt formations.
The BLM asserted in its Chaco Withdrawal Environmental Assessment
(``EA'') that only 47 wells will be prevented from development by the
Chaco Buffer Withdrawal (4MM bbl oil and 3.8 bcf gas, with lost royalty
revenue of $4.8MM). We think that is a lowball estimate and we pointed
out in our comments where, based on our research and experience, BLM
went wrong in making this estimate.
This map shows otherwise--in fact, over 233 wells (39 in the Silt
and 194 in the Gallup) will not be developed. This translates into over
86MM barrels of oil and 25.85 BCF of natural gas lost as the result of
the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal. Enduring estimates that approximately
56,320 acres outside of currently existing Mancos/Gallup units could be
economically developed in the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal area if the
Withdrawal had not occurred. Of that, 10,720 acres, or 19%, of those
acres are Navajo allotments, and the remaining 45,600 acres (81%) are
federal, state or privately-owned fee minerals. Therefore the impact of
the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal falls largely on the allottees because
without the federal leases and rights-of-way, their minerals will not
be developed, as shown on the next exhibit.
Based on these estimated production numbers and a royalty rate of
16.66%, the combined (federal and allottee) royalties forgone would be
$51,122,997 per year for a total of $1,022,459,948 for the 20-year
withdrawal. The forgone royalties for the Navajo allottees tracts would
be $194,267,390 over the 20-year withdrawal. Thus, the BLM's predicted
impacts in the Chaco Withdrawal EA on revenue, jobs and environmental
justice communities, primarily the Navajo allottees, are much greater
than disclosed in the Withdrawal EA.
The illustration marked Exhibit ``3'' is a cross-section that
depicts the development of the Mancos Formation through long laterals
drilled in large federal units consisting of federal and allottee
minerals. The cross-section clearly shows how without the federal
minerals and federal rights-of-way (to drill through federal minerals)
it would not be physically possible, nor economically possible, to
develop the allottee minerals alone.
Our perspective as a member of the oil and gas industry operating
on federal lands is that the development of federal oil and gas is an
essential part of BLM's multiple use mission and supported in federal
law. See, e.g., Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, Mining and Minerals Policy
Act of 1970, Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, Energy
Policy Act of 2005 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Federal oil
and gas revenue support state budgets and the U.S. Treasury. Oil and
gas development creates good-paying jobs in rural areas. The energy
produced on federal lands reduces our dependence on foreign suppliers
and enhances our national security, as well as providing significant
revenues to both the federal government and the State of New Mexico.
Most significant to the subject of the hearing, the U.S. Department
of the Interior bears a legal responsibility to act as a fiduciary to
Indian Tribes and allottees; a role the BLM understands requires the
agency to ``maximize economic gain for tribes/allottees . . . .'' Yet,
the result of the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal is to foreclose the
allottee's ability to develop their minerals.
III. Fact #3: The Chaco Buffer Withdrawal Area is well protected by
current statutes and BLM policies regarding surface use.
The issuance of the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal fails to consider the
role of other federal environmental laws in protecting culturally
important sites such as Chaco. The FLPMA, the Mineral Leasing Act and
federal environmental laws contain substantive requirements to protect
the environment--air, water, fish and wildlife resources, endangered
species, birds and raptors, historic and cultural resources. Procedural
statutes like National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic
Preservation Act direct BLM to consider the environment and historic
and cultural resources before approving any drilling locations. BLM
routinely uses these federal laws to manage the environmental impacts
of authorized actions, like oil and gas, on BLM public land resources.
The oil and gas industry fully accepts it shared responsibility to
protect the landscape, air and water resources and the public health.
The oil and gas industry has not leased or developed oil and gas
resources within a 6 mile-radius of CCHNP and has no reason to do so in
the future. The industry recognizes that the Puebloan and Navajo
peoples have strong cultural and spiritual ties to the CCNHNP and
respects the importance of preserving it for future generations. If an
archeological survey identifies any cultural resource in the outer 4-
mile radius around the CCHNP, current law will protect that site by
requiring the potential drilling location to be moved to avoid the
resource. Existing federal substantive and procedural laws and the
regulations administered by the BLM minimize adverse impact from oil
and gas operations to the surface.
Summary
To summarize my testimony today, there are no present nor future
oil and gas operations that will disturb the CCHNP or affect the 40,000
citizens who visit this great cultural legacy each year. Current law
and geological facts on the ground will continue to protect the CCHNP.
The Chaco Buffer Withdrawal is not necessary to protect that national
resource.
Unfortunately, the impact of the withdrawal will fall on the least
able to withstand it--Navajo allottees who rely on oil and gas revenues
for basic needs. With the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal of federal minerals,
Navajo allottees are being denied the right to develop their minerals
in the outer 4-miles of the 10-mile Chaco Buffer Withdrawal. As we
explained, that is because of the checkerboard ownership of the
minerals and the necessity of creating large federal units for the
drilling of 2-3-mile-long horizontal wells.
Any culturally important archaeological sites located on the
surface of unleased public lands in the remaining undeveloped portion
of the Mancos formation are fully protected by existing federal laws
and regulations as well as BLM policies and lease stipulations. The
only actual impact of the Chaco Buffer Withdrawal is to deny Navajo
allottees and the nation the potential to develop remaining Mancos oil
reserves that could potentially provide much needed income to the
allottees and contribute to our nation's energy independence and
national security.
*****
EXHIBIT 1
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Questions Submitted for the Record to Anita Ashland, Senior Land
Consultant, Enduring Resources
Questions Submitted by Representative Westerman
Question 1. In Deputy Director Culver's testimony, she says that
getting rid of the withdrawal will leave cultural sites, objects, and
landscapes vulnerable to impacts from oil and gas and solid mineral
extraction.
1a) Is this true--do companies like yours destroy cultural sites
when producing energy?
Answer. No, Enduring Resources operates in full compliance with the
National Historic Preservation Act (``NHPA''), which through Section
106, directs the Bureau of Land Management to require applicants to
survey potential areas of disturbance. Enduring Resources retains
qualified consultants who adhere to NHPA's Archeology Guidance. Before
any surface is disturbed for a well pad, road or a pipeline, Enduring
Resources is required to retain a cultural resource expert to conduct a
pedestrian survey of the entire footprint of the proposed surface
installation, plus a buffer zone in a radius around the site, in order
to identify any cultural resources or archeological sites that would be
impacted by the proposed surface facility. This consultant is required
to hold a permit for archeological surveys. If any cultural resource or
archeological site has been identified, the consultant will make a
recommendation as to whether or not the site is eligible for listing on
the National Register, and should be avoided, or if that is not
possible, how any impact may be mitigated. The consultant's survey and
recommendations are then reviewed by the BLM, which may agree or
disagree with the recommendation.
1b) Can you walk us through the process that Enduring and other
companies go through with the BLM if a cultural resource is identified
at a location where you have drilling plans?
Answer. Any surface occupancy on federal or tribal lands is heavily
regulated, with many checks and balances in place to protect cultural
resources or archeological sites. See e.g. Antiquities Act of 1906
(protecting historic, prehistoric artifacts on federal lands); Historic
Sites Act of 1935 (protecting historic sites, buildings and objects on
federal land); Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974
(protects scientific, historic and archeological material and data that
might be damaged by federal projects); Archeological Resources
Protection Act of 1979 (preservation and custody of excavated
materials, records and data on federal lands); Native American Graves
and Protection and Repatriation Act (1979) (protects human remains, and
sacred objects of cultural patrimony); BLM, ``Handbook of Guidelines
and Procedures for Inventory, Evaluation, and Mitigation of Cultural
Resources'' (rev. 2021) and several related manuals (MS-8100, 8110,
8120, 8130, 8140, 8150) and other guidance. The NHPA requires the BLM
to consult at every step in the process with the State Historical
Preservation Office and in the case of allotted lands, with the Navajo
Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department. If an
archeological site is eligible for listing on the National Register,
the proposed surface disturbance may be moved, rerouted, or, as a last
resort, any impact must be mitigated. The appropriate type of
mitigation must be approved by all agencies involved in the review
process. Even if the site or object is not eligible for listing on the
National Register, the operator and the agencies involved must agree on
appropriate protective measures or modifications to the planned surface
disturbance.
Enduring Resources recently had this situation arise in its Haynes
Canyon Unit, a federal unit located in Rio Arriba County, NM. The
archeological survey identified a cultural or archeological resource in
an area that had been surveyed for a well pad. As a result of
discussions with the BLM about potential accommodations, Enduring
decided to relocate the well pad in order to avoid any surface
disturbance.
Question 2. In your testimony you say that undeveloped federal and
allottee leases will expire due to the withdrawal, could you explain
why?
Answer. Issued, but undeveloped, federal and allottee leases in the
withdrawal area that are not currently included in an approved federal
unit will expire because it has been, and with the withdrawal will
continue to be, impossible to acquire needed, additional federal leases
on adjoining unleased federal tracts. As explained below, large federal
units that combine checker-boarded federal and allottee leases are
necessary for development.
For example, the last lease sale for this area was held in 2019.
BLM still has not issued the three leases awarded to Enduring
regardless of the fact that Enduring paid significant bonus dollars and
first year rental payments in March 2019 that BLM retains. Without
those unissued federal leases, the federal unit cannot be formed,
development cannot proceed and the issued federal and allottee leases
that were planned for that unit will expire at the end of their lease
terms due to lack of development.
Enduring produces in the Mancos shale formation using horizontal
drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing completions. The Mancos
formation is developed by drilling wells approximately one mile below
the surface, with laterals up to three miles in length. Drilling long
laterals requires large blocks of minerals. Four to eight laterals can
be drilled from one 3-acre well pad.
In order to drill across tracts with mixed ownership, it is
necessary to form large federal units in order to pool the interests in
the drilling block being drained by multiple well pads. No new federal
leases in the withdrawal area means no future lease bonus payments,
rentals or royalties will be paid to allottees because without federal
leases on the federally owned tracts contiguous with the allotted
tracts, it is uneconomic and infeasible to lease or to develop only
allottee leases.
Question 3. How much money did Enduring pay to Navajo Nation
allottees in 2022?
Answer. In 2022, Enduring paid $39,908,770.64 in royalties to
Navajo Nation allottees.
Question 4. What percentage of Enduring's workforce are members of
the Navajo Nation?
Answer. Members of the Navajo Nation represent 15% of Enduring's
workforce.
Question 5. Can you explain why you think that the BLM erred in
asserting that only 47 wells will be prevented from development in its'
analysis?
Answer. In the ``Proposed Chaco Area Withdrawal, Environmental
Assessment'' (November 2022) (``Withdrawal EA''), the BLM based its
analysis on its Mineral Potential Report. Because BLM's ``low
potential'' estimate in the Mineral Potential Report is so far off the
mark, for the three reasons we discuss below, the BLM's analysis of
impacts to future oil and gas development is significantly flawed.
Based on Enduring Resources' actual experience as the operator of
247 high-producing Mancos oil wells in the area, and its knowledge of
the geophysical and other data the company relies on to make
investment-backed decisions in the development of a lease, the BLM has
grossly underestimated the fluid mineral resource potential in the
withdrawal area. Contrary to BLM's argument that the potential is low,
Enduring knows that the developable fluid mineral resource north of
CCHNP is substantial. As explained in detail below, rather than 47
wells, over 233 wells will be forgone along with significant oil and
gas and mineral revenues to the federal government and allottees.
In reaching its new conclusion of ``low potential,'' BLM makes
three errors.
1. Reservoir analysis. The BLM does not accurately consider the oil
saturation and the porosity of the reservoir rocks (SoPhiH
calculation) to correctly estimate the fluid minerals
potential in this area. In understanding the potential of a
reservoir for development, Enduring follows standard
industry practice and relies on a SoPhiH measurement. This
is because SoPhiH is the primary measurement of reservoir
quality needed to calculate an oil-in-place volume. SoPhiH
is the Oil Saturation x Average Porosity of the oil
saturated reservoir rock x Thickness of saturated reservoir
rock. In addition to the development of the Mancos-Gallup,
Enduring also has successfully developed and produced from
the Mancos silt interval. We know that in areas where the
Mancos Silt and the Gallup are mapped as having a SoPhiH
value above 1, wells drilled and completed in these
intervals produce significant volumes of oil.
North of the CCHNP, where Enduring has mapped a SoPhiH >1, the
oil-in-place is calculated as being greater than 4 million
barrels of oil per section. See Exhibit A (map illustrating
areas with SoPhiH >1 in the withdrawal area). Moreover,
based on Enduring's experience in the Kimbeto Wash and
Greater Lybrook Units, both partially within the withdrawal
area (see Exhibit A), a reasonable recovery factor for
Mancos Silt/Gallup horizontal wells is 10% of the oil-in-
place. Therefore, assuming current 1200' well spacing (four
wells per section), four horizontal wells, with a lateral
length of 1-mile, drilled in a section with greater than 4
million barrels of oil per section can be expected to
produce >100,000 barrels of oil per well. Again, based on
actual results in the Kimbeto Wash and Greater Lybrook
Units, a conservative gas to oil ratio in this area is 300
bcf/bbl.
EXHIBIT A
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
In Enduring's experience, reserves below SoPhiH >1 would be
doubtful to be drilled. Based only on the development
potential for unleased acreage within the withdrawal area
with a SoPhiH >1, Enduring estimates that 233 total
horizontal wells, including 39 Mancos Silt wells and 194
Gallup wells, will be forgone as a result of the 10-mile
withdrawal. Based on reserve reports from adjacent and
nearby wells in the Kimbeto Wash and Greater Lybrook Units,
Enduring can conservatively estimate that a 50 well/year
industry (several companies) drilling program to develop
the 233 wells (five wells per pad) could be expected to
produce over 86,000,000 barrels of oil and 25.85 billion
cubic feet of natural gas. Enduring's calculations that
support these conclusions are contained in Exhibit B
(spreadsheet).
EXHIBIT B
Page 1 of spreadsheet can be viewed on the Committee Repository at:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20230713/116135/HHRG-118-II06-
20230713-SD068.pdf
Page 2 of spreadsheet can be viewed on the Committee Repository at:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20230713/116135/HHRG-118-II06-
20230713-SD070.pdf
Page 3 of spreadsheet can be viewed on the Committee Repository at:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20230713/116135/HHRG-118-II06-
20230713-SD071.pdf
Page 4 of spreadsheet is available on the EIA website at:
https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/data/browser/#/?id=3-
aeo2019&cases=ref2019ref--no--cpp&sourcekey=0
2. Development plan. The BLM analyzes productivity based on a lease-
by-lease development basis rather than the industry
standard in the basin of large unit development to
calculate developable reserves. This has the effect of
raising costs and lowering the amount of recovery. The
estimates described by Enduring in Exhibit B are based on
current practice in this part of the San Juan Basin to use
large units combining federal, state and allottee acreages
in order to drill long horizontal wells. This allows
operators to recover reserves economically and efficiently
with minimal surface impact. A one-and-a-half-mile
horizontal well costs approximately $6.5 million and
returns an average of $6 million per year in revenue, with
a projected 20-year life cycle. Providing the necessary
access roads, pipelines, water handling facilities and
power lines for this undeveloped withdrawal area would add
several million dollars to that cost. In order to justify
the investment required to construct multi-well pads,
surface facilities, water recycling facilities and
pipelines, operators must pool allottee leases with
adjacent federal and state leases in large federal units
managed by the BLM. Yet, in the Mineral Potential Report,
the BLM uses an unrealistic lease-by-lease development
scenario that ignores the realities of actual development
practices in the withdrawal area, and drives up the costs,
in order to support its new, ``low potential'' assessment
of the withdrawal area.
3. High water cut error. The BLM's third error is to extrapolate a
high water cut from one well to the entire northern part of
the withdrawal area in order to again increase costs and
lower development potential in an area BLM had once
classified as medium to high development potential. The BLM
argues that all Mancos wells north of the CCHNP, to Nageezi
and Counselor, should now be viewed as low potential due to
``an increase in water production from wells and a decrease
in oil and natural gas production. . . . Wells near the
withdrawal boundary yield about 80% water in the production
stream, hindering economic justification for infill
drilling.'' Mineral Potential Report, at p. 43. The BLM
explains its change in resource potential from the
previously identified medium potential to low potential as
``due to the high water cut in production.'' Id.
To Enduring's knowledge, there is only one well in the area
north of CCHNP with a water cut in the 80% range, the
Enduring West Lybrook Unit #767H. This well is an anomaly
and is offset by tens of adjacent wells with much lower
water cuts. The BLM's decision to write off the entire
withdrawal area north of CCHNP based on one data point from
an anomalous well is arbitrary. Moreover, a high water cut
well can be economically developed with water disposal
systems that are commonly in use in the San Juan and
Permian Basins in New Mexico.
Looking at the allottees alone, Enduring believes approximately
56,320 acres, outside of currently existing Mancos/Gallup units, could
be developed in the withdrawal area. Of that, 10,720 acres or 19% of
those acres are Navajo allottee tracts, and the remaining 45,600 acres
(81%) are Federal/other. Based on estimated production and a royalty
rate of 16.66%, the combined federal and allottee royalties forgone
will be $1,122,997 per year, for a total of $1,022,459,948 over the 20-
year withdrawal. Thus, the total lost royalty for allottees will be
$194,267,390. See Exhibit B, Tab 2. This amount of royalty spread over
two decades would make a profound difference to the lives of the
allottees and, in particular, to their elders who live at or below the
poverty line.
Question 6. In Mr. Atencio's testimony, he refers to a spill that
occurred in 2019. The 2023 EPA report indicating that the reclaimed
area had been restored to pre-spill functionality and has remained
stable was introduced into the record.
6a) Can you provide additional information about the nature of the
spill and whether it caused any contamination to land, water or
livestock?
Answer. On February 17, 2019, there was a spill of flowback liquids
from a frozen flowline at the Enduring North Escavada Unit #315H well
location (API 30-043-21888). A cam lock on an aboveground flowline
outside of a tank battery containment berm failed, resulting in the
release of approximately 1,400 barrels (bbl.) of flowback liquids, of
which 300 bbl. was estimated to be crude oil. (Mr. Atencio translated
these official figures into gallons in his testimony.) There were no
hydraulic fracturing operations occurring as alleged by Mr. Atencio.
This undesired, but relatively small spill occurred in the NW/4SW/4
Section 10, Township 22 North, Range 7 West, in Sandoval County near
Counselor, New Mexico. The location of the spill was approximately 16.6
miles from the outermost boundary of the CCHNP and outside the ten-mile
withdrawal buffer area. It was near an ephemeral wash (a drainage area
that is dry sometimes of the year) and the spill area is not near, nor
connected to, any major waterbody including the San Juan River or
Colorado River. The spill occurred on Allotment 155, owned by Rose Sam,
Willie Harvey and Mary Harvey and their heirs. It is unclear if Mario
Atencio is part of their family, as he claims in his testimony.
The frozen flowline was detected the evening of February 17, 2019,
and Enduring Resources personnel immediately rushed to the site and
began diversion and containment efforts in the wash. The BLM and the
Federal Indian Mineral Office (``FIMO'') were notified of the spill
that evening. The FIMO is the federally approved point of contact for
allottees receiving mineral royalties, and for that reason there is a
level of trust between allottees and FIMO.
The next day, February 18, 2019, FIMO contacted all allottees who
lived in the area around the spill to notify them of the spill and the
efforts being made to contain and mitigate the spill. Enduring
Resources also notified the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection
agency, but that agency deferred to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (``EPA'') to oversee the containment and reclamation activities.
Because the spill occurred on fee surface (Indian Allotted) land over
federal minerals, agencies reviewing the cleanup work included the
Bureau of Land Management, FIMO, U.S. EPA Region 9 and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (``USACE''). The Navajo Nation EPA was also kept
involved.
The USACE, which works in coordination with U.S. EPA, was the lead
agency on the cleanup. The USACE determined that there were no
hazardous or toxic substances that would require the use of Clean Water
Act nationwide Permit 38 (``Cleanup of Hazardous and Toxic Wastes'')
and elected to use a Clean Water Act nationwide 20 (``Response
Operations for Oil or Hazardous substances'') permit. Enduring
Resources retained an environmental consulting firm with expertise in
this type of work, as well as a law firm with Clean Water Act
expertise, to ensure that the work was done according to relevant law.
On October 4, 2019, the USACE sent a letter directing Enduring
Resources to take corrective actions including the preparation of a
restoration plan for the area of the ephemeral wash and the related
upland areas. On November 22, 2019, Enduring Resources submitted an
``Ephemeral Wash Reclamation Plan and an Upland Reclamation Plan.''
Enduring Resources and its contractor implemented the Plans. On
June 15, 2023, EPA confirmed that the bank stabilization and
reconstruction for the North Escavada Unit #315H Ephemeral Wash
reclamation was in full compliance with EPA's Clean Water Act 401
certification and restored to pre-disturbance functionality, as stated
in the document introduced at the subcommittee hearing.
All restoration work has been completed and is stable. There was no
lasting damage to land or water sources as confirmed by subsequent soil
and water testing. There was no damage to livestock. FIMO received no
complaints nor claims of damages from allottees living in the area. No
fines were assessed by any agency because there were no environmental
violations. Enduring Resources was commended by the agencies for its
immediate response, and thorough remediation and reclamation
procedures. Enduring Resources has been released from all further work
or reporting.
Questions Submitted by Representative Grijalva
Question 1. Are Enduring Resources' current royalty payments to
Navajo Allottees impacted by Public Land Order No. 7923?
Answer. Although the Navajo Allottees' current royalty payments are
not immediately impacted by Public Land Order No. 7923 (PLO No. 7923),
their future payments over both the short and long-term will be
impacted. PLO No. 7923 will have these short and long-term impacts on
allottees:
Short-term.
1. No new leasing of withdrawn federal acres. New leasing of
adjacent allottee acres is unlikely without the now
withdrawn federal leases. This means no new bonus payments
to allottees.
2. Also in the immediate short term there is at least one Enduring
development proposal that can't go forward--the proposed
Lone Road Unit, that is located entirely within the
withdrawal area. This development is missing necessary
federal leases (BLM did not lease in the withdrawal area
for last 10 years). These federal minerals are now
withdrawn and won't be leased; without the unleased federal
minerals the allottee leases will not be developed, and no
royalties will be paid to the allottees.
Long-term.
1. Over the next 3-5 years the allottees will feel the impact of PLO
No. 7923 withdrawal of Federal minerals.
2. Existing leases in and adjacent to the withdrawal area will
expire due to the inability to develop allottee minerals
without federal minerals. For example, two of Enduring
Resource's most productive units, the Greater Lybrook and
Rodeo Units, lie partially within and partially outside of
the withdrawal area (see Exhibit A attached). As these
existing units are fully drilled and developed over the
next several years, Enduring planned to expand those units
in order to drill additional wells on federal and allottee
leases. Without the now withdrawn federal leases, the
existing allottee and federal leases outside the existing
unit will expire, and those lease bonus and rental payments
will not be replaced.
3. Lease rentals will be paid during the term of these existing
leases, but no royalties will be paid on those leased, but
undeveloped minerals because without the federal leases it
is uneconomic to develop only allottee leases.
4. No new leases, lease bonus payments, rentals and royalties in the
withdrawal area because it is uneconomic to develop only
the allottee leases.
Enduring testified that the withdrawal of federal minerals will
prevent the development of 233 horizontal wells or over 86,000,000
barrels of oil and 25.85 billion cubic feet of natural gas. See
attached Exhibits A and B. Based on these estimated production numbers
and a royalty rate of 16.66% the forgone royalties for the Navajo
allottees tracts alone would be $194,267,390 over the 20-year
withdrawal. The BLM's predicted impacts in the Withdrawal EA on
revenue, jobs and environmental justice communities, primarily the
Navajo allottees, are much greater than disclosed in the Withdrawal EA.
______
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much.
We will now recognize Mr. Atencio for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF MARIO ATENCIO, VICE PRESIDENT, TORREON/STAR LAKE
CHAPTER, NAVAJO ALLOTTEE SPOKESPERSON, CUBA, NEW MEXICO
Mr. Atencio. Thank you, Chairman Stauber, Ranking Member
Ocasio-Cortez, honorable Subcommittee members.
[Speaking Native language], Navajo Nation President Mr. Buu
Nygren, and co-panelists.
I come before the Committee as spokesperson and stakeholder
for my mother and father, Paul and Mary Ann Atencio, who are
shareholders of 20 individual Indian allotment parcels located
in the Counselor, Ojo Encino, and Torreon/Star Lake chapters of
the Navajo Nation Government, which are located within the
greater Chaco landscape.
I also hold a fiduciary role as the Vice President of the
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter House. Chapters are the local form of
government on the Navajo Nation. The vast majority of my
constituents are allotment shareholders.
I am here today to urge you to oppose House Resolution
4374. According to a crucially important study, Volume II,
Navajo Religion in Chaco Canyon, an ethnographic report based
on Hataalii interviews, the Greater Chaco landscape is the most
important landscape to the Navajo people because the cultural
ceremonies that were created there are the most sacred rituals
that are foundational to Navajo cultural identity, very much
similar to how critically important Jerusalem is to Judeo-
Christian-Islamic peoples.
My family and I have deep spiritual and cultural
connections to the Greater Chaco landscape, but over the years
we have seen our lands and environment become deeply degraded
by oil and gas pollution. There are nearly 40,000 oil and gas
wells across the Greater Chaco landscape. The vast majority of
Federal lands are already leased for extraction. Our family
lands in Torreon and Counselor are surrounded by fracking
sites, pipelines, and other oil and gas infrastructure.
For many of us there, there is no option to move away from
the pollution because that would entail an unbearable loss of
cultural identity, and would disrupt our ability to pass on
cultural traditions to future generations.
In February 2019, my family's allotment land and water in
Counselor was contaminated by a massive 42,000-gallon toxic
liquid waste and 12,500-gallon crude oil spill at a fracking
site operated by Enduring Resources. Neither my family nor our
chapter community were notified of the spill by state or
Federal agencies or by Enduring Resources. We were never made
whole after our land, water, and livestock were poisoned.
Spills like this happen at an average of four times a day in
New Mexico. These incidents illustrate why protecting land and
people from oil and gas pollution is critical.
Secretary Haaland's mineral withdrawal is a step toward
ensuring the integrity of numerous sacred sites and places and
toward protecting the health and well-being of communities
living on the front lines of extraction.
In my written testimony, I present over a decade of
collaboration and statements issued by Navajo Nation chapters,
the Eastern Navajo Agency Council, the Navajo Office of the
President and the Vice President, the All Pueblo Council of
Governors, and other advocates in support of protecting the
Greater Chaco landscape.
Secretary Haaland's historic Honoring Chaco Initiative is
the outcome of this long-standing advocacy, and the 10-mile
mineral withdrawal is the first step of this initiative.
Amid all the new controversy the withdrawal has generated,
I encourage members of the Committee to think critically about
the terms in which this debate has been framed. The question
before us today is what actions will support an economically
and environmentally just future for the people of the Greater
Chaco Region?
Our region has an approximate 40 percent unemployment rate,
and about 40 percent of the people live below the poverty line.
For some of our community members, these conditions can produce
an impossible choice between extraction and economic survival.
Some allotment holders, including members of my family, receive
royalty payments from leased allotments. The withdrawal will
not affect existing leases and payments, but may, for a very
small percentage of parcels, affect future leaseability.
The Honoring Chaco Initiative provides an opportunity to
reject the false choice between extraction and economic
prosperity, and to instead develop remedies for all allotment
owners whose economic futures have always depended on taking
the necessary steps to transition away from dependence on
fossil fuels that puts our health, sacred places, and planet at
risk.
Lastly, the Honoring Chaco Initiative provides an
opportunity to address the cumulative harms of fossil fuels in
the Greater Chaco Region, and to develop co-management
approaches so that the Dine people may thrive in this landscape
as we work toward this goal. The 10-mile administrative
withdrawal is a good first step.
I look forward to working with members of the Committee and
the Department of the Interior to continue to achieve landscape
level protection for the Greater Chaco landscape.
[Speaking Native language.]
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Atencio follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mario P. Atencio, Vice-President of Torreon/
Starlake Chapter of the Navajo Nation Government
Good afternoon Chair Stauber, Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez, and
members of the subcommittee. My name is Mario Atencio and I am a
citizen of the Navajo Nation. I serve as the Vice-President of the
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter in Northwestern New Mexico, which is in the
Greater Chaco Landscape. Chapters are the local unit Navajo Nation
Government. My family owns an Indian Allotment in the heart of this
landscape, just on the edge of the 10-mile administrative withdrawal of
federal lands recently implemented by Secretary Haaland.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today in opposition to
House Resolution 4374, and in strong support of Secretary Haaland's
actions to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape through the Honoring
Chaco Initiative, of which the 10-mile mineral withdrawal is a crucial
first step.
I. Harms of Oil and Gas Extraction
My family and I have deep spiritual and cultural connections to the
lands surrounding our home. But over the years, especially in the last
decade with the introduction of industrialized fracking, we have seen
our lands and environment become deeply degraded by oil and gas
pollution. There are nearly 40,000 wells across the Greater Chaco
Landscape. The vast majority of federal lands are already leased for
extraction. Our family lands in Torreon and Counselor are surrounded by
fracking sites, pipelines, and other oil and gas infrastructure. The
roads have been torn up by oil and gas traffic. During inclement
weather, poor road conditions often prevent community members from
traveling safely to school, work, and medical appointments. The air
quality has become hazardous, smelly, and difficult to bear, and in
some areas pollution levels exceed federal air quality standards.\1\
Vegetation, animals, and medicinal plants are disappearing. I worry
about how these changes are cumulatively affecting the health and
wellbeing of my family and my community, especially the young, the
elderly, and the most vulnerable among us.
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\1\ Tsosie D, Benally H, Seamster T, et al. 2021. ``A Cultural
Spiritual and Health Impact Assessment of Oil Drilling Operations in
the Navajo Nation Area of Counselor, Torreon and Ojo Encino chapters''.
July 15, 2021. Available at: http://nmhep.org/wpcontent/uploads/FINAL-
HIA-KBHIS-06-52-2021-00-copy1.pdf.; American Lung Association. 2023.
``Report Card: New Mexico''. https://www.lung.org/research/sota/city-
rankings/states/new-mexico
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A study published by the Counselor Health Impact Assessment--K'e
Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee and approved by the Navajo Nation
Human Research Review Board found that Navajo residents in Counselor
Chapter are exposed to dangerous levels of hazardous air pollutants,
and that almost all residents surveyed reported health symptoms
consistent with exposure to oil and gas pollution. For example, over
90% of residents suffer from a sore throat and sinus problems, while
80% reported coughs, headaches, itching or burning eyes, joint pain,
fatigue, and sleep disturbance.\2\ As Dine people, we are tied to these
lands. For many of us there is no option to ``move away'' from the
pollution, because that would entail an unbearable loss of cultural
identity, and would disrupt our ability to pass on cultural traditions
to future generations.
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\2\ Tsosie et al. 2021; Atencio et al. 2022. Federal Statutes and
Environmental Justice in the Navajo Nation: The Case of Fracking in the
Greater Chaco Region. American Journal of Public Health. 112, 116-123,
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306562
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My family and many members of our community practice traditional
cultural and spiritual ways that reference significant sacred sites in
our homelands of Dinetah, within the Greater Chaco Landscape. We make
pilgrimages that consist of traditional offerings and prayers to sacred
mountains and sites in Dinetah. These areas are known to have
historically supported medicinal plants and ceremonial herbs that today
are threatened by oil and gas drilling. Medicine People and elders in
my community have noted the gradual disappearance of these plants, as
well as the degradation of the air and important lines of sight across
the landscape. Oil and gas pollution and the destruction of sacred
places in the Greater Chaco Landscape directly harms my and my
relatives' ways of life, including our holistic wellness and our
ability to continue our spiritual and cultural lifeways as Dine people.
The visual, olfactory, and auditory disturbances caused by oil and gas
extraction--including pipeline and road construction, traffic, ground
disturbance, air pollution, and the physical presence of oil and gas
infrastructure on the landscape--cumulatively alter the experience of
being in my homelands and negatively affect my and my family's
connection to place, culture, and tradition.
In February 2019, my family's allotment land and water in Counselor
was contaminated by a massive 42,000-gallon toxic liquid waste and
12,500-gallon crude oil spill at a fracking site operated by Enduring
Resources.\3\ Neither my family nor our Chapter community were notified
of this spill by state or federal agencies or by Enduring. We were
never made whole after our land, water, and livestock were poisoned by
this toxic spill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Atencio et al. v State of New Mexico et al., D-101-CV-2023-
01038, (N.M. May 10, 2023); lte Environmental, inc. ``Report of Final
Sampling & Closure Request: neu 315, Release Response api 30-043-21888,
NMOCD Incident ncs1905249442, Sandoval County, New Mexico.'' 077919003.
Prepared for Enduring Resources, 2019.
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Toxic spills like the one that devastated my family's land in 2019
happen at an average of 4 times per day in New Mexico.\4\ These
incidents illustrate why actions to protect land and people from oil
and gas pollution, like Secretary Haaland's Public Land Order 7293, are
critical. The administrative withdrawal is a step toward ensuring the
integrity of numerous sacred sites and places, and toward protecting
the health and wellbeing of communities living on the frontlines of
extraction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See New Mexico Oil Conservation Division data or Center for
Western Priorities. ``2022 New Mexico Spills''. Available at https://
westernpriorities.org/resource/2022-new-mexico-spills/
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It is crucial to understand that Dine citizens of the Greater Chaco
region have been voicing concerns about the impacts of oil and gas
extraction for decades. Secretary Haaland's historic Honoring Chaco
Initiative is the outcome of long-standing advocacy from Tribes,
Pueblos, Navajo Chapters, impacted community members, and allied groups
to protect this cherished place. These efforts have deep roots. The
most recent wave of advocacy began in response to the introduction of
multi-stage, high-pressure, high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking)
in the Greater Chaco Landscape. To provide further context for my
support of the 10-mile mineral withdrawal, I will briefly review the
history of Tribal engagement to protect the landscape from fracking
under the federal oil and gas program, at the individual level, the
level of Chapter House Government, and at the government-to-government
consultation level.
II. History of Inter-Tribal Advocacy in Support of Greater Chaco
Protections
Dinetah, in the heart of the Greater Chaco Landscape, is the place
of emergence of the Dine people. Dine people have lived in Dinetah
since time immemorial, caring for the land as instructed by the Holy
People. After Dine people were forcibly removed from our lands and
imprisoned by the U.S. government from 1863-1868, we returned to a
newly established Treaty reservation. Years later, the lands in Dinetah
became Navajo Trust Land and part of the Navajo Reservation as it was
extended through President Roosevelt's Executive Orders 709 and 744.
However, through subsequent Executive Orders and processes of Indian
allotment, homesteading, railroading grants, and New Mexico statehood,
our Dine homelands were taken away again and out of trust status,
transforming this region into a ``checkerboard'' of land statuses,
including federal, state, private, tribal trust, and tribal allotment
land.\5\
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\5\ Redhouse, John. 1984. The Leasing of Dinetah: An Eastern Navajo
Odyssey. Roots of Navajo Relocation Series. Albuquerque, New Mexico:
Redhouse/Wright Productions; See Navajo Nation Council resolutions CJY-
66-97 (1997), CMY-23-88 (1988) CAP-11-11 (2011), CO-47-12 (2012), and
ENLC Resolution ENLCF-01-10 (2010); Grant, Silas. 2022. ``Chess or
Checkers? Fracking in Greater Chaco''. In Rensink, Brenden (Ed). The
North American West in the Twenty-First Century. University of Nebraska
Press.
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The Navajo Nation Council was first established by the U.S.
government in 1923 for the purpose of approving oil leases in the
Greater Chaco region after oil was discovered there in 1921.\6\ Before
the imposition of the United States, the traditional government was
mostly local and based on kinship. Today, the basic unit of local
government in the Navajo Nation is the Chapter, each with its own
Chapter House. The Chapter system was created in 1922, and there are
currently 110 local chapters, each of which is able to meet in their
respective Chapter House to express concerns to their Navajo Nation
Council Delegate. The legislative branch of Dine government, the Tribal
Council, consists of 24 Delegates, who represent the 110 Chapters. The
Office of the President was created in 1991. Despite what opponents of
the withdrawal might argue, the Navajo Nation government structure is
multifaceted and the executive office is not the only expression of
Dine community power and opinion. My Chapter, Torreon/Star Lake, is
directly in the zone impacted by oil and gas development. It is with
that lens that I explain the decade of support for Greater Chaco
protections.
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\6\ Chamberlain, Kathleen. 2000. Under Sacred Ground: A History of
Navajo Oil, 1922-1982. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New
Mexico Press.
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The current Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management
Plan (RMP) for the Farmington Field Office in the Greater Chaco
Landscape was finalized in 2003.\7\ A Resource Management Plan is the
federal land management blueprint for a particular region, and the 2003
Farmington Field Office RMP covered a large part of the Greater Chaco
Region. The 2003 RMP foresaw the potential for up to 10,000 new wells,
but explicitly stated that fracking was not a technologically or
economically viable option for the region. However, by 2010, the first
horizontally fracked well was drilled in the Farmington Field Office to
extract oil from the Mancos shale. The Mancos shale is richest in oil
in and around Dine communities living near Chaco Culture National
Historical Park. Soon, hundreds more wells were drilled. As fracking
encroached across the landscape, our Eastern Dine communities were
devastated by what former Navajo Nation Council Delegate Daniel Tso
aptly describes as a ``tsunami of fracking''.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ The most recent RMP for the Rio Puerco Field Office, south of
the Farmington Field Office and also part of the Greater Chaco
Landscape, is from 1992. It does not account for any oil and gas
activity.
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In 2013, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council, which is made up of
thirty-one Navajo Chapters, passed a resolution calling for a
moratorium on new fracking activities within Eastern Navajo Agency,
because the BLM had yet to analyze and disclose the impacts of fracking
in the area.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Resolution No. ENAC 12-2013-03.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2014, the BLM admitted it had failed to fully analyze or address
the impacts of fracking in its 2003 RMP, and said it would prepare
Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement
(RMPA-EIS) to analyze new oil and gas activities in the area.\9\ The
Bureau of Indian Affairs joined BLM as a co-leading agency in the RMPA-
EIS process in 2016. To this day, nearly ten years later, the RMPA-EIS
has not been finalized, but BLM has continued to approve new fracking
across the landscape.
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\9\ Federal Register, Vol.79, No. 37, Tuesday, February 25, 2014;
Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 204. Friday, October 21, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beginning in 2015, the Navajo Nation Chapters of Counselor, Ojo
Encino, and Torreon/Star-Lake, and other Chapters in Eastern Navajo
Agency, passed numerous resolutions attesting that federal agencies
have failed to consult with local Dine communities about oil and gas
extraction, and have demanded a moratorium on new development until BLM
and BIA complete and finalize the Mancos-Gallup RMPA-EIS. These
Chapters have further submitted comments and protests in response to
multiple BLM oil and gas lease sales that would affect their lands.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See for example the Resolution of Torreon Star Lake Chapter
passed on March 9, 2015; Counselor Chapter Resolution passed on March
10, 2015; and Ojo Encino Chapter Resolution 03-09-15/002 passed on
March 9, 2015.
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Also in 2015, the All Pueblo Council of Governors, which is a
Pueblo leadership organization and political entity composed of 20
Pueblo Governors of the sovereign Pueblo Nations of New Mexico and
Texas, passed a resolution supporting the protection of Chaco Canyon
and all traditional cultural properties and sacred sites affiliated
with Chaco Canyon.
In 2016, the Dine Medicine Man Association and the Dine Hataalii
Association, a nonprofit organization comprised of over 200 Dine
medicine men and women from across the Navajo Reservation that exists
to protect, preserve, and promote the Dine cultural wisdom, spiritual
practice, and ceremonial knowledge for present and future generations,
passed resolutions affirming the importance of the Greater Chaco
region, where Dine communities were negatively impacted by hydraulic
fracturing, and requesting an inter-agency field hearing to investigate
these impacts. Both bodies also called for United Nations observers to
come to Dinetah to record violations of the rights of Indigenous
peoples caused by fracking in the region.\11\
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\11\ See OLC-7-01. http://www.dineresourcesandinfocenter.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/02/0025-17.pdf
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In December 2016, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council, representing
all 31 Chapters in Eastern Navajo Agency, passed a resolution ``in
opposition to further approvals of federal fluid mineral leases,
federal oil/gas related projects, and related environmental analysis
approvals by Bureau of Land Management within or impacting Navajo
Nation Eastern Agency areas and communities''.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ Eastern Navajo Agency Council BLM Resolution. Resolution No.
ENAC 12-2016-03. Attached.
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In February 2017, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and Vice
President Johnathan Nez wrote to the BLM Farmington Field Office
requesting that BLM ``place a moratorium on fracking-related activities
such as multi-stage hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling and
lease sales and permit approvals in the Mancos Shale/Gallup formation
in the greater Chaco area until such as time as the amendment to the
resource management plan is completed and an environmental impact
statement is finalized''. This request was made out of concern that
increased drilling was ``interrupting the daily lives of Navajo people
who live in the Navajo Nation Chapters such as Counselor, Nageezi,
Torreon and Ojo Encino''.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Begaye, Russel, and Jonathan Nez. 2017. ``Re: Concerns
Regarding Chaco Canyon Cultural Historic Park,'' February 6, 2017.
https://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NN-
Moratorium-request-2017-02-23-.pdf
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Days later, the All Pueblo Council of Governors and Navajo Nation
President and Vice President held a historic meeting in which they
issued a joint statement opposing horizontal fracking in the Greater
Chaco region.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Navajo-Hopi Observer. 2017. ``Fracking and drilling near Chaco
Canyon challenged by Begaye, Nez''. Navajo-Hopi Observer. February 28,
2017. Accessed July 8, 2023. https://www.nhonews.com/news/2017/feb/28/
fracking-and-drilling-near-chaco-canyon-challenged/
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Shortly thereafter, in 2017, the National Congress of American
Indians passed a resolution supporting a moratorium on leasing and
drilling in the region.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Riley, Kurt, 2017, ``To Support Moratorium on Leasing and
Permitting In Greater Chaco Region.'' Resolution,Cultural Protection &
NAGPRA, Milwaukee: National Congress of American Indians, http://
www.ncai.org/resources/resolutions/to-support-moratorium-on-leasing-
and-permitting-in-greater-chacoregion
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Throughout 2018, Navajo Nation Chapters in the Greater Chaco region
and Pueblo governments continued to protest BLM oil and gas lease
sales. In March 2018, then Interior Secretary Zinke deferred an oil and
gas lease sale in the Greater Chaco landscape in response to protests
from Tribes, Pueblos, and advocates. Zinke cited the need to further
analyze over 5,000 cultural sites in the leasing area, underscoring the
irreplaceable value of the landscape.\16\
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\16\ United States Bureau of Land Management, 2018, ``BLM Defers
Oil and Gas Lease Sale in New Mexico,'' March 2,https://www.blm.gov/
press-release/blm-defers-oil-and-gas-lease-sale-parcels-new-mexico.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In February 2019, Counselor Chapter passed a resolution supporting
federal legislation that would withdraw federal minerals from future
oil and gas leasing within 10-miles of Chaco Culture National
Historical Park.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ Resolution of Counselor Chapter, #COUN-2019-02-001. Attached.
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In March 2019, the All Pueblo Council of Governors and the Navajo
Nation Office of the President and Vice President held a second
historic summit to support protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape,
where the sovereign governments announced their support of the Chaco
Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which would withdrawal federal
minerals from future leasing within approximately 10 miles of Chaco
Culture National Historical Park.\18\
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\18\ All Pueblo Council of Governors, 2019, ``Tribal Leaders Host
Historic Summit to Support the Protection of the Greater Chaco
Landscape,'' https://www.apcg.org/uncategorized/historic-joint-
convening-betweenthe-all-pueblo-council-of-governors-and-navajo-nation-
2019/.
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A month later, in April 2019, the House Natural Resources Committee
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an Oversight Field
Hearing on ``Oil and Gas Development: Impacts on Air Pollution and
Sacred Sites'' during which I joined members of the Committee on a
visit to Chaco Culture National Historical Park and a tour of nearby
oil and gas sites. The following day, the Committee heard testimony
from Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer in support of withdrawing
federal minerals within 10-miles of Chaco Park ``to support the
continuance of our cultural practices vital to our present
identity''.\19\ The Committee also heard support for the mineral
withdrawal from several other distinguished witnesses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ Lizer, Myron. 2019. Testimony of Navajo Nation Vice President
Myron Lizer for the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Field
Hearing on, ``Oil and Gas Development: Impacts on Air Pollution and
Sacred Sites.'' Santa Fe. https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-
congress/house-event/LC63888/text?s=1&r=21410
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In a joint effort between the New Mexico State Land Office,
Pueblos, Tribes, and local communities, the State of New Mexico
Commissioner of Public Lands issued Executive Order 2019-002
``Moratorium on New Oil and Gas Mineral Leasing in the Greater Chaco
Area''. Signed on April 27, 2019, this action placed a moratorium on
new oil and gas leasing on state trust lands within the same area as
the federal 10-mile mineral withdrawal.\20\
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\20\ New Mexico State Land Office Executive Order No. 2019-002,
``Moratorium on New Oil and Gas and Mineral Leasing in Greater Chaco
Area'', April 27, 2019. https://www.nmstatelands.org/wp-content/
uploads/2019/06/SLO_EO-2019-002.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In May 2019, then Interior Secretary Bernhardt committed to defer
for one year any new oil and gas leasing within 10-miles of Chaco
Culture National Historical Park during a visit to the Park with
Senator Martin Heinrich.\21\ This de facto moratorium on new federal
leasing within 10-miles of the Park has remained in place and was
recently codified through Public Land Order 7923.
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\21\ Streater, Scott. 2019. ``Bernhardt Commits to Leasing
Moratorium Near Chaco Canyon''. E&E News. https://
www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/bernhardt-commits-to-
leasing-moratorium-near-chaco-canyon
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In December 2019, Torreon/StarLake Chapter passed a resolution
supporting a 10-mile administrative withdrawal of federal lands from
future mineral leasing surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical
Park.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ TSL #12/2019-35, passed December 8, 2019. Attached.
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In response to requests from Tribes and Pueblos, the Fiscal Year
2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill
included a $1 million appropriation to fund an ethnographic study for
Tribes to identify culturally important sites within the Greater Chaco
Landscape.\23\ This money was allocated by Congress to the Chaco
Heritage Tribal Association (CHTA), comprising Pueblos of Acoma, Jemez,
Laguna, and Zuni, and the Hopi Tribe, with support from the Pueblos of
San Felipe, Santa Clara, Tesuque, and Zia and the blessing of the All
Pueblo Council of Governors; and to the Navajo Nation. In FY21
additional funds were appropriated in the omnibus spending bill to
allow both the Navajo Nation and the CHTA to complete their work. CHTA
was allocated an additional $600,000.\24\
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\23\ Office of Senator Tom Udall. 2019. ``NM Delegation Secures
Protections for Chaco Canyon Area in Government Funding Bill''. KRWG.
December 19, 2019. https://www.krwg.org/post/nm-delegation-secures-
protections-chaco-canyon-area-government-funding-bill
\24\ Vallo, Brian. 2021. Written testimony of Brian Vallo, Governor
of the Pueblo of Acoma for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee.''The Department of the Interior's Onshore Oil and Gas
Leasing Program'' oversight hearing--April 27, 2021. 2021. Available
at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/0F06A226-45A5-
423EA5FF-14271D3BFA14.
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The Navajo Nation's ethnographic report was completed in September
2022. Volume II, ``Navajo Religion and Chaco Canyon: An Ethnographic
Report Based on Hataalii Interviews'' finds that for Navajo people
``Chaco Canyon is where all the ceremonies came together'' (38). As the
report describes, Hataalii, or Navajo ceremonialists, are the ``primary
knowledge-keepers of the history and practice of ceremonies and sacred
places'' (43). The Hataalii interviewed impart the immense significance
of the Chaco area for Navajo people. The Greater Chaco region is,
according to the Hataalii, an area worthy of protection.
In 2021, during the Biden-Harris administration's first White House
Tribal Nations Summit, President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Deb
Haaland announced steps to protect Chaco Canyon and the greater
connected landscape by initiating the process for a 20-year moratorium
on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands within a 10-miles of Chaco
Culture National Historical Park.\25\ The Secretary also announced the
``Honoring Chaco Initiative'', a ``regional conversation among BLM
field offices, BIA, and interested Tribes, Pueblos, and other Tribal
interests in the Greater Chaco area to develop a broader cultural
approach to all land management decisions across the Greater Chaco
Landscape''.\26\
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\25\ United States Department of the Interior. 2021. `` Secretary
Haaland Announces Steps to Establish Protections for Culturally
Significant Chaco Canyon Landscape''. November 15, 2021. https://
www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-announces-steps-establish-
protections-culturally-significant-chaco
\26\ United States Bureau of Land Management. 2023. ``Honoring
Chaco Initiative''. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://www.blm.gov/
honoringchacoinitiative
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In January 2022, BLM initiated an Environmental Assessment (EA)
process to evaluate the impacts of the proposed mineral withdrawal.
During the EA process, BLM reviewed 16,715 comments in total,
expressing a variety of opinions about the withdrawal, including many
comments from Dine organizations, Chapter Houses, and Pueblos
supporting the buffer zone and asking for the BLM to go beyond the 10-
mile zone to embrace a holistic approach to protecting the sacred
landscape.\27\ The EA was published in November 2022. Secretary Haaland
announced the mineral withdrawal on June 2, 2023.
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\27\ United States Bureau of Land Management. 2023. ``Proposed
Chaco Area Withdrawal Area Environmental Assessment (EA) Public Comment
Response Report''. BLM Farmington Field Office. https://
eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/2016892/200507928/20080198/250086380/
20230 604_ChacoWithdrawal_CommRespRept.pdf
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III. Honoring Chaco Initiative: An Opportunity to Work Toward Economic
and Environmental Justice for the Future of Greater Chaco
Today you will hear that withdrawing federal minerals from future
mineral leasing around Chaco Culture National Historical Park will
decrease domestic energy production and cause financial losses for Dine
families who hold shares in Indian allotments within the withdrawal
area. I encourage members of the Committee to think critically about
the terms in which this debate has been framed. The question before us
today is fundamentally one of which actions will support an
economically and environmentally just future for the people of the
Greater Chaco region, and what does that future look like? I posit that
the only way for this region to move forward toward economic and
environmental justice for Dine people and other Indigenous relatives
who hold this place sacred is to break free from the legacy of being
treated like a national energy sacrifice zone.\28\
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\28\ See Energy Policy Project of the Ford Foundation. 2014. A Time
to Choose: America's Energy Future. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing
Company, 1974; Our Story: The Indigenous Led Fight to Protect Greater
Chaco. Directed by Daniel Tso and Michael Ramsey. 48 minutes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Environmental Assessment on the proposed Chaco area withdrawal
completed in 2022 (DOI-BLM-NM-F010-2022-0011) showed that the
withdrawal will only result in an approximate 0.5 percent reduction in
annual gas production and an approximate 2.5 percent reduction in
annual oil production in the San Juan Basin. The impact on the region's
fossil fuel production is thus minimal. Indeed, more needs to be done
to reduce oil and gas pollution in the Greater Chaco region to protect
public health and the climate. New Mexico is particularly vulnerable to
climate harms, and within our state Indigenous peoples are
disproportionately impacted by rising temperatures, stressed
vegetation, arid soils, and increasing drought. The 2023 United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Synthesis Report
found that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing fossil fuel
infrastructure would exceed the remaining budget for a 1.5+C global
warming scenario. In order to preserve a chance of limiting planetary
warming to 1.5+C, there can be no new fossil fuel infrastructure, and
existing extraction must be rapidly phased out. Secretary Haaland's
Honoring Chaco Initiative provides an opportunity to address the
cumulative harms of fossil fuels in the Greater Chaco region, and to
develop co-management approaches so that Dine people and our relatives
may thrive in this landscape. As we work toward this goal, the 10-mile
administrative withdrawal is a good first step.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Dine homelands in Greater
Chaco were violently stolen and then reorganized into a checkerboard
pattern of federal, state, private, tribal trust, and tribal allotment
parcels.\29\ The General Allotment Act of 1887 is widely recognized as
a settler colonial tool used to dispossess Indigenous peoples of their
collective land base. Across the United States, allotment was used to
take 90 million acres of Indigenous lands out of Tribal control and
ownership.\30\ The same is true in Dinetah. The fragmentation of
Eastern Dine lands through allotment and the fractionation of
allotments over the years has posed significant challenges to the self-
determination of our communities. Approximately 4,000 allotments were
patented to Dine individuals between 1906 and 1934, with about 3,900 of
those tracts located in northwestern New Mexico and the rest in
Arizona. These parcels cover over 750,000 acres of land with over
40,000 known co-owners.\31\ Dine allottees are numerous and, like the
citizens of any nation, hold differing views. What unites us is our
ties to Dine Bikeyah.
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\29\ See Navajo Nation Council resolutions CJY-66-97 (1997), CMY-
23-88 (1988) CAP-11-11 (2011), CO-47-12 (2012), and ENLC Resolution
ENLCF-01-10 (2010); Grant, Silas. 2022. ``Chess or Checkers? Fracking
in Greater Chaco''. In Rensink, Brenden (Ed). The North American West
in the Twenty-First Century. University of Nebraska Press.
\30\ Guzman, Kathleen. 2000. ``Give or Take an Acre: Property Norms
and the Indian Land Consolidation Act.'' Iowa Law Review 85.
\31\ See ``Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments: And To Permit
The Leasing of Oil and Gas Rights on Navajo Allotted Lands''. U.S.
Congress Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. S. HRG 106-282. Statement
of Shenan Atcitty, Nordhaus Law Firm, for the Shii Shi Keyah
Association. November 4, 1999
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After the forced, genocidal long walk of the Dine, Hweeldih, from
1863-1868, Dine people attempted to return to their traditional
kinship-based form of government and social organization.\32\ Still,
the federal government was not satisfied, and forced the reorganization
of the Navajo government in order for oil and gas industries to have
enforceable contracts--just two years after the discovery of oil in the
region. That same federal government continues to operate oil and gas
leases to this day, under the same claim of title. Dine Bikeyah has
been used as a sacrifice zone to meet the needs of the federal
government for the last hundred years--sometimes for uranium, sometimes
for oil and gas, and it is Dine workers and community members who pay
the price. Bear in mind that while the proponents of H.R. 4374 will
argue that the federal government will lose revenue, at this very
moment, there are over 20 wells operating within a mile of Lybrook
Elementary School, where Dine children are being exposed to hazardous
air pollutants while they play at recess--all to perpetuate the federal
oil and gas program. Future generations are already shouldering a
century-old tradition in Navajoland of being poisoned, with the
blessing of the federal government, to prop up an industry that takes
its profits elsewhere. It is past time for the extraction in this
sacred place to end.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ Todacheene, Heidi. 2014. ``She Saves Us From Monsters: The
Navajo Creation Story and Modern Tribal Justice''. Tribal Law Journal.
Volume 15. Article 2. 30.66. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/
viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=tlj
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As an elected Tribal leader and heir to an allotment, I care deeply
about the wellness of all my fellow community members in the Greater
Chaco region. Growing up in this region, I have seen that the ongoing
legacies of settler colonialism and unfettered extraction have not
benefited our communities. Instead, our region has an approximate 40%
unemployment rate and about 40% of people live below the poverty
line.\33\ For some of our community members, these conditions can
produce an impossible choice between extraction and economic survival.
Some allotment holders, including members of my family, receive royalty
payments from leased allotments. The withdrawal will not affect
existing leases and payments, but may, for a very small percentage of
parcels, affect future leasability.\34\ The Honoring Chaco Initiative
provides an opportunity to reject the false choice that our communities
have been forced into between extraction and economic prosperity and to
instead develop remedies for all allotment owners whose economic
futures will be affected as we take the necessary steps to transition
away from dependence on fossil fuels that puts our health, sacred
places, and planet at risk. For example, through the Honoring Chaco
Initiative, Tribes, Pueblos, and Indigenous stakeholders can
collaborate with Interior to develop federally-funded compensation
plans to support allotment holders who could potentially lose mineral
revenue.\35\ Through the Honoring Chaco Initiative, we can also
collaborate to support the development of other economic opportunities
for which our region is well suited, including solar and wind energy,
small businesses, and tourism.
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\33\ Morales, Laurel. 2019. ``On the Navajo Nation, 5,000 Workers
Dependent On A Federal Paycheck.'' National Public Radio, January 12,
2019, sec. Weekend Edition; Nez, Jonathan. 2020. U.S. House Energy and
Commerce Committee Hearing; Addressing the Urgent Needs of Our Tribal
Communities, Testimony by Jonathan Nez, President, Navajo Nation.
Congressional Documents and Publications. (July 8, 2020).
\34\ In its Environmental Assessment of the proposed withdrawal,
BLM found that ``overall, 50, or just over 4 percent, of the unleased
1,165 allotments [within the withdrawal area] analyzed may see a high
or moderate impact on future leaseability. An additional 36 unleased
allotments (approximately 3 percent) may see low, but real, impacts on
future leaseability. The proposed withdrawal will likely not adversely
affect the vast majority (over 92 percent) with respect to real
leaseability.''
\35\ There is precedence for compensation of this kind through the
Mescal v. United States (1983) settlement agreement, a case in which
allotment owners in the Greater Chaco region sued the U.S. Government
for rightful title to the mineral estate. 79 of 2,500 allotments at
issue in this case were already encumbered by existing leases that had
illegally been issued by the United States. The settlement created a
fund out of which money was disbursed to allottees whose lands were
already encumbered.
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IV. Oppose H.R. 4374 and Support Environmental Justice for Greater
Chaco
As stated, there is a long and rich history of engagement from
local Navajo Chapters, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council, the Navajo
Nation, and the All Pueblo Council of Governors in support of
protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape. The mineral withdrawal around
Chaco Park is a first step toward realizing the protections that are
needed for the land and the people. As we continue along this path, we
must center the needs of those directly impacted, including Dine
allotment owners, so that we may achieve environmental and economic
justice for the region, and finally put an end to the era of sacrifice
zones.
As an elected Tribal leader and allotment shareholder, I envision a
future in which Eastern Dine communities can thrive in harmony and
balance with our lands. Crucial to that future is access to more
economic opportunities, and support in working toward a just and
equitable transition. I am committed to helping our communities achieve
that future, and I welcome you to join us.
I look forward to working with members of this Committee and with
the Department of the Interior to continue to achieve landscape-level
protections for the Greater Chaco region through the Honoring Chaco
Initiative. I urge you to oppose House Resolution 4374 so that we can
get to work.
I am happy to provide copies of any of the cited documents. The
following are attached to my testimony:
1. Eastern Navajo Agency Council BLM Resolution, ENAC 12-2016-03--
Opposing further approvals of federal fluid mineral leases
and oil and gas related projects within Eastern Navajo
communities.
2. Torreon/Starlake Chapter Resolution #12/2019-35--Supporting a 10-
mile federal withdrawal
3. Counselor Chapter Resolution #COUN 2019-02-001--Supporting a 10-
mile federal mineral withdrawal
*****
ATTACHMENTS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Questions Submitted for the Record to Mario Atencio, Vice President,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter
Questions Submitted by Representative Westerman
Question 1. You're a board member of Dine C.A.R.E. Looking at your
organization's website and other sources online it's not clear how it
is funded. A lot of groups disclose that online or in IRS filings, and
we find that transparency is beneficial when groups are advocating on
public policies like Interior's land withdrawal.
1a) Where does Dine C.A.R.E. derive its funding?
1b) Does Dine C.A.R.E. receive money from other outside
organizations, particularly from environmental non-profit groups?
1c) If so, can you tell us which organizations help support Dine
C.A.R.E. financially?
Answer. I am not currently a board member of Dine Citizens Against
Ruining our Environment's (C.A.R.E.) and I do not have the information
you seek.
Question 2. Do you or any of your direct family members hold
allotments or receive royalty payments from energy production?
Answer. Yes. However, my father did not sign the federal oil and
gas lease. Due to federal individual Indian land tenure regulations a
simple majority is all that is needed to approve a lease on individual
Indian allotted lands.
Questions Submitted by Representative Grijalva
Question 1. Mr. Atencio, from your understanding, will current
royalty payments from Navajo Allottees impacted by Public Land Order
No. 7923?
Answer. It is my understanding that royalty payments will not be
impacted by Public Land Order No. 7923. My father has informed me he
did receive the June and July 2023 royalty payments without any issue.
Question 2. Mr. Atencio, what do you think would be the long-term
impacts on the Navajo people and their heritage if oil and gas
development were to continue unchecked around Chaco Canyon?
Answer. I think continued unchecked oil and gas development has
already deeply impacted the Navajo people and their heritage. We see
that the decade of local legislative opposition to oil and gas
development on public lands point to a considered position that oil and
gas development has had significant disruption to the physical and
spiritual health of the people. Continued unchecked oil and gas
development will compound the current impacts and cause irreparable
community spiritual/environmental health impacts. Future spills, like
the spill on my father's land, would burden an unknown number of future
generations with the horrendous task of trying to clean up/reclaim the
damage caused by oil and gas production across our landscape, and they
will know that we had a chance to take reasonable action to protect
them from harm yet we failed to do so.
______
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much.
We now recognize Ms. Hesuse for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF DELORA HESUSE, NAVAJO TRIBAL MEMBER AND ALLOTTEE,
NAGEEZI CHAPTER, NEW MEXICO
Ms. Hesuse. Good afternoon, Chairman Westerman, Ranking
Member Grijalva, Chairman Stauber, and Ranking Member Ocasio-
Cortez, Navajo Nation Nygren, and members of the Subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to bring voice to those
Navajo tribal members who, like me, have had our sole means of
modest income from oil and gas payments from our Indian
allotted mineral interests de facto stripped away by Public
Land Order 7923, the Chaco 10-mile buffer withdrawal. This was
despite the strong and consistent opposition of the allottees
and our Tribal Nation, the Navajo Nation.
In 2019, I came before another Subcommittee on behalf of
many allottees who signed petitions in 2018 to oppose any
buffer around the already-protected Chaco Culture National
Historical Park. Later, in early 2020, the Navajo Nation, with
the support of the allottees, proposed a compromise 5-mile
buffer. In 2021, the Navajo Nation met with Members of Congress
to encourage the compromise.
When Secretary Haaland came into office, she promised to
listen to the Indian Country and give us a stronger role in
decisions affecting our lives. But she did not listen. She did
not listen to our lofty voices. She did not consult with us or
with the Navajo Nation on our proposed 5-mile compromise.
Secretary Haaland instead issued the PLO that withdrew the
Federal minerals necessary to the development of our allottee
minerals.
The Navajo Nation and the allottees now are united in their
opposition of any buffer zone around the park. That is why we
testify today in support of H.R. 4374.
I am Delora Hesuse, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, Nageezi
Chapter. My chapter is in the Greater Chaco Region, and near
the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. My grandmother was
a councilwoman for Nageezi Chapter for 8 years, and my father
was a Navajo Nation Council delegate for Nageezi Chapter for 20
years. Like my parents and my grandparents before me, I have
worked with our community to help neighbors, other allottees
who often do not speak or read English, to understand the oil
and gas development on their properties, and ensure that they
get good terms for their leasing.
I have participated alongside other Navajo allottees in
many dozens of environmental review meetings and planning
processes over decades. We are very active and careful about
how we use our land and develop our oil and gas, and make sure
that we get regular water testing, and nothing is built on any
traditional sites.
I frequently go out to the well sites to watch when the
companies perform air and water quality testing or other work
so that I can see for myself what is being done, and ensure the
interests of our community are respected.
Many people don't understand our Navajo American heritage,
and the fact that many individual Navajo Nation members such as
I, called allottees, own private lands and minerals underneath
them. Many years ago, the Federal Government passed a law that
gave my ancestors an allotment of land and minerals and
restricted fee title to own and pass down to their family
members.
Many allottees have family ties to specific land dating
back to at least the early 20th century, if not the late 1880s.
These lands were given to our great-great-grandparents in
exchange for citizenship. We have rights as citizens and
landowners to develop our lands for oil and gas as we see fit.
This is a steadfast property right that sustains our
livelihoods and way of life.
In 2015 alone, the Federal Indian Mineral Office
distributed $96 million to 20,835 allottees. This is hugely
important because our area is very poor, and families still do
not have electricity or running water. Our elderlies rely on
this money to feed their grandchildren and livestock.
I know for a fact that allottees' families have sent their
children to school on royalty money. I have seen it. Some of
them are now doctors and engineers. Other families have built
businesses, including a very successful construction business.
Oil and gas development always provides jobs for many of my
neighbors and relatives, and many are out of work because
leases and drilling permits are not being approved.
The Public Land Order strains Navajo allottees and minerals
make any new development impossible. More than 100 families in
our community have leases that they negotiated and signed for
the property, but have not been approved by the Federal
Government. Many of these people live in small trailers without
electricity or basic necessities, and they call and text me
every day asking me to find out what is happening with their
leases.
This withdrawal is the end of their hopes because their
land is tightly checkerboarded and mixed with Federal lands
that have been withdrawn. It cannot be developed alone. If you
take out the Federal minerals, you can see you cannot reach the
tribal and allotted minerals. The Federal oil and gas are mixed
with and gathering lines with other infrastructures cross
Federal lands. It does not matter if the Department of the
Interior says its existing rights are not subject to the
buffer. This is wrong. This is an obvious fact of oil and gas
production.
The buffer is a significant taking of hundreds of millions
of dollars of property from the allottees, property that the
United States is supposed to protect us as trustees, not to
block off for our own purpose.
I, too, care deeply about Chaco culture heritage, but there
is no oil and gas within 6 miles of Chaco Culture National
Historical Park. Artifacts that may be outside the park are
protected by BLM through the National Historic Preservation
Action.
I urge the Committee to pass this bill. I, and 20 other
thousand Navajo allottees, have no idea how we will make ends
meet if you don't. And I would like to thank you for the
opportunity to testify today.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Hesuse follows:]
Prepared Statement of Delora Hesuse, Navajo Indian Allottee, Nageezi
Chapter
Chairman Stauber, Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to bring voice to those
Navajo tribal members who, like me, have had our sole means of modest
income--oil and gas payments from our Indian allotted mineral
interests--de facto stripped away by Public Land Order 7923, the Chaco
ten-mile buffer withdrawal. This was despite the strong and consistent
opposition of the Allottees and our tribal Nation, the Navajo Nation,
to the withdrawal of a ten-mile buffer surrounding the Chaco Culture
National Historic Park first proposed in legislation, then in a land
use plan and finally a PLO.
In 2019, I came before another subcommittee, on behalf of the many
Allottees who signed petitions in 2018, to oppose any buffer around the
already protected Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Later in early
2020, the Navajo Nation, with the support of the Allottees, proposed a
compromise five-mile buffer. In 2021, the Navajo Nation met with
Members of Congress to encourage the compromise.
When Secretary Haaland came into office, she promised to listen to
Indian Country and give us a stronger role in decisions affecting our
lives. But she did not listen to our Allottee voices, she did not
consult with us or with the Navajo Nation on our proposed five-mile
compromise. Secretary Haaland instead issued the PLO that withdraws the
federal minerals necessary to the development of our allottee minerals.
The Navajo Nation and the allottees now are united in their opposition
to any buffer around the Park. That is why we testify today in support
of H.R. 4374.
I am Delora Hesuse, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, Nageezi
Chapter. My chapter is in the Greater Chaco region and near the Chaco
Culture National Historic Park. My grandmother was a Councilwoman for
the Nageezi Chapter for eight years, and my father was a Navajo Nation
Council Delegate for the Nageezi Chapter for twenty years. Like my
parents and grandparents before me, I have worked with our community to
help my neighbors, the other Allottees, who often do not speak or read
English, to understand the oil and gas development on their properties
and ensure that they get good terms for their leases. I have
participated alongside other Navajo Allottees in many dozens of
environmental review meetings and planning processes over decades. We
are very active and careful about how use our land and develop our oil
and gas and make sure that we get regular water testing and that
nothing is built on any traditional sites. I frequently go out to the
well sites to watch when the companies perform air and water quality
testing or other work, so that I can see for myself what is being done
and ensure that the interests of our community are respected.
We have sought and achieved balance in development, in accord with
our Navajo language and culture, working closely with industry partners
who listen to us and respond to any community concerns because they are
part of our community.
Many people don't understand our Native American heritage and the
fact that many individual Navajo Nation members such as I, called
Allottees, own private lands and the minerals underneath them. Many
years ago, the federal government passed a law that gave my ancestors
an allotment of land and minerals in restricted fee title to own and
pass down to their family members. Many Allottees have family ties to
specific land dating back to at least the early 20th century if not the
late 1880s. These lands were given to our great, great grandparents in
exchange for citizenship, and we have rights as citizens and landowners
to develop our lands for oil and gas as we see fit. This is a steadfast
property right that sustains our livelihoods and way of life.
H.R. 4374 would correct a wrong--PLO 7923--that puts many of our
mineral rights off limits and stops a much-needed source of income to
feed, shelter, clothe and protect our families. I'm not exaggerating
the importance of this income.
In 2015 alone, the Federal Indian Minerals Office distributed $96
million to 20,835 Allottees. This is hugely important, because our area
is very poor, and many families still do not have electricity or
running water. Our elderly rely on this money to feed their
grandchildren and livestock. I know for a fact that allottee families
have sent their children to school on this royalty money. I have seen
it. Some of them are now doctors and engineers. Other families have
built businesses, including a very successful construction business.
Oil and gas development also provides jobs for many of my neighbors and
relatives, and many are out of work because leases and drilling permits
are not being approved.
The Public Land Order strands the Navajo Allottees and our
minerals, making ANY new development impossible. More than a hundred
families in our community have leases that they negotiated and signed
for their property but that have not been approved by the federal
government. Many of these people are living in small trailers, without
electricity or basic necessities, and they call and text me every day
asking me to find out what is happening with their leases.
This withdrawal is the end of their hopes. Because their land is
tightly checkerboarded and mixed with federal land that has been
withdrawn, it cannot be developed alone. If you take out the federal
minerals, you can see you cannot reach the Tribal and Allottee
minerals. The federal oil and gas are mixed with ours, and the
gathering lines and other infrastructure cross federal land. It does
not matter if the Department of the Interior says existing rights are
not subject to the buffer--this is wrong. This is an obvious fact of
oil and gas production. The buffer is a significant taking of hundreds
of millions of dollars of property from the Allottees, property that
the United States is supposed to protect as a trustee, not to block off
for its own purposes.
Our future revenue loss could be as much as $200 million, although
we do not know the exact number because it depends on the oil prices
and the quality of the wells. In the BLM EA, BLM claims only 47 future
wells will be eliminated by the withdrawal, but the company analysis
instead shows 233 wells would be prevented. This is a significant
impact to our livelihood--without federal oil and gas royalty income,
we do not know how we will be able to survive.
I testify today in support of H.R. 4374 as a community member, a
grandmother, and someone who cares for others, especially our elders,
who are very scared right now because they struggle to understand the
impacts of the Public Land Order.
I too care deeply about the Chaco cultural heritage. After all, I'm
a Navajo who lives right in the Greater Chaco region. But the Chaco
Culture National Historic Park already protects the Great Houses.
Artifacts that may be outside the Park are protected by BLM through the
National Historic Preservation Act. Any development of my minerals and
the minerals of other Allottees is done in strict accordance with the
Preservation Act, to make sure they are protected. Not only do we
insist upon it, but that is the law of the land. The Secretary's Trust
responsibility to Allottees is also the law of the land. But she
ignored that responsibility to us.
I urge the Committee to pass this bill. I and 20,000 other Navajo
Allottees have no idea how we will make ends meet if you don't.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to Delora Hesuse, Navajo Tribal
Member and Allottee, Nageezi Chapter
Questions Submitted by Representative Westerman
Question 1. Deputy Director Culver's testimony states that the
withdrawal ``does not affect existing leases, nor does it apply to
minerals owned by private, State, or Tribal entities.''
1a) I want to make sure the record is clear; will this withdrawal
prevent allottees from developing their minerals?
Answer. Yes. It prevents the Allottees who wish to develop their
unleased minerals. We need other lands (Federal BLM lands and state
lands) to develop horizontal drilling and fracturing. There are many
Allottees who have sought out leases and negotiated leases but have not
been able to get them approved because BLM has been sitting on their
applications for more than a decade. Some of these families live
without running water and electricity and all of them have many serious
needs. These people have been very active in trying to find ways to
earn a living on their lands and have negotiated good economic terms,
but they cannot start receiving royalties because the leases and
federal units are not approved.
You need to understand that it is not just the withdrawal, BLM has
stopped approving anything, even lines we need for our household
utilities. Nobody understands how much this official federal policy is
and how much it is confusion and delay. The people we used to work with
at the BLM have stopped talking to us openly and telling us what is
going on. You can see that they are under a lot of pressure.
Question 2. In Mr. Atencio's testimony, he says that the region has
an approximate 40% unemployment rate and about 40% of people live below
the poverty line.
2a) How will BLM's withdrawal impact these economic metrics--will
it result in more unemployment and more folks living below the poverty
line?
Answer. The withdrawal will only increase the amount of
unemployment and poverty. Many of our neighbors who worked for the oil
and gas companies are out of work. I recently attended a meeting on
June 6, 2023, in Farmington and Aztec wells services said 100 of his
employees, mostly Navajos were laid off and nobody could tell them when
they would be able to return to work. Due to only I application being
approved in the last week.
In our public comments, we told BLM that the Eastern Navajo Agency,
which encompasses Navajo communities in Northern New Mexico, remain one
of the least economically developed places in the United States. The
Navajo Nation has an official poverty rate of 40.5 percent and a median
household income of just $26,862. See Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis, Navajo Nation Reservation Profile, available at
https:www.minneapolisfed.org/indiancountry/resource/reservation-
profiles/navajo-nation-reservation (accessed December 2, 2022).
Economic conditions are even bleaker in the Eastern Navajo Agency,
where the undersigned allottees--all enrolled citizens of the Nation--
eke out a living on allotted lands allocated to their forebearers by
the Federal Government as a modest consolation for removing the entire
region form what used to be Navajo Indian Reservation
(``Reservation''). Plaintiffs now seek to eviscerate the chief
remaining source of economic benefit from the Navajo Allottee's limited
landholdings: oil and gas revenue.
The Nageezi Chapter, a unit of local government adjacent to the
Withdrawal area, the Navajo Times reported in 2013 that 30 percent of
households lack electricity. Cindy Yurth, The Orphan on the
Checkerboard, THE NAVAJO TIMES (April 9, 2013), http://
navajotirnes.com/news/chupters/050913hue.php. The neighboring Huerfano
Chapter is only accessible by unpaved roads. Id. ``the chapter does
sport 15 churches, 2 [Bureau of Indian Education] boarding schools, a
clinic, and at 90 square miles it's so large it hosts 2 land boards, 2
fire stations and 2 transfer stations.'' Id.
Question 3. Deputy Director Culver's testimony states that the
BLM's analysis found that the withdrawal would improve the ``quality of
life of local communities from the reduction of development of Federal
minerals in this area.''
3a) Will this withdrawal improve your quality of life and the
quality of life for the other allottees?
Answer. No. it will not improve our quality of life. It will only
make it difficult to feed our families and improve our communities and
to get roads, electricity and running water. This oil and gas field has
been in operation for fifty years, and nobody ever say any negative
effects until outside groups began to campaign against it. Our air and
water are tested regularly so we would know if there were problems
caused by oil and gas.
The withdrawal will not even protect Chaco Canyon. It is the
tourists that are destroying the Great House. They trample over
everything and litter and drive their cars up and down the canyon only
a few feet from the ruins. I have family members who work for the park,
and everyone there understands that if we really wanted to protect the
Park we would restrict public access, not oil rigs operation five miles
away. In Canyon de Chelly, which is managed by the Navajo Nation in
cooperation with the Park Service, nobody is allowed to hike through
the ruins except in small groups under the supervision of an official
guide. If the public was serious about protecting Chaco, it would
impose similar restrictions there, but they don't because that would
interfere with their lives instead of ours.
______
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much.
Before we get to Members' questions, I will be asking
unanimous consent that the two gentlewomen from New Mexico,
Representative Stansbury and Leger Fernandez, be able to
participate in today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
The Chair will now recognize Mr. Crane for 5 minutes of
questioning.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
President Nygren, how does it make you feel when you hear
Members in this chamber recognize the sovereignty of the Navajo
Nation only when it is convenient? How does that make you feel,
Mr. President?
Mr. Nygren. As President of the Navajo Nation, one of the
most important things that I live by every single day is
protecting the Treaty of 1868 and its best interests of the
people in the communities.
I know that Navajo people are very diverse. We are all over
the country, and there are 200,000 of us that live on the
reservation. But when you hear that it is only when it is
convenient, it is a little frustrating. Tribal sovereignty
shouldn't be a convenience, it should be something that we live
by. There are laws. There are ways of working with tribes.
And as mentioned earlier in my testimony, working together,
coming up with a collective solution, and making sure that we
don't leave people behind, and I feel like that is my No. 1
important role as President, and I really, truly believe that
the people that elected me this past year were people that are
very poor, people in tough conditions, single mothers,
grandparents that are raising their grandkids, people without
jobs, and people that don't even have enough money to go to the
laundromat.
And I think about that every single day, so when I hear
that, it is tough. It is a tough pill to swallow because it is
a long road to get where we want to get.
Mr. Crane. Yes. Ms. Hesuse, would you agree? Does it bother
you to hear Members in this chamber and other Members talk
about the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation only when it is
convenient, but then they are more than happy to boss you all
around and tell you how you can use your natural resources?
I can tell you guys something. Many of the individuals on
this panel don't share the same political affiliation that I
do. I am a Republican, yet I represent many people, many of the
Native people that identify as Democrats. But I can tell you
one thing we have in common. I don't like to see this corrupt,
often corrupt, overreaching, overbearing, irresponsible
government tell any of my constituents or any of the American
people what they can and cannot do, especially when it goes
against their council, their presidency, the people that they
elected to represent them. And that is something that I want.
Mr. Atencio, do you believe in the sovereignty of the
Navajo Nation?
Mr. Atencio. Mr. Crane, as a local elected official, I do.
Mr. Crane. OK. Thank you, sir. So, here is the thing, Mr.
Atencio, and I respect your opinion. I can tell that you
researched, you know what you have, you have a solid opinion.
But this is my counsel to everybody in here. This swings
both ways, OK? If you allow this government to come in and tell
you what you can do with the buffer zone around Chaco Canyon,
then don't complain when they come in and tell you something
else. It is either you are sovereign or you are not. You guys
have a president, you guys have an elected council. If the
people that elected these individuals, these elected officials,
wanted a buffer zone, they would have a buffer zone. OK? And
that is not even to mention the $200 million that it is going
to cost citizens and tribal members on the Navajo Nation. That
is a lot of money.
I remember going to meet President Nygren in my home state,
and I remember driving around the reservation, and I noticed
there was a lot of poverty there. So, that $200 on the Navajo
Nation, that is going to mean a lot more than it would in
Prescott, or Sedona, or Flagstaff, other areas that I
represent.
And here is the thing. I want to say this, as well. I have
noticed this since I have been representing the Navajo people.
It is not just with this Chaco Canyon buffer zone, Ms. Culver.
Multiple times we have reached out to the Department of the
Interior to ask about gravel pits. This is a big issue for the
Navajo Nation. They want to be able to use their own gravel
pits so that they can repair their own roads. Guess how many
responses we have received from the Department of the Interior,
Ms. Culver? Zero.
They don't listen to me. You guys clearly aren't listening
to the President and the Council of the Navajo Nation. Who
exactly are you listening to, Ms. Culver?
Ms. Culver. We are listening to the public. We are
consulting with tribes, and we are engaging in extensive
outreach and engagement with all of the many Americans for whom
we steward the public lands.
Mr. Crane. Well, that is hard to believe when you can't
even respond to their Congressional Representative.
Thank you, I yield back.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much. The Chair now recognizes
the Ranking Member, Representative Ocasio-Cortez, for 5
minutes.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you so much.
I would be remiss without mentioning with some of the
comments just shared that we have heard Native governments
across this country stand up against the Keystone XL Pipeline,
the Dakota Access Pipeline, that stood up against being
poisoned by industry and having their lands defiled. And we see
Members of Congress also try to overturn the will of people
here. This is not something that is new, and it speaks to the
deep historical harm that the U.S. Government and history of
the U.S. Government has with Native people, which is a deeper
issue that we all must address.
And, in fact, I would like to dig into the record of oil
and gas companies operating in this area. Ms. Ashland, in Mr.
Atencio's written testimony, he mentions that your company,
Enduring Resources, spilled over 40,000 gallons of toxic
fracking slurry mixed with crude oil onto his family's
allotment near Chaco Canyon. Do you dispute this fact?
Ms. Ashland. Enduring Resources has informed me that the
spill did not occur on Mr. Atencio's allotment. It did occur.
There was a spill in 2019. It was about 300 barrels of oil and
about 1,000 barrels of water. It was cleaned up immediately,
and it was----
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. So, the spill did occur?
Ms. Ashland. The spill occurred. It was in the middle of
February, and it was the result of a frozen pipe.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. But you dispute that it touched Mr.
Atencio's allotment.
Ms. Ashland. I have been told that it did not.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Mr. Atencio, was this spill on your
allotment?
Mr. Atencio. Yes, my father's allotment.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. OK, thank you.
Ms. Ashland, did Enduring Resources pay any fines for
impacts to land or water from that spill? Just a simple yes or
no.
Ms. Ashland. No.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. No? So, the company did not pay any
fines for the impact of that spill.
Mr. Atencio, did your family or your chapter ever hear at
all from Enduring Resources about this spill?
Mr. Atencio. Ranking Member, no. We have yet to receive any
formal response from Enduring Resources.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. And I think this is something that
speaks to a pattern that we have seen in front of this
Committee.
To be clear, the kinds of pollution from that spill and a
spill of that magnitude is profound, with highly noxious,
hazardous air pollutants and methane that either leaked
inadvertently or are vented or flared by operators. I have seen
it in person. I have seen families burn when they breathe in
some of this air.
And, in fact, so much methane spills out of industrial
vents in the region that the methane cloud over New Mexico is
now visible from space. We see this, and it happens not just in
this instance but in many others where I have brought this
point in front of this Committee, that people deserve to know
if they are being poisoned, whether it is by accident or
whether it is by any other process. And they are not being
informed. They are not being told.
The CDC also tells us that exposure to these pollutants can
cause significant long-term health damage.
Mr. Atencio, since the 2019 spill, have Enduring Resources
or other oil and gas companies taken any steps to notify nearby
communities of methane leaks, oil spills, or other incidents?
Mr. Atencio. No.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. And as Enduring Resources started
building the infrastructure necessary to produce fossil fuels
in the community, were you ever informed of the risks
associated with these plants?
Mr. Atencio. No.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. One thing I do want to speak to is the
very real economic harm and injustice associated with this
issue, because Native people and Indigenous communities have
been abused, and have not been respected. And in stripping
everything away, we now are in an economic hostage situation
where people feel like the only opportunity and that the only
source is to acquiesce to oil and gas.
And the answer to that is not to revert back, in my view,
not to revert back to that, but to invest and reinvest in these
communities, particularly where there is harm being done,
particularly where there is disinvestment being done. And if
families are being impacted in these allotments, they deserve
economic restitution.
And President Nygren, I understand that the Navajo Nation
has taken a position on the 10-mile withdrawal. But that aside,
are there other steps the Federal Government can take to better
support the Navajo Nation through an energy transition?
Mr. Nygren. Thank you, Honorable Cortez, I really
appreciate that question.
One of the things I want to say is, I was hoping that those
discussions were going to happen this year. I did not even know
about the announcement or anything from the Secretary. But my
hope was that we were going to have these discussions so that
we can come up with a collective solution. Because in Arizona
we had probably the biggest, cleanest coal-fired plant, NGS,
that was decommissioned and now doesn't exist anymore. The
promise was solar fields down the road, but now nothing exists
and people are out of jobs. There are no royalties, there are
no taxes.
So, I truly agree with having a transition plan that is
equitable, and that plan was never presented. To me, it was
just a decision that was made, and that was one of the reasons
why we completely opposed this, there was no compromise, there
were no alternative forms of how can we make this community
thrive, alternative forms of energy. That wasn't presented, so
that was one of the reasons why the Navajo Nation Council
issued their resolution, and I made that statement, was how do
we help these people? Because as the Navajo Nation President,
the government wasn't affected. Less than 1 percent of those
royalties come to the Navajo Nation. So, to me, as the
President, I wasn't affected. But to the allottees, they felt
like they were hit with a trash can, and I was splashed with
water.
So, that is where I completely agree with you, is that we
have to think about the people that are in those tough
situations that have to make those tough scenarios is how do we
open the doors so that they can seek other alternative forms of
funding. So, thank you for asking that.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you, President Nygren. My hope is
that we can work together as a Committee to address some of
these injustices, including considering solar royalties for
some of these communities. Thank you.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much. I will now recognize
myself for 5 minutes.
Ms. Ashland, just to be clear, I wanted to make sure the
record was clear on the spill that occurred in 2019. Has
Enduring conducted clean-up efforts at the site?
Ms. Ashland. Yes, immediately.
Mr. Stauber. And I would like to submit for the record an
e-mail from the EPA Region 9 certifying that the cleanup is
complete, and that conditions have been ``been restored to pre-
disturbance functionality.''
Ms. Ashland, what kind of outreach does Enduring do for
allottee outreach?
Ms. Ashland. Enduring is always happy to offer to show
allottees around the plants, the facilities, explaining all the
operations. We get phone calls all the time from allottees with
questions, and I personally have answered many of those calls
over the years that I have worked with Enduring. We try to be
as responsive as possible.
We are planning a listening session with the local chapter
that would be basically a presentation of our operations and
facilities and how they work, and the safeguards that we take
to protect the air, and water, and soil around us.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Ms. Hesuse, what kind of outreach do the allottees receive
from Enduring?
Ms. Hesuse. Thank you, Chair. Yes, they do. They do an
outreach. And a matter of fact, we were on the verge of getting
another outreach. So, we have been having outreach, and there
is another company. Before Enduring it was WPX. So, a lot of
the allottees got their information. And if the allottees want
more, they will go and seek it.
I had four uncles that don't speak English, and they asked
me, ``Delora, is there a way that we can get, we don't
understand what the flaring is. We don't understand it, the
process of it.'' So, when another company came out to the gym,
we sat them down, my uncles. So, now they have a clarification
of what the flaring is, so they are at ease.
So, I just wanted to make that statement. They are
educating themselves. They are asking questions. Thank you.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you.
President Nygren, I wanted to begin by letting you know I
share your frustration. It is unacceptable that the Biden
administration has not properly consulted you and other members
of the Navajo Nation throughout this entire withdrawal process.
When issuing mineral withdrawals and arbitrarily pulling
permits for important mining projects in my district in
northern Minnesota, the Biden administration completely ignored
the needs and desires of the local communities. Following the
Navajo Nation Council's passage of the resolution opposing a
buffer zone around Chaco Canyon and the letter that you and
Speaker Curley submitted to the Biden administration, what kind
of response did you receive?
Mr. Nygren. We didn't get a response until I personally saw
it on the news that there was a 10-mile buffer zone. And to me
it was very shocking because I saw her a month earlier, and I
have seen her multiple times over the past 6 months prior to
the announcement. So, to me it was very shocking that our
voices weren't being heard. And it made it seem like, as the
Navajo Nation President, who is elected by all 110 chapters,
all 400,000 people, that your voice is not being honored. So,
it was very disheartening when I heard the news on the radio.
But other than that, one of the things I do want to say is
that, to me, what is important is tribal sovereignty, tribal
consultation. Let's talk about it. Let's sit down before we
make harsh decisions that will impact people now. We shouldn't
make those types of decisions. These are decisions, as I
mentioned earlier, it is very minimal to the Navajo Nation, but
it is very highly impacting the allottees, and those peoples'
livelihoods should have been considered because living in
poverty is not fun. Having no money for laundry, having no
money for gas, or not knowing how you are going to pay for
resources, $20,000 might not seem a lot, but $20,000 is feeding
multiple families on a daily basis. Thank you.
Mr. Stauber. I think it is really egregious that you were
notified via a television newscast, that you were notified not
directly from the Bureau. And that is the concerning thing.
For me, it is frustrating, as I told you what happened to
us in northeastern Minnesota. The local communities support the
mining projects because it is about jobs and the economy, the
best environmental standards, best labor standards. And it
sounds like you heard it from a local newscast. It was almost
like they felt they didn't have to notify you in person. And,
in fact, it sounds like they didn't even consult you and talk
about the decision and have that compromise that you had talked
about. And for that I am sorry that you and the allottees had
to go through that. It is unacceptable.
My time is up, and the next individual is going to be
Representative Leger Fernandez for 5 minutes.
Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and President
Nygren, Ms. Hesuse, and Chapter Vice President, yatahey. I
don't do it very well. Buenas tardes. Thank you so much for
joining us.
Congress and this Committee work best when tribal voices
echo through the halls, even when those tribal voices are
raising perhaps distinct issues. And Ms. Hesuse, I agree with
you. It is not right that Navajo allottees don't have that
infrastructure. And I can tell you we have started to change
that. In the last 2 years, we have authorized billions of
dollars for Indian Country and Navajo for investments in roads,
water, electricity, and broadband.
Last month, I had the honor of being on Navajo land to
celebrate more than $300 million that I helped secure for the
Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project. Thank you so much,
President Nygren, for testifying yesterday in support of my and
Senator Lujan's bill to fully fund that project. We need to get
water to everybody's home on Navajo.
And what we are also looking at is, as we invest in Indian
Country, we must also safeguard the places that have unmatched
cultural significance to our Indigenous communities that are
managed by the Federal Government, because that is what we are
talking about is Federal lands here. We really need to honor
the historical ties, the love, the sacredness they hold.
And thank you, President Nygren, for your testimony about
Navajo leadership on protecting sacred sites.
I was a very young attorney, and we worked on protecting
Zuni Salt Lake. I know Navajo was part of that coalition
because of its importance to you and the Pueblos. Mount Taylor,
Navajo Laguna Acoma successfully added it as a historic
cultural property. Where else had that been done? And that was
because of its importance to Dine and the Pueblo people.
And we celebrated and are grateful for the leadership of
the Navajo Tribes, Zuni, and all the others to safeguard Bears
Ears, which will now be co-managed by the tribes who hold it
most sacred. That is how it needs to be done. And Bears Ears is
a living cultural landscape, as you have taught us, similar to
what you have taught us about the Greater Chaco Region, which
you in your testimony, as well, President Nygren, as well as
Vice President Atencio pointed out.
And in each of these areas for protection, our job is to
listen to the experts because we don't know, we are not there,
we are not Navajo, we are not Pueblo, we are not Zuni. It is
the experts or the Indigenous people themselves who hold these
lands to be sacred, who know they are living places.
And, yes, I know it is hard because in each of these
instances there are the competing issues of mineral extraction,
oil and gas, gravel, what be it. And we need to look at those,
and it is not easy. Those decisions are not easy because they
do affect resource development. They do affect money coming in
for everybody.
What I believe is important is honoring that which is
invaluable, that which can never be replaced, that which is
spiritual and sacred to those who tell us what are the most
important places, because it is not everywhere, right? There
are places that are appropriate to be developed. And that is
why I oppose this bill today, even though I know it is a hard
decision, and that there are many different voices on it.
Tribal leaders, Pueblo, NCAI, and Navajo Pueblo people have
written to Congress for decades in support of this withdrawal.
And I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record this
testimony, as well as I know we have in the record the Navajo
Nation Council decision.
President Nygren and Ms. Hesuse, I really do appreciate you
sharing those concerns. I did receive feedback from allottees.
Unfortunately, it was in Zoom. It is never as good as being out
on the reservation.
And President Nygren, you and I have had these
conversations about what can we do, how can we find those
solutions to move forward? President Nygren, I hope you are
going to continue to work with us on this. What are some of the
biggest issues that you think, as Congress, we must address to
address the poverty that you described?
Mr. Nygren. Thank you, Congresswoman. I really do
appreciate that, and it is always good to see you.
I think one of the things, as I mentioned earlier, is that
before we make harsh decisions, we have to make sure there is a
plan in place. And I am glad that you asked that. And I think
that is very critical to look at the area. I know that within
the Chaco area it is very unique. As I mentioned earlier,
Navajo has been protecting Chaco for hundreds of years, and we
have been there, and our clans and everything stemmed from
there.
But in terms of trying to transition, I think one of the
things I think about is we really have to look at, I know
people have talked about farming, people have talked about
solar, people have talked about alternative forms of solutions.
But those solutions were not brought to the table when this
order came in. And my hope was that we were going to actually
put something on paper so that we can use that as a guiding
principle before this public order was issued. But to me, I
just feel like we have to come back to the table.
And I am sorry that you are opposing it, but we will
continue to work on it, and hopefully come up with a solution
so that people that are in poverty, let's try to help them,
empower them so that their children in the future can be self-
sufficient and one day stand on their own two feet. I am all
about that, so I look forward to working with you.
Ms. Leger Fernandez. We are going to be a good team and
working on that, and I will submit some additional questions
for the record. Vice Chair President Atencio, I didn't get to
you, so thank you very much.
My time is expired. I yield back.
Dr. Gosar [presiding]. Did the gentlelady from New Mexico
have something to submit for the record?
Ms. Leger Fernandez. Oh, yes, I did.
Dr. Gosar. Without objection, so ordered.
The gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Fulcher, is recognized.
Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And to the panelists,
thank you for being here and providing some insight. It really
is appreciated, and I can relate to a lot of the dialogue here
today.
Mr. Chairman, we are discussing again a situation where the
Bureau of Land Management has decided to not listen to
constituents, and that is the case when it comes to our Federal
lands, as well as our tribal lands, and that is a topic that I
have raised with Ms. Culver before, and with other officials
within BLM. We know that all too well in my home state of
Idaho. We have 12 million acres of BLM-managed lands. And not
only are the issues with BLM present here, but they will soon
be exacerbated with this new BLM public land rule that is
underway.
And President Nygren, in your written testimony, you
mentioned the BLM's withdrawal of approximately 336,000 acres
of Federal land in the Chaco Culture National Park. You noted
that the objections of the Navajo Nation were ignored. And I
have that same kind of situation in my home state of Idaho,
when the BLM would not hold public hearings on this public land
rule that I referenced. And I believe that has happened in
other regions, as well.
I am going to ask you, President Nygren, and also try to
get Ms. Ashland's input on this. But first of all, do you feel
like the Navajo Nation has been heard on this?
And I think I know the answer. But the second part of this
question, and what I am going to also ask of Ms. Ashland is, on
this withdrawal, regarding the resources, how much wealth are
we talking about here? Can you quantify that in any way?
First of all, were you heard? Secondly, can you quantify
the wealth of the resources that are part of this withdrawal?
Mr. Nygren. Thank you, Congressman, for asking that
question.
As mentioned earlier, as President of the Navajo Nation,
the voice of the Navajo people and the Navajo Nation Council,
the legislative body united behind this effort opposing the 10-
mile buffer zone, no, we weren't heard. Hearing it on the news
firsthand as the President of Navajo Nation is, obviously, you
are not being heard.
As mentioned earlier, it is a tough scenario to where you
feel like you are representing the poorest of the poor, and
when you are trying to bring people out of poverty, trying to
provide them opportunities, if you are going to take a job from
somebody or money from somebody, you should have a plan to
replace it. And in this case, that plan wasn't provided, which,
to me, is very disrespectful.
And at the same time, one of the things that we forget to
think about is Chaco is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, and
the Navajo Nation has been protecting Chaco for hundreds of
years. Chaco would not be where it is today if Navajo people
didn't live there, didn't protect that, didn't have ceremonies,
didn't honor it. So, for people to question how we feel about
Chaco is very disrespectful to us. We have been doing it for
hundreds of years. And as I mentioned in my testimony, and into
the future and forever we will continue to protect Chaco
because Chaco sits within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation.
And the only part was you are taking money from poor
people, so how do you replace that opportunity?
Mr. Fulcher. You are saying there is the cultural wealth,
but there is also the natural resource wealth.
Mr. Nygren. Yes.
Mr. Fulcher. And I understand the cultural piece, that
makes sense. The natural resource piece, do you have any input
on what is there?
Mr. Nygren. I think Ms. Ashland mentioned that in her
testimony.
Mr. Fulcher. Ms. Ashland, with your expertise as a
consultant, perhaps you can add some light to that.
Ms. Ashland. Yes. Enduring has calculated that if 233
Mancos wells were drilled, over 86 million barrels of oil and
25.85 Bcf of natural gas could be produced; 19 percent of that
would be Navajo, the remaining would be mostly Federal. Based
on a royalty rate of 16.66 percent, the combined royalties
foregone by just the Federal Government and the allottees would
be $51,122,997 per year for a total of over $1 billion for the
20-year withdrawal. The foregone royalties for the Navajo
allottees' tracks alone would be $194,267,390 over the 20-year
withdrawal.
Mr. Fulcher. Thank you for that, Ms. Ashland and Mr.
President.
This is a property rights issue that we are dealing with.
And Ms. Culver, I have communicated with you before, and I want
to thank you for being here. This hasn't been pleasant for you,
and I hope you get some bonus pay for showing up in the place
of your director, because your director should be here. But at
least you are showing up. I hope that in some way, with one of
these hearings, you are at least getting the message we are not
being heard. So, I am saying that again with you directly and
on the record: We are not being heard. We are going to do
everything we can here to try to set things right with this
Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Dr. Gosar. I thank the gentleman. The gentleman from
Arizona, Mr. Grijalva, is recognized.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Director Culver, let me ask you for the record so that it
is available to all the Members. The consultation process with
the Navajo Nation, I mean, if that could be documented and
sent, as opposed to being verbally told to us today, and also
with other tribes, as you work through those discussions on the
buffer, the scope of it, and how big it was going to be, and
the reasons for it, I think it is important that be part of the
record. I think it is important that the Members know what that
level of engagement was, part of the Department with Tribal
Nations and with Indigenous groups in the area.
Now, having said that, what we have heard today, I think,
is the uncomfortable conflict and dealing with the issues of
economics, primarily, and dealing with the very fundamental
issue of Chaco Canyon and its long and its perpetual
protection. They are not supposed to conflict, but they do. And
I think, unfortunately, this conflict is also ripe for a lot of
hypocrisy and ripe for it in terms of how one feels or doesn't
feel about the issue of sovereignty. It is fertile for
hypocrisy from some of my colleagues.
But anyway, my point, Ms. Culver, talk about Chaco Canyon
as to one of the motivations to look at this whole study, to
look at the withdrawal, and if the withdrawal leaves to be
desired, that is, from my perspective, Mr. President, we are
appreciative and respectful that you are here. If the
consultation process relative to Navajo Nation leaves something
to be desired, then that is regrettable and should be remedied,
and I appreciate your comments.
But Ms. Culver, talk about why we got to the point of
having to deal with the buffer and the overall long-term
protection of Chaco Canyon. There are other reasons here.
Ms. Culver. Thank you so much for the question. The area
around Chaco has been focus of significant concern. As noted,
there has not been leasing in the Chaco area in the 10-mile
buffer for over a decade because this has been such a
consistent issue of the need for protection for these cultural
resources for the local communities. For the other resources of
this area, that this has been an ongoing issue.
And there is a reason that the BLM has not leased in this
area for over a decade across----
Mr. Grijalva. And who is responsible for the permit to do
the extraction on those lands?
Ms. Culver. On the Federal lands, the BLM manages them. On
the allotment lands, they are managed by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, who has continued to issue permits throughout the last
decade while there has not been leasing on the Federal lands.
And the BLM has also continued to issue permits, of course, on
the Federal lands.
Mr. Grijalva. OK, thank you.
Do I still have a little time, Mr. Gosar?
Dr. Gosar. Yes.
Mr. Grijalva. The other question, Mr. Atencio, I needed to
ask you the same thing. Chaco Canyon. I think it needs to be
explained in more than the limited way we have been explaining
it today. Why is it important, and why does that protection
need to be in perpetuity?
Mr. Atencio. Thank you for the question, Representative.
In the aforementioned Volume II Navajo Religion Chaco
Canyon, the congressionally-funded ethnographic report based on
medicine people interviews, is that they identify themselves as
the cultural experts, and they speak for everyone, meaning all
Navajos. And in there it says the greater Chaco landscape is
the frame in which, they say it must be protected.
Key incredibly sacred ceremonies are at the center core of
Navajo national identity. If you mess with the Enemy Way
Ceremony, you are messing with veterans and their behavioral
health. That is an incredibly sacred, incredibly damaging thing
to do to the veterans.
How that is going to work, that is probably esoteric in
nature to the Committee.
Mr. Grijalva. Yes.
Mr. Atencio. Thank you, Representative.
Mr. Grijalva. No, sometimes there are places, special
places that are bigger than many things. And I oppose this
legislation because it tries to minimize the significance of
the importance of our protection, and I think the issue of
respecting and consulting needs to be examined, and nobody
should be punished for this protection. And I hope that we can
do that goal. But this legislation is not it.
I yield back.
Dr. Gosar. I thank the gentleman. The gentleman from
Georgia, Mr. Collins, is recognized.
Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Director Culver, in addition to this Committee I serve as
the Chair of the Science, Space, and Technology Research
Subcommittee. And on that Committee we have been focusing on
how the United States can maintain a technological advantage
over China. And I am concerned that this Administration's track
record of blocking access to critical minerals, sources that
are here in the United States, in order to appease radical
environmental groups will lead to us losing to China. Where do
you propose we get these minerals from?
Ms. Culver. Thank you for that question.
The Administration is committed to ensuring supply chain
for critical minerals. The President has issued us that
direction, and we are evaluating it, including through an
interagency working group on mining, and we hope to share those
recommendations with you soon.
Mr. Collins. It sounds like you all want to keep getting
them from the Congo and using child labor.
I also visited a mine in Minnesota, the largest deposit of
cobalt and copper in the world. They are prohibited to mine it
because of your Administration. So, Deputy Director Culver, are
you trying to make us dependent on China for critical minerals?
Ms. Culver. The Administration is committed to ensuring
that the public lands do their part for critical minerals, as
well as ensuring that we have a reliable supply chain.
Mr. Collins. Mr. Chairman, I think it is the same answer
that we hear day in and day out when we have these Committee
hearings. It is over, and over, and over again when, in fact,
it is nothing but a socialistic agenda to push this country
into a woke social program, and make us dependent on China, and
not allow the people of the United States to mine their land
and provide critical minerals that we need in this country.
And I am finished. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Dr. Gosar. I thank the gentleman. The gentlewoman from New
Mexico, Ms. Stansbury, is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Stansbury. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
President Nygren, councilmembers, tribal leaders, and many,
many New Mexicans and members of the Navajo Nation that I see
in our audience and watching from home, I want to say welcome.
Thank you for joining us today. I am Melanie Stansbury, and I
represent New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, and I am
honored to be able to represent the people of our state and the
many Indigenous peoples who have walked this land since time
immemorial.
Chaco Canyon is a sacred place. For those of you who have
never been there before, you can stand on the mesa overlooking
Pueblo Bonito on a cold morning and see the ancient city walls,
the kivas, and the sacred sites that stretch out as far as the
eye can see. It is a place that is the ancestral home of the
Pueblo people. The Pueblo people are tied to this place through
their lineage, through their songs, through their prayers,
through their continued practice of culture and religion that
continues today.
The Dine people, many of whom are here today, this is also
their homeland. The people who live in this area, the people
who have traversed that land, who have worked on that land, and
who have prayed on that land since time immemorial, and, as
President Nygren himself said today, who have protected the
sacred sites of Chaco Canyon for generation after generation,
and support the continued protection of this sacred place.
So, it has been strange to me this morning to listen to
this hearing, to listen to folks who have probably never even
visited this place talk about a sacred site that has such deep
historical, cultural, and religious meaning to the people of
New Mexico and to the Indigenous people for whom this is their
homeland.
Beyond these spaces, the protection of Chaco Canyon is
supported by the vast majority of New Mexicans. In fact, over
75 percent of our state. And, of course, tribes across the
nation have weighed in in support of the protection of this
land. And that is why, Mr. Chairman, I have right here in my
hand 61 letters and statements in support of protecting Chaco
Canyon that I ask unanimous consent to submit to the record.
Dr. Gosar. Without objection, so ordered.
Ms. Stansbury. This includes 30 letters of support from
Navajo allottees who live in the Greater Chaco area: testimony
from Navajo Nation Vice President Lizer in 2019 stating that we
cannot go through another environmental disaster in the area;
from Navajo Nation President Begay in 2017 about his concerns
about drilling in the area and its impacts to the daily lives
of the Navajo people; from an allottee from the area who speaks
to these impacts, and the ways in which withdrawal supports
Pueblo and Dine solidarity; from the All Pueblo Council of
Governors supporting withdrawal and affirming its sacred
significance to both the Pueblo and the Navajo Nations; and
from our very own colleague, Congressman and Republican Ryan
Zinke, who, as Interior Secretary, deferred oil and gas leasing
on these lands because ``I have always said there are places
where it is appropriate to develop and where it is not,'' as it
was evident even to Secretary Zinke that this was one of the
places it was not.
So, you will excuse my cynicism about this hearing called
by our Republican colleagues to introduce a resolution that
would strip away the authority of the Administration to protect
these sacred lands. And as somebody who personally was born in
San Juan County, just up the road from Nageezi, who has
personally grown up visiting these places and hearing these
stories and working with the people of New Mexico, I have to
ask myself, why are we even holding this hearing? Why are we
holding this hearing?
I think it is evident that one of the star witnesses of the
Majority is, of course, the oil and gas company that has
drilling interests in this site and, in fact, as it has already
been established here today, the very same company that spilled
hundreds, thousands, we are not even sure how much, crude oil
in the Chaco area in 2019. And after their well exploded a few
days later, didn't even bother to call the families who were
impacted by it. Not only did they not call them, they did not
provide any sort of financial support or pay any kind of fines
for the aftermath of what occurred.
And those who are saying that this would somehow lock up
development in the area do not understand that this landscape
already has over 40,000 oil and gas wells in operation in it.
So, why are we having this hearing?
President Nygren, I am honored and grateful that you are
here with us today, and I had the opportunity to speak with you
yesterday, and I appreciate your comments of support in
protecting Chaco Canyon and finding a path forward to ensure
that we not only protect these lands.
And Ms. Hesuse, I do appreciate you so much coming to
share. I do appreciate that, and I know that many of the
allottees who are not able to have their voices spoken and
heard here today share many of the sentiments that have been
heard today in this hearing.
But I also think it is important to establish, as Director
Culver has stated, and which has not been stated in this room,
I think, sufficiently, that there has been years of tribal
consultation that has preceded this Administration withdrawal
and the legislative work that led to the introduction that all
five Members of the New Mexico Delegation did of a legislative
withdrawal of the 10-mile buffer. In fact, it dates back over
decades.
And it is not just a few activists. This is the Navajo
Nation itself who has been engaged in these consultations,
including both chapter leadership and previous administrations,
as well as notification to the current Administration. It does
include consultation with allottees, it does include
consultation with Indigenous groups, and it does include
extensive consultation with the 20 Pueblo Nations who are
represented by the All Pueblo Council of Governors. So, there
has been extensive work and consultation and representation and
appreciation for tribal sovereignty.
Finally, Mr. Atencio, I want to lift up your testimony
today because I think that it speaks to many of the voices that
were not heard in this hearing today and which are represented
by folks who are sitting behind you, and by the voices that are
in this packet of support letters that we provided today about
this false choice of unkept promises, not just today by the
current administration or previous administration, but the
false promises and the unkept promises by the U.S. Government
to the Navajo people, to the Pueblo people since the very
beginning.
So, let's protect Chaco Canyon. Let's find a path forward.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Dr. Gosar. I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico.
In both 2018 and 2019, the Department of the Interior
postponed two lease sales around Chaco Canyon in order to
gather further information about the surrounding area. I find
it very interesting that, despite the fact that both lease
sales were deferred, then-Congresswoman Haaland criticized the
Trump administration for failing to listen to the tribes. Here
we are, 4 years later, and now Secretary Haaland has taken
action to withdraw these lands without listening to tribal
voices. What a shame.
Ms. Culver, in Fiscal Year of 2020, the Department of the
Interior environment and related agencies appropriations bill
prevented the funds from being used to offer oil and gas
leasing on any Federal lands or minerals within the Chaco
Canyon area prior to the completion of a cultural resources
investigation, which the bill also provided funds for. We have
seen one of the reports, the Navajo Nation's report, but have
not seen the second report from the other tribes. Is that
report complete?
Ms. Culver. We expect that report to be submitted in the
near future. We have not yet received it.
Dr. Gosar. You have not received it.
Ms. Culver. No.
Dr. Gosar. That baffles me, but doesn't surprise me,
though, that the Department would move forward with such a
severe action without completing these investigations. It makes
it look like the decision to do a 10-mile buffer zone was pre-
determined, and that the public comment process was a check-
the-box exercise.
Did you consider either of these reports before moving
forward with the withdrawal?
Ms. Culver. We have considered what we have received to
date from both reports, as well as extensive input through
numerous consultations and meetings with tribes and allottees.
Dr. Gosar. So, the 61 individual complaints or people that
chose to levy their voices, right? Is that what we are talking
about? I just want to make sure we are talking about the right
thing.
Ms. Culver. During this process, which began before the
formal withdrawal process started in 2022, we held numerous
meetings with tribal leaders and with allottees, as well as
once the formal process started, as well as numerous
consultation meetings with just tribal leadership, and also
separately with allotment holders.
Dr. Gosar. Would it surprise you that I sent my staff out
there and I was out there, and that we talked to over 300
families of the allottees? Would that surprise you?
Ms. Culver. I am not quite sure how to respond to that,
Congressman. But if you went out there and spoke with people,
that is a wonderful thing.
Dr. Gosar. I actually did.
Ms. Culver. Great.
Dr. Gosar. And that is talking to people. That is not just
talking to anybody. That is talking to the people directly
affected by this.
Now, did you simply ignore the conclusion from the report,
which states ``Most of the Dine families within the buffer zone
do not want a buffer zone, and are pretty adamant about it. As
they stated, the Federal agencies and the Navajo Nation have
not sat down with the allottees to discuss this proposed 10-
mile buffer zone.''
So, if Congress appropriated money to do these ethnographic
studies to identify cultural sites, and you didn't even
consider them before making a decision, what is the question? I
mean, I don't get it. We allot money for all these decisions to
be made, and yet we don't see them. They are not responded to.
Something is wrong with this equation, big time. Once
again, my colleague from Arizona, Mr. Eli Crane, made the
comment. It is so convenient to be sovereign when you want to
be. Yet, it is inappropriate to be sovereign when you don't
want to be. Something is wrong with this equation here, and it
is bad. You ought to be at least consistent.
Would it also surprise you that Ben Ray Lujan, a gentleman
from this body, actually now sits with the U.S. Senate, we
actually had this debate back and forth for quite a while. He
actually gave in to an easement for these allottees. Never saw
it happen.
So, I find this very disrespectful, very disrespectful. I
saw the gentlewoman from New Mexico placate not only to the
President, but to others on this panel. That is so sad. That
would explain why we see so many of these other side issues
that we, oh, we will do this, we will do that.
I have one warning for you. Be careful of the Federal
Government bearing gifts. Be very, very careful.
Let me ask you another question to the whole panel. You are
going to be bought off with dollars? It seems to me like what
you would want is to be able to be able to work, to be able to
be proud. I find it very disingenuous that what they offered
was just money. Here is my last question to you, Ms. Culver,
and then to everyone on the list: Has the life span of the
Navajo gotten better or worse over the last 20 years?
You first, Ms. Culver.
Ms. Culver. I have not made my own personal study of that
issue. I know that we are trying to make decisions that support
the economic and personal health and welfare of----
Dr. Gosar. You obviously didn't do it here. You obviously
did not do it here. Did you?
Ms. Culver. I think we did.
Dr. Gosar. No, you didn't.
Ms. Culver. We took everyone's thoughts into account----
Dr. Gosar. I can tell you right now you didn't even look at
the second study because, as you said in your original
statement, it was not present.
President Nygren, has the life span of the Navajo gotten
better or worse over the last 20 years?
Mr. Nygren. Personally, I think that it has been tough, as
all of us know that when you live in impoverished conditions,
when you are trying to crawl out and make sure you bring your
people to the 21st century and get them out of third-world
country conditions, I know that it is a tough situation.
I know that the life span, I know that a lot of our elders
used to pass at 101, 102, late 90s, early hundreds. Now, you
hear of so many of our people passing away a lot earlier than
that. So, to me, a long time ago, when our people were self-
sufficient, they had sheep, they had cows, they were farmers,
they were entrepreneurial, and they had the authority to do
what they wanted to do within their communities, they were
strong people, strong, resilient people.
And that is one of the reasons why I am here today, is that
I am an Arizona, Utah Navajo. I have no interest in the New
Mexico Navajo side. But I know that those people are affected
dearly to the point to where their livelihoods are being in a
tough situation to make sure, as I mentioned earlier, $20,000
might not seem like a lot of money, but to them, they feed
families. They do what they can to help themselves so that they
can at least provide something.
And that has been my argument today, was there was no
consultation, there were no solutions provided. It would be a
different story here today if there was a solution provided
with the withdrawal that says, sure, there are economic
activities that might hurt the allottees, but here is the
solution, here is some money, here are some dollars, here are
ways of developing your Nation that will take you further into
helping yourself.
And I am glad that you asked that question about life span,
because the more you can provide for yourself and have
confidence and to really believe in yourself, you live a lot
longer. But in this case, you put poor people in tougher
situations, it is tough.
And I feel like, as the Navajo Nation President now, I am
the one that has to figure out that solution. I feel like I
have inherited this issue, and the only way to get it done is
through Congress or the Secretary to fix it. But in the
meantime, it is the problem of the Navajo Nation President and
the Navajo Nation Council that we have to come up with
alternative solutions. In the first place, we didn't create it,
but as the President, that is what I will do in the meantime,
is to figure out the problem that I have been given, and how do
we help those allottees become self-sufficient and self-
determined, just the way that they were. They were given oil
and gas leases in the 1900s. They made do with what they had,
and then now it was taken away. So, what is the solution?
I think that is what the core of a lot of this discussion
was. The allottees were not given a solution or alternatives to
making ends meet. So, thank you, Congressman.
Dr. Gosar. You are certainly welcome. I just want to end on
one last aspect.
I sat down with a number of the Navajo Nation in regards to
oil and gas, as well as what other perspectives they could
have. You brought up the NGS, Navajo Generating Station, and
how quickly that came down. Well, isn't it interesting that
there is a tribe in my district called the Walapai that sit
with a number of leases in regards to mining, and it actually
happens to be lithium. That was one of the connections I
actually had was, if you have some needs, why not work with the
Walapai?
But I guess I can't do that because this Administration
won't tell us where we would actually mine lithium. They would
much rather do it in the Congo with child labor than they would
actually doing it anywhere else. That is sad. I am very
disappointed in this hearing today.
I thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony and the
Members for their questions.
The members of the Subcommittee may have some additional
questions for the witnesses, and we will ask you to respond to
these in writing. Under Committee Rule 3, members of the
Committee must submit questions to the Committee Clerk by 5
p.m. on Monday, June 19. The hearing record will be held open
for 10 business days for their responses.
If there is no further business, without objection, the
Committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[ADDITIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD]
Submissions for the Record by Rep. Westerman
RESOLUTION OF THE NAABIK'IYATI' STANDING COMMITTEE
25th NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL--First Year, 2023
AN ACTION RELATING TO RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT AND NAABIK'IYATI'
COMMITTEES; RESCINDING RESOLUTION NABIJA-05-20 ``OPPOSING H.R. 2181 AND
S. 1079, `THE CHACO HERITAGE AREA PROTECTION ACT OF 2019', UNTIL SUCH
TIME AS THE BUFFER ZONE SURROUNDING CHACO CULTURAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL
PARK IS REDUCED TO FIVE (5) MILES;'' OPPOSING THE WITHDRAWAL OF
APPROXIMATELY 351,000 ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND SURROUNDING CHACO CANYON
WHEREAS:
A. The Navajo Nation established the Resources and Development
Committee as a Navajo Nation Council standing committee and as such
empowered the Resources and Development Committee with authority to
establish Navajo Nation policy with respect to the optimum utilization
of all Navajo Nation resources and to protect the rights, interests,
sacred sites and freedoms of the Navajo Nation and People to such
resources, now and for future generations. 2 N.N.C. Sec. Sec. 500(A)
and (C)(1).
B. The Navajo Nation established the Naabik'iyati' Committee as a
Navajo Nation Council standing committee and as such empowered
Naabik'iyati' Committee to coordinate all federal programs and to
assist and coordinate all requests for information, appearances and
testimony relating to federal legislation impacting the Navajo Nation.
2 N.N.C. Sec. Sec. 700(A), 701(A)(4), 701(A)(6).
C. The Navajo Nation has a government-to-government relationship with
the United States of America, Treaty of 1868, Aug. 12, 1868, 15 Stat.
667.
D. The Navajo Nation Council approved Naabik'iyati' Committee
Resolution NABIJA-05-20, titled, ``OPPOSING H.R. 2181 AND S. 1079, `THE
CHACO HERITAGE AREA PROTECTION ACT OF 2019', UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE
BUFFER ZONE SURROUNDING CHACO CULTURAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IS
REDUCED TO FIVE (5) MILES'' on January 23, 2020, which is attached as
Exhibit 1.
E. The purpose of Resolution NABIJA-05-20 was to oppose federal
legislation proposing a ten-mile buffer zone around Chaco Canyon and to
offer a five-mile buffer zone as an alternative.
F. While the 24th Navajo Nation Council sought to minimize negative
economic impacts with a smaller buffer zone, the 25th Navajo Nation
Council is concerned that any buffer zone, in addition to the
withdrawal of public land, will have a detrimental impact to Navajo
Nation allottees by preventing the development of new oil and gas
resources on allotments as a result of the allotments being landlocked.
G. The Navajo Nation Chapters of Pueblo Pintado, Whitehorse Lake, Lake
Valley, and Nageezi (the ``Chapters'') have expressed opposition to
land withdrawal and the imposition of any buffer zone around Chaco
Canyon.
H. The Chapters submitted resolutions in opposition to a buffer zone
as follows:
1. Resolution of Pueblo Pintado, PPC-02-2023-022, attached
as Exhibit 2;
2. Resolution of Whitehorse Lake, WHLC-2-22-033, attached as
Exhibit 3;
3. Resolution of Lake Valley, LVC-FEB12-029, attached as
Exhibit 4; and
4. Resolution of Nageezi, NC-23-032, attached as Exhibit 5.
I. The Chapters recognize the detrimental economic impact to the
Navajo allottees should a buffer zone of any size be imposed around
Chaco Canyon. If a buffer zone is adopted, the Navajo allottees who
rely on the income realized from oil and gas royalties will be pushed
into greater poverty.
J. Pueblo Pintado and Nageezi Chapters also challenge the need for a
buffer zone based on the current fence line that serves as a boundary
to safeguard Chaco Canyon, as indicated in Exhibits 2 and 5,
respectively.
K. The 25th Navajo Nation Council wishes to support the Navajo Nation
members who hold allotted land in the area around Chaco Canyon and
allow those members to maximize their economic interests.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
A. The Navajo Nation rescinds Resolution NABIJA-05-23 titled,
``OPPOSING H.R. 2181 AND S. 1079, `THE CHACO HERITAGE AREA PROTECTION
ACT OF 2019', UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE BUFFER ZONE SURROUNDING CHACO
CULTURAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IS REDUCED TO FIVE (5) MILES.''
B. The Navajo Nation opposes the United States intent of withdrawing
approximately 351,000 acres around Chaco Canyon.
C. The Navajo Nation does not support a buffer zone around Chaco
Canyon.
CERTIFICATION
I, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered by
the Naabik'iyati' Committee of the 25th Navajo Nation Council at a duly
called meeting in Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona), at which a
quorum was present and that the same was passed by a vote of 15 in
Favor, and 01 Opposed, on this 27th day of April 2023.
Honorable Crystalyne Curley, Chairwoman
Naabik'iyati' Committee
Date: 5/1/23
This Resolution along with Exhibits 1-5 is available for viewing on our
Committee Repository at: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/
20230713/116135/HHRG-118-II06-20230713-SD003.pdf
______
THE NAVAJO NATION
Window Rock, Arizona
May 3, 2023
Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Dear Secretary Haaland:
We thank you for taking the time to meet with us in a government-
to-government meeting on April 25, 2023 to discuss the proposed
withdrawal of public lands from location and entry under United States'
mining laws and from leasing under the mineral leasing laws around the
Chaco Culture National Historical Park for 20 years and to learn more
about the Honoring Chaco Initiative.
We heard the position of the United States Department of the
Interior is that the withdrawal does not include allotted lands and as
such will not affect allotted lands. The Navajo Nation respectfully
disagrees as the practical effect of a withdrawal of federal lands is
that the economic potential of the mineral leasing from allotted lands
will be diminished. As we shared with you, the proposed land withdrawal
impacts thousands of our Navajo people who hold allotment lands and
hundreds of Navajo people who live within the area of the 336,000 acres
of public lands currently proposed to be withdrawn.
Many of these people are elderly culture bearers, who rely on
income from oil and gas royalties to meet their basic needs. As an
environmental justice community, our community represents the
complicated multifaced nature of what it means to be an environmental
justice community. At the heart of our community are people who have
lived on these lands from time immemorial and desire to live there
forever. All of the complexities that are part of this issue, along
with the voices of our Navajo people, must be carefully weighed.
On April 27, 2023, the Navajo Nation Council's Naabik'iyati
Committee approved Resolution NABIAP-11-23, opposing the withdrawal of
approximately 351,000 acres of public land surrounding Chaco Canyon. At
the same time, the Committee rescinded the Navajo Nation's previous
position supporting a five-mile buffer zone. As leaders of the Navajo
Nation, we support the Navajo allottees who oppose the proposed
withdrawal of these public lands.
Thank you again for meeting with us and we hope to continue the
dialogue so that all American citizens' voices are heard on this issue.
Sincerely,
Dr. Buu Nygren, President Crystalyne Curley, Speaker
THE NAVAJO NATION 25TH NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL
______
EPA e-mail, dated June 15, 2023
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
------
EASTERN NAVAJO LAND COMMISSION
Crownpoint, New Mexico
July 6, 2023
Hon. Buu Nygren, President
Speaker Crystalyne Curley
The Navajo Nation
Window Rock, AZ 86515
Dear President Nygren and Speaker Curley:
Attached please find Resolution No. ENLCJN-01-23 passed by
Eastern Navajo Land Commission (ENLC) on June 30th. This
Resolution supports Congressman Eli Crane's introduction of
H.R. 4374 which nullifies Public Land Order No. 7923. The
Public Land Order by Interior Secretary Haaland regarding Chaco
buffer zone will be nullified by H.R. 4374. It is important
that the two branches of the Navajo Nation be unified. I
respectfully ask for your support of ENLC's Resolution and give
directives to assist Congressman Crane's office in the passage
of H.R. 4374.
Thank you and if you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Seth Damon,
Chairman
*****
RESOLUTION OF THE EASTERN NAVAJO LAND COMMISSION
RESOLUTION No. ENLCJN-01-23
SUPPORTING THE ENACTMENT OF LEGISLATION H.R. 4374 INTRODUCED BY
REPRESENTATIVE CRANE TO NULLIFY
PUBLIC LAND ORDER 7923
WHEREAS:
1. The Eastern Navajo Agency Commission (``ENLC'' or
``Commission'') is established as a Commission of
the Navajo Nation under the legislative branch, see
2 N.N.C. Sec. 861 et seq. (2005), as amended by
Navajo Nation Council Legislation No. 0589-07
(April 22, 2008); and
2. Among other authorities and duties under the amended ENLC
Plan of Operation, the ENLC is charged with
assuming primary responsibility for the direction
of the Navajo Nation's land acquisition and
consolidation efforts in the Eastern Navajo Agency,
2 N.N.C. Sec. 863(I), as amended; and
3. Among other land-related initiatives, the Commission has
drafted, and the Navajo Nation Council has
approved, proposed federal legislation to effect
the exchange of certain federal and Navajo Nation
lands and to protect archaeological resources in
the Eastern Navajo Agency (the so-called ``NELI''
legislation), and the Commission has considered
various proposals designed to protect Chacoan ruins
and relics (together, the ``Chacoan Resources'') in
the Eastern Navajo Agency; and
4. The vast majority of the Chacoan Resources are located in
the Eastern Navajo Agency; nonetheless, Secretary
of the Interior Haaland issued Public Land Order
7923 with no genuine consultation with the only
people affected by that Public Land Order--the
Navajo allottees and residents of the Eastern
Navajo Agency and the Navajo Nation itself and its
constituent Chapters--and did so contrary to the
expressed wishes of the Navajo Nation leadership;
and
5. The interests of the Navajo Nation and its citizens in
the lands adversely affected by Public Land Order
7923 (the ``Lands'') include or are supported by
the following facts, which show violations of the
rights of the Navajo Nation, Navajo allottees, and
residents of land administered by either the Bureau
of Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Land Management:
A. The Lands are within the adjudicated Navajo
aboriginal territory, as determined by the Indian
Claims Commission, meaning that the area has been used
exclusively by the Navajo Tribe of Indians since time
immemorial.
B. The Lands are within the Navajo Land
Consolidation Area under the federal Indian Land
Consolidation Act, one of only a handful of such
federally approved tribal land consolidation areas.
C. The Lands are within Navajo Nation Chapters,
recognized by the Navajo Nation and by federal and New
Mexico courts as authorized local governing bodies.
D. The Lands are subject to individual and/or
family-based aboriginal occupancy rights that are ``as
sacred as the fee title of the whites'' under U.S.
Supreme Court decisions dating back to the great Chief
Justice Marshall near the founding of the United
States, that predominate even over federal patents
issued to others under Supreme Court precedent, and
that were recently acknowledged by the Interior Board
of Land Appeals. Such rights remain unadjudicated
notwithstanding efforts initiated by then-Solicitor
Felix Cohen because of the years-long resistance to
adjudicating them by the General Land Office, the
predecessor of the federal Bureau of Land Management.
E. The Public Land Order adopts a 10-mile buffer
zone around any known Chacoan Resource, effectively
rendering oil and gas development in the Eastern Navajo
Agency uneconomic. The selection of a 10-mile buffer
zone is wholly arbitrary. It and serves to accomplish a
near total ban on mineral development in the Eastern
Navajo Agency, a 10-mile ``buffer zone'' has no
rational relationship with the protection of Chacoan
Resources, and the promulgation of the Public Land
Order therefore violates the Administrative Procedures
Act.
F. Federal environmental law, including the
National Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA''), requires
the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (``EA'')
or Environmental Impact Statement (``EIS'') that
adequately discusses the impacts, including the impacts
on disadvantaged communities, of any proposed federal
action. However, no EIS was produced to support the
Public Land Order, and the EA that was produced is
legally inadequate for, among many other things,
failing to address meaningfully the adverse impacts on
revenues to allottees and to the Navajo Nation as
fractional interest holder of hundreds of the
allotments and as present or future owner of land in
its own right.
G. The allotment owners litigated against the
United States for 13 years to gain recognition that
Navajo allottees, and not the United States, are the
owners of the allotments underlying the allotted
surface, in the so-called Mescal class action lawsuit.
Public Land Order 7923 effectively nullifies the
allottees' hard-won mineral rights, and one estimate of
the damage to the allottees during the 20-year period
of the Public Land Order is $194 million. The Public
Land Order (and its supporting EA) fails to
meaningfully consider that impact, thus violating NEPA
and the United States' trust duty to the Navajo
allottees.
H. The Navajo people of the Eastern Navajo Agency
are the people responsible for reconstructing and
maintaining Chacoan ruins (as reflected in an
exhaustive report of the National Park Service), and
the Navajo people have assured that such resources that
are scattered throughout the Eastern Navajo Agency and
on lands owned or used by the Navajo remain
undisturbed. Indeed, it was the Navajo Nation and its
citizens who successfully litigated for decades against
federal agencies to successfully oppose federal
proposals to allow surface coal mining to the very
edges of the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.
I. The Navajo Nation has a cultural affiliation
with the Chacoan civilization, as acknowledged as an
outgrowth of litigation brought by the Navajo Nation
against the United States to remedy the unlawful theft
by the National Park Service of human remains and
artifacts from Canyon de Chelly.
J. Federal, New Mexico, and Navajo Nation laws,
including NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act,
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (and their
state and tribal counterparts) have proved quite
effective and sufficient to protect the Chacoan
Resources. The supposed motivation in the Public Land
Order to protect such resources is pretextual; and
6. Representative Eli Crane (AZ-02) has introduced H.R.
4374, as shown in the attached federal legislation,
to nullify Public Land Order 7923; and
7. The Commission has considered the above and has
determined that it should formally support the
enactment of Representative Crane's bill and should
coordinate the Commission's position with the
Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council and the Navajo
Nation Office of the President and Vice President,
urging them or either of them to take any and all
appropriate action, including litigation if
appropriate, to restore the status quo ante to the
Eastern Navajo Agency.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT:
1. The Eastern Navajo Land Commission supports the enactment
of the attached bill introduced or to be introduced
by Representative Crane.
2. The Commission authorizes its Chair and Executive
Director to communicate the position of the
Commission as expressed by this Resolution to the
Office of the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council
and to the Office of the Navajo Nation President
and Vice President (``OPNP''), and to ensure that
the position of and any actions to be taken by the
Commission are in conformity with the position of
the Navajo Nation Council.
3. The Commission respectfully requests the Speaker, the
Navajo Nation Council, and the OPNP to support the
nullification of Public Land Order 7923 by any
appropriate means and to vigorously oppose any
future attempts to impose federal land use controls
in the Eastern Navajo Agency that are determined by
the Navajo Nation to contravene the best interests
of the Navajo Nation and its citizens.
4. The Chair and/or his authorized delegate are authorized
to take any and all reasonable steps to effectuate
the letter and intent of this Resolution.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was considered
at a duly called meeting of the Eastern Navajo Land Commission
at Churchrock, Navajo Nation (New Mexico) at which a quorum was
present and that the same was passed by vote of 3 in favor and
O opposed (the Chair not voting), this 30th day of June, 2023.
Seth Damon, Chairman
Eastern Navajo Land Commission
------
COALITION OF LARGE TRIBES (COLT)
Resolution: 06-02-2023-Resolution #02-2022 (WR-Las Vegas)
Resolution Calling for Withdrawal of Public Land Order 7923 and
Deference to Navajo Nation Sovereignty in the Greater Chaco
Area
WHEREAS, the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) was formally
established in early April 2011, and is comprised of Tribes
with large land base, including the Blackfeet Nation
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Crow Nation
Eastern Shoshone Tribe Fort Belknap Indian Community
Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nations Navajo
Nation Northern Arapaho Tribe Oglala Sioux
Tribe Rosebud Sioux Tribe Sisseton Wahpeton
Sioux Tribe Shoshone Bannock Tribes Spokane
Tribe Ute Indian Tribe Walker River Paiute
Tribe and is Chaired by Councilman Marvin Weatherwax, Blackfeet
Tribal Business Council: and
WHEREAS, COLT was organized to provide a unified advocacy base
on all issues affecting tribes that govern large trust land
bases; and
WHEREAS, COLT tribes consist of tribes that have a land base of
100,000 acres of land or more, of which, of the 574 federally
recognized Tribes, more than 50 tribes meet this criteria; and
these tribes control 95 percent of tribal lands and consist of
one half of the Native population; and
WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation is a COLT member tribe and requested
a COLT resolution to oppose Public Land Order No. 7923 signed
by Secretary Haaland on June 2, 2023 on grounds that the
Department of the Interior had not conducted meaningful
consultation with the Navajo Nation or its citizens and that
the PLO disrespects the Navajo Nation's rights as a territorial
sovereign to determine whether and how natural resources
development occurs on Navajo lands; and
WHEREAS, The Chaco Withdrawal Public Land Order (PLO) was
officially published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2023
and that is its effective date; and
WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation explained that PLO No. 7923 has dire
consequences for more than 20,000 Navajo citizens. In the last
three and a half years alone Navajo Allottees have received
more than $80,000,000 in oil and gas lease income. In many
cases, this is those Allottees' only income in an extremely
impoverished area. And yet, the Department of the Interior has
withdrawn a 10-mile buffer over those same Allottees,
withdrawing more than 336,000 acres of federal lands for a
period of 20 years, at a loss of more than $1 billion in
royalty income to the United States and Allottees. The Public
Land Order strands the Navajo Allottees and their minerals,
making ANY new development impossible. The area the Allottees
were promised was their permanent homeland is heavily
checkerboarded. You cannot reach the Tribal and Allottee
minerals in the area around Chaco Canyon without the federal
minerals. This is an obvious fact of oil and gas production
well known to large land base tribes who are very familiar with
the difficulty of developing only part of checkerboarded lands.
The buffer is a significant taking of hundreds of millions of
dollars of property from the Navajo Allottees; and
WHEREAS, on April 27, 2023, the Navajo Nation Council's
Naabik'iyati Committee approved Resolution NABIAP-11-23, which
opposes the withdrawal of public lands surrounding Chaco
Canyon. The Navajo Nation Council is the governing body of the
Navajo Nation and Resolution NABIAP-11-23 represents the
official position of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is in
the best position to determine the best interests of its
citizens; and
WHEREAS, Chaco Canyon has been home to the Navajo people since
time immemorial and the Navajo Nation fully understands the
need to protect the Chaco Culture National Historic Park, but
also wants the voices of Navajo Allottees to be heard and to
work toward a viable solution that respects all stakeholders.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, COLT calls for the withdrawal of
Public Land Order 7923 in order to allow the more fulsome
consultation requested by the Navajo Nation and to protect the
Navajo Nation's sovereign right to protect its land and
citizens and fulfill its proper role as the primary territorial
sovereign decision-maker about whether and how resource
development takes place on Navajo lands; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, COLT supports the Navajo
Nation's request for the House Natural Resources Committee to
hold a Congressional field hearing in the community of Nageezi,
New Mexico, to hear directly from Navajo people who are
directly impacted by Public Lands Order 7923.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the
policy of COLT until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent
resolution.
CERTIFICATION
This resolution was enacted at a duly called meeting of the
Coalition of Large Tribes held in Las Vegas, Nevada within the
home state of the Walker River Paiute Tribe on June 2, 2023 at
which a quorum was present, with the resolution approved
unanimously.
Dated this June 2, 2023
Attest:
Nathan Small,
Secretary, Coalition of Large Tribes
Marvin Weatherwax,
Chairman, Coalition of Large Tribes
------
EASTERN NAVAJO LAND COMMISSION
Crownpoint, New Mexico
July 24, 2023
Hon. Pete Stauber, Chairman
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1626 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Statement for Inclusion in Record--H.R. 4374
Dear Chairman Stauber:
Attached is the Resolution of the Eastern Navajo Land Commission in
support of H.R. 4374. We request that it be included in the legislative
record.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Leonard Tsosie,
Executive Director
*****
RESOLUTION OF THE EASTERN NAVAJO LAND COMMISSION
RESOLUTION No. ENLCJN-01-23
SUPPORTING THE ENACTMENT OF LEGISLATION H.R. 4374 INTRODUCED BY
REPRESENTATIVE CRANE TO NULLIFY
PUBLIC LAND ORDER 7923
WHEREAS:
1. The Eastern Navajo Agency Commission (``ENLC'' or ``Commission'')
is established as a Commission of the Navajo Nation under
the legislative branch, see 2 N.N.C. Sec. 861 et seq.
(2005), as amended by Navajo Nation Council Legislation No.
0589-07 (April 22, 2008); and
2. Among other authorities and duties under the amended ENLC Plan of
Operation, the ENLC is charged with assuming primary
responsibility for the direction of the Navajo Nation's
land acquisition and consolidation efforts in the Eastern
Navajo Agency, 2 N.N.C. Sec. 863(I), as amended; and
3. Among other land-related initiatives, the Commission has drafted,
and the Navajo Nation Council has approved, proposed
federal legislation to effect the exchange of certain
federal and Navajo Nation lands and to protect
archaeological resources in the Eastern Navajo Agency (the
so-called ``NELI'' legislation), and the Commission has
considered various proposals designed to protect Chacoan
ruins and relics (together, the ``Chacoan Resources'') in
the Eastern Navajo Agency; and
4. The vast majority of the Chacoan Resources are located in the
Eastern Navajo Agency; nonetheless, Secretary of the
Interior Haaland issued Public Land Order 7923 with no
genuine consultation with the only people affected by that
Public Land Order--the Navajo allottees and residents of
the Eastern Navajo Agency and the Navajo Nation itself and
its constituent Chapters--and did so contrary to the
expressed wishes of the Navajo Nation leadership; and
5. The interests of the Navajo Nation and its citizens in the lands
adversely affected by Public Land Order 7923 (the
``Lands'') include or are supported by the following facts,
which show violations of the rights of the Navajo Nation,
Navajo allottees, and residents of land administered by
either the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Land
Management:
A. The Lands are within the adjudicated Navajo aboriginal
territory, as determined by the Indian Claims Commission,
meaning that the area has been used exclusively by the Navajo
Tribe of Indians since time immemorial.
B. The Lands are within the Navajo Land Consolidation Area
under the federal Indian Land Consolidation Act, one of only a
handful of such federally approved tribal land consolidation
areas.
C. The Lands are within Navajo Nation Chapters, recognized
by the Navajo Nation and by federal and New Mexico courts as
authorized local governing bodies.
D. The Lands are subject to individual and/or family-based
aboriginal occupancy rights that are ``as sacred as the fee
title of the whites'' under U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating
back to the great Chief Justice Marshall near the founding of
the United States, that predominate even over federal patents
issued to others under Supreme Court precedent, and that were
recently acknowledged by the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
Such rights remain unadjudicated notwithstanding efforts
initiated by then-Solicitor Felix Cohen because of the years-
long resistance to adjudicating them by the General Land
Office, the predecessor of the federal Bureau of Land
Management.
E. The Public Land Order adopts a 10-mile buffer zone
around any known Chacoan Resource, effectively rendering oil
and gas development in the Eastern Navajo Agency uneconomic.
The selection of a 10-mile buffer zone is wholly arbitrary. It
and serves to accomplish a near total ban on mineral
development in the Eastern Navajo Agency, a 10-mile ``buffer
zone'' has no rational relationship with the protection of
Chacoan Resources, and the promulgation of the Public Land
Order therefore violates the Administrative Procedures Act.
F. Federal environmental law, including the National
Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA''), requires the preparation
of an Environmental Assessment (``EA'') or Environmental Impact
Statement (``EIS'') that adequately discusses the impacts,
including the impacts on disadvantaged communities, of any
proposed federal action. However, no EIS was produced to
support the Public Land Order, and the EA that was produced is
legally inadequate for, among many other things, failing to
address meaningfully the adverse impacts on revenues to
allottees and to the Navajo Nation as fractional interest
holder of hundreds of the allotments and as present or future
owner of land in its own right.
G. The allotment owners litigated against the United States
for 13 years to gain recognition that Navajo allottees, and not
the United States, are the owners of the allotments underlying
the allotted surface, in the so-called Mescal class action
lawsuit. Public Land Order 7923 effectively nullifies the
allottees' hard-won mineral rights, and one estimate of the
damage to the allottees during the 20-year period of the Public
Land Order is $194 million. The Public Land Order (and its
supporting EA) fails to meaningfully consider that impact, thus
violating NEPA and the United States' trust duty to the Navajo
allottees.
H. The Navajo people of the Eastern Navajo Agency are the
people responsible for reconstructing and maintaining Chacoan
ruins (as reflected in an exhaustive report of the National
Park Service), and the Navajo people have assured that such
resources that are scattered throughout the Eastern Navajo
Agency and on lands owned or used by the Navajo remain
undisturbed. Indeed, it was the Navajo Nation and its citizens
who successfully litigated for decades against federal agencies
to successfully oppose federal proposals to allow surface coal
mining to the very edges of the Chaco Canyon National
Historical Park.
I. The Navajo Nation has a cultural affiliation with the
Chacoan civilization, as acknowledged as an outgrowth of
litigation brought by the Navajo Nation against the United
States to remedy the unlawful theft by the National Park
Service of human remains and artifacts from Canyon de Chelly.
J. Federal, New Mexico, and Navajo Nation laws, including
NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act (and their state and tribal
counterparts) have proved quite effective and sufficient to
protect the Chacoan Resources. The supposed motivation in the
Public Land Order to protect such resources is pretextual; and
6. Representative Eli Crane (AZ-02) has introduced H.R. 4374, as
shown in the attached federal legislation, to nullify
Public Land Order 7923; and
7. The Commission has considered the above and has determined that
it should formally support the enactment of Representative
Crane's bill and should coordinate the Commission's
position with the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council and
the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice
President, urging them or either of them to take any and
all appropriate action, including litigation if
appropriate, to restore the status quo ante to the Eastern
Navajo Agency.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT:
1. The Eastern Navajo Land Commission supports the enactment of the
attached bill introduced or to be introduced by
Representative Crane.
2. The Commission authorizes its Chair and Executive Director to
communicate the position of the Commission as expressed by
this Resolution to the Office of the Speaker of the Navajo
Nation Council and to the Office of the Navajo Nation
President and Vice President (``OPNP''), and to ensure that
the position of and any actions to be taken by the
Commission are in conformity with the position of the
Navajo Nation Council.
3. The Commission respectfully requests the Speaker, the Navajo
Nation Council, and the OPNP to support the nullification
of Public Land Order 7923 by any appropriate means and to
vigorously oppose any future attempts to impose federal
land use controls in the Eastern Navajo Agency that are
determined by the Navajo Nation to contravene the best
interests of the Navajo Nation and its citizens.
4. The Chair and/or his authorized delegate are authorized to take
any and all reasonable steps to effectuate the letter and
intent of this Resolution.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was considered at a duly
called meeting of the Eastern Navajo Land Commission at Churchrock,
Navajo Nation (New Mexico) at which a quorum was present and that the
same was passed by vote of 3 in favor and O opposed (the Chair not
voting), this 30th day of June, 2023.
Seth Damon, Chairman
Eastern Navajo Land Commission
______
EASTERN NAVAJO AGENCY COUNCIL
Crownpoint, New Mexico
July 24, 2023
Hon. Pete Stauber, Chairman
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1626 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Statement for Inclusion in Record--H.R. 4374
Dear Chairman Stauber:
Attached is the Statement of the Eastern Navajo Agency Council in
support of H.R. 4374. We request that it be included in the legislative
record.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Johnny Johnson, Ervin Chavez,
Chair Vice Chair
*****
STATEMENT OF THE EASTERN NAVAJO AGENCY COUNCIL
ON H.R. 4374
The Eastern Navajo Agency Council is a Navajo governmental body
comprised of all Chapter Officers, Grazing Officials, Land Board
members, and Navajo Nation Council delegates in the Eastern Navajo
Agency. A Navajo Nation ``Chapter'' is the recognized local governing
entity under the Navajo system of government. See 2 N.N.C. Sec. 4001 et
seq.; Thriftway Mktg. Corp. v. State, 111 N.M. 763, 765-76 (Ct. App.
1990). The Eastern Navajo Agency is the approximate 2.7-million acre
area in northwest New Mexico under the administrative jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior.
There are 31 Chapters within the Eastern Navajo Agency. This Statement
is provided by the Eastern Navajo Agency Council through its
undersigned Chairman and Vice Chairman.
The Eastern Navajo Agency Council unreservedly supports the passage
of H.R. 4374, the ``Energy Opportunities for All Act'' (the ``EOAA'').
The EOAA would nullify Public Land Order 7923 (``PLO 7923'') issued by
Secretary of the Interior Haaland (the ``Secretary''). PLO 7923 is a
wrong-headed approach to solve a non-existent problem. PLO 7923
operates to the detriment of the Navajo Nation, to which Secretary gave
absolutely no deference despite the Navajo Nation's predominant
interests in the Eastern Navajo Agency, or to the Navajo owners of
trust allotments in the Eastern Navajo Agency, to whom the Secretary
owes a trust duty but whom the Secretary cavalierly disregarded in
promulgating PLO 7923 at an estimated cost to them of $194 million over
the next twenty years.
Navajo people comprise 95% of the entire population of the Eastern
Navajo Agency. The Navajo government provides most of the governmental
services in the area. No other Native nation has any significant
population in the area and no other Indian nation provides any
government services in the area. Almost all of the land in the Eastern
Navajo Agency is held in trust for the Navajo Nation, held in trust for
individual Navajo allottees, held in fee status by the Navajo Nation,
or used by Navajo individuals in the exercise of their family-based
unextinguished aboriginal occupancy rights.
PLO 7923 purports to protect Chacoan cultural resources, but in
reality is a camouflage for the Department to create a massive no-
development zone in an impoverished region with great potential for oil
and gas development. There is no need whatsoever for PLO 7923, if it is
truly intended to protect Chacoan resources. Those resources have been
protected for about 1000 years or more, originally by the local Navajo
population and more recently through enforcement of federal, New
Mexico, and Navajo laws specifically designed to protect such cultural
resources, including the National Historic Preservation Act, the
National Environmental Policy Act, the Antiquities Act of 1906, the
Historic Site Act of 1935, the Historic and Archaeological Data
Preservation Act of 1974, the Navajo Nation Cultural Resources
Protection Act (19 N.N.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.), the amended New Mexico
Cultural Properties Act of 1969, Executive Order 11593, and BLM's
organic act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
At the hearing on H.R. 4374 before the Subcommittee on Energy and
Mineral Resources of the House Natural Resources Committee, the person
testifying on behalf of the Secretary was Nada Culver, identified as
the Bureau of Land Management (``BLM'') Principal Deputy Director. This
is more than just ironic. Literally for decades, the BLM sought to
allow massive coal strip mining right to the edges of and all around
the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, reporting that coal strip
mining, with its attendant blasting, earth removal, and rail
construction and transportation, would have no appreciable impact on
Chacoan cultural resources.\1\
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\1\ See, e.g., Environmental Assessment for Coal Preference Right
Leasing (Sept. 1981) (incorporating Draft Environmental Assessment
[June 1981] at pp. 3-20 to 3-23) (stating that the proposed coal strip
mining ``would result in increased scientific knowledge about past
cultures in the [coal leasing] area'' and stating that adequate
mitigation would result from a Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement).
In general, the BLM, including through its predecessor the General
Land Office (``GLO''), has historically ignored or consciously
subordinated the rights, needs and interests of the Navajo people in
the Eastern Navajo Agency. These actions include, among other things,
withholding allotment patents to the Navajo population ``for no
legitimate reason,'' \2\ despite Secretary Ickes statement in 1933 that
Navajos were entitled under the allotment laws to ``practically all of
the vacant public domain in San Juan County and other counties,'' \3\
and, after the GLO stymied the allotment efforts, subverting a years-
long effort in the late 1940s, initiated by Solicitor Felix Cohen, to
define individual or family-based aboriginal rights of Navajo people.
Those rights remain valid, but unadjudicated. See United States v.
Tsosie, 92 F.3d 1037 (10th Cir. 1996) (affirming District Court's
judgment that the United States was required to exhaust Navajo Tribal
Court remedies in addressing claim of unextinguished aboriginal
occupancy right of Navajo woman residing in Eastern Navajo Agency);
Thermal Energy Co., 183 IBLA 126, 135-36 (2013) (summarizing testimony
of historian Mark Leutbecker and Larry Rodgers). Such occupancy rights
are ``as sacred as the fee-simple title of the whites.'' E.g., United
States v. Santa Fe Pac. R. Co., 314 U.S. 339, 345-46 (1941), quoting
Mitchel v. United States, 34 U.S. (9 Pet.) 711, 746 (1835).
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\2\ Bailey, A History of the Navajos: The Reservation Years (1986)
at 117.
\3\ Letter from Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to New
Mexico Governor Arthur Seligman (Aug. 31, 1933) at 3.
PLO 7923, on its face, prohibits mineral development only on lands
administered by the BLM within an arbitrary ten miles of selected
Chacoan cultural resources throughout the Eastern Navajo Agency, but it
has the practical effect of prohibiting mineral development on all
lands in the region, including Navajo Nation and allotted trust lands,
as indicated on the attached map prepared by attorneys for the Navajo
allotment owners. The Navajo allottees litigated against the government
for over a decade to obtain a declaration that they, and not the
federal government, own the minerals underlying the surface of their
allotments,\4\ and PLO 7923 essentially takes the value of those
minerals away from the Navajo allotment owners.
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\4\ Order Approving Settlement of All Claims, Mescal v. United
States, No. Civ. 83-1408-LH/WWD (Jan. 28, 1997).
The entire area affected by PLO 7923 is within the Navajo tribe's
recognized aboriginal land base, as determined in the Indian Claims
Commission in Docket 229. That means that these lands have been used
and occupied exclusively by the Navajo people since time immemorial.
``Exclusively'' means precisely that. See, e.g., the recent attached
letter to the editor of the Navajo Times from retired Department of the
Interior Archaeologist David Siegel. In addition, all of the affected
lands are within the Secretarially approved Navajo Land Consolidation
Area designated in the Navajo Land Consolidation Plan, one of only a
handful of approved tribal land consolidation plans approved by the
Department of the Interior under the federal Indian Land Consolidation
Act. Most of the affected land is also within the boundaries of the
Executive Order 709/744 extension to the Navajo Reservation, and the
federa1 lands within that 1.9 million acre area were illegally restored
to the public domain and remain, as a legal matter, trust property of
the Navajo Nation unlawfully administered by the BLM. See Navajo Tribe
of Indians v. State of New Mexico, 809 F.2d 1455, 1459 n.9 (10th Cir.
1983); \5\ Affidavit of Herbert Stacher, attached hereto.
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\5\ The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the Navajo
Nation's claim of title based on the failure of the Department of the
Interior to grant allotments to all Navajos within the EO 709/744
extension, based on the statute of limitations in the Indian Claims
Commission Act. 809 F.2d at 1464. However, such a dismissal does not
extinguish the underlying right to the land. See United States v.
Gammache, 713 F.2d 588, 591-92 & n.9 (10th Cir. 1983).
The official position of the Navajo Nation is reflected in
Resolution No. NABIAP-11-23 of the Committee of the whole of the Navajo
Nation Council, the Naabik'iyati' Committee. That resolution was
submitted to Chairman Stauber by the Speaker of the Navajo Nation
Council with her letter dated July 12, 2023. ``The legitimacy of the
Navajo Tribal Council, the freely elected governing body of the
Navajos, is beyond question.'' Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe of
Indians, 471 U.S. 195, 201 (1985) (footnote omitted). Secretary Haaland
gave no deference to the Council's considered position. And as Navajo
Nation Buu Nygren testified before the Subcommittee, Secretary Haaland
gave no deference to him, even as he attempted a compromise with the
Department. This is inexplicable in any rational sense, given the
unique, most substantial interests of the Navajo Nation in the area. As
President Nygren testified, ``Respect for tribal sovereignty must be
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consistent even when it is not convenient.''
The Eastern Navajo Agency Council supports the official position of
the Navajo Nation. There should be no ``buffer zone''; none is needed,
and a ten-mile buffer zone is wholly arbitrary. It represents the
Secretary's continued assault on resource development and property
rights. The Eastern Navajo Agency Council therefore wholeheartedly
supports the enactment of H.R. 4374.
Respectfully submitted,
Johnny Johnson, Ervin Chavez,
Chair Vice Chair
*****
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Submissions for the Record by Rep. Grijalva
To Nizhoni Ani
July 12, 2023
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
To Nizhoni Ani is a 501(c)3 organization located on the Black Mesa
Plateau in Northeast Arizona on the Navajo Nation. To Nizhoni Ani was
organized to protect the water source of Black Mesa from Industry use
and waste. Our goal is to bring power back to our Indigenous
communities impacted by coal while maintaining a balanced environment
with the elements of life--water, land, air and sunlight.
To Nizhoni Ani strongly opposes H.R. 4374, which would nullify
Public Land Order No. 7923, withdrawing certain land in San Juan
County, New Mexico, from mineral entry. The Department of the
Interior's (DOI) recently finalized withdrawal of public lands from
future mineral development on federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco
Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) for the next 20 years is an
important first step in protecting the people, health, land, and water
in the region, and we support real solutions in ensuring a just energy
transition.
Introducing this resolution (H.R. 4374) is Representative Elijah
Crane's first major legislative blunder. Representative Elijah
Crane's--who was elected only after redistricting occurred--exposes his
inexperience working with a large Indigenous constituency. We urge him
to learn to engage the communities he's working for, instead of being
influenced by his Republican colleagues, particularly with reckless
fossil fuel development greatly contributing to climate change, which
majorly impacts Indian Country.
Decades of fossil fuel development, and corporations manipulating
and taking up space on Navajo land is evident in actions by the Navajo
Nation Council's Resources and Development Committee to continue
pushing for false support and false solutions from within the
Republican Party--a party which is not interested in real solutions,
only in fueling and perpetuating extractive and harmful development.
Crucially, the Department of the Interior and the Resources and
Development Committee have stopped short of actions to support public
health, cultural and ecological sites and resources, and economic
development.
To truly protect the Greater Chaco Landscape, the DOI must robustly
continue the Honoring Chaco Initiative, to involve impacted communities
in decision-making about the broader interconnected landscape, and
cumulatively assess the impact of extractive development on health,
culture, environment, and climate. Support should be offered to
allotment owners from these decision makers; it is false to perpetuate
a disingenuous, zero-sum narrative and that there is no recourse
besides more oil and gas development, where neighbors are left
breathing toxic emissions. It is time for leadership to step up and
provide creative and genuine solutions such as development of wind and
solar on these lands. Crucially, the development of projects that will
help protect our limited water supplies.
Sincerely,
Nicole Horseherder,
Executive Director
______
May 6, 2022
Sarah Scott
CCNHP Area Withdrawal
Bureau of Land Management
Farmington Field Office
6251 College Blvd., Suite A
Farmington, NM 87402
Dear Ms. Scott:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the proposed
Chaco Culture National Historical Park Area Withdrawal (withdrawal).
Most of the undersigned groups, representing over 1.6 million members
and supporters, have been working to protect the Greater Chaco
landscape for decades, while some of the undersigned have been working
to protect the area for centuries through cultural preservation. We
strongly support this proposal and encourage the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) to act swiftly and ensure protection for the next 20
years.
Below, we provide details into the specific benefits derived from
this withdrawal and raise our concerns with the rampant misinformation
campaign being run by the oil and gas industry. We look forward to
continuing to engage in the process.
I. Preliminary Thoughts
The United States is an active participant in the Convention
Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
(the ``World Heritage Convention''), adopted in 1972. As a State Party,
it has unique responsibilities to protect the 24 World Heritage Sites
within its jurisdiction, including the Greater Chaco landscape.
Dubbed ``Chaco Culture,'' elements of the landscape in the Planning
and Decision Area were inscribed as a World Heritage Site on November
12, 1987. These resources are determined to be of Outstanding Universal
Value under Convention criterion iii (``bearing a unique or at least
exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization
which is living or which has disappeared.'')
Chaco is one of just 11 World Heritage Sites (WHS) in the United
States specifically inscribed for its connections to cultural history,
together with places as diverse and significant as Independence Hall
and the Statue of Liberty. Chaco Culture WHS includes Chaco Culture
National Historical Park (``CCNHP''), Aztec Ruins National Monument,
managed by the National Park Service, as well as 6 Archaeological
Protection Sites . The Outliers are a part of a Chacoan network
recognized as part of the World Heritage Site including road,
communities with great houses. Together these features compose a broad
cultural landscape where no one part can be removed from the whole. In
addition, since the 1995 Congressional Act recognizing 39 Outliers,
significant new information has come to light about other Chacoan
settlements in the region that are worthy of protection as candidate
Outliers.\1\
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\1\ See http://www.chacoarchive.org/cra/outlier-database/.
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The World Heritage Convention establishes a system of
identification, preservation and registration of cultural properties
and natural sites of Outstanding Universal Value. The Preamble of the
Convention recognizes that ``the deterioration or disappearance of any
item of the cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful
impoverishment of the heritage of all nations'' and establishes the
``importance, for all the peoples of the world, of safeguarding this
unique and irreplaceable property'' as ``part of the world heritage of
mankind as a whole.'' \2\
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\2\ See https://whc.unesco.org/archive/convention-en.pdf.
The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World
Heritage Convention outline the substantive obligations State Parties
have to protect inscribed World Heritage Sites.\3\ These include
measures to ensure their protection and continual efforts to monitor
and submit periodic reports regarding the status of those sites and
ongoing threats. Specifically, States Parties have the obligation to
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\3\ See https://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/.
have adequate long-term legislative, regulatory,
institutional and/or traditional protection and management
to ensure the safeguarding of World Heritage Sites (Article
II.F, Clause 97);
have legislative and regulatory measures at national and
local levels to assure the protection of the property from
social, economic and other pressures or changes that might
negatively impact the Outstanding Universal Value,
including the integrity and/or authenticity of the property
(Article II.F, Clause 98);
have an appropriate management plan or other documented
management system which must specify how the Outstanding
Universal Value of a property should be preserved,
preferably through participatory means.'' (Article II.F,
Clause 108);
submit specific reports and impact studies each time
exceptional circumstances occur or work is undertaken which
may have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of
the property or its state of conservation. (Article IV.B,
Clause 169);
submit periodic reports for examination by the World
Heritage Committee (Article V.B, Clause 204).
II. Responding to Inaccurate and Misleading Information Concerning the
Nature and Impact of the Proposed Withdrawal
Inaccurate and misleading information continues to circulate
concerning the nature and impact of the proposed withdrawal. In the
following section, we respond to three statements that, in our opinion,
are especially problematic:
Inaccurate/Misleading Statement #1: The proposed withdrawal
will inhibit oil and gas development on non-federal lands. The
proposed withdrawal applies exclusively to federal lands and
minerals, just as the New Mexico State Land Office's existing
withdrawal applies exclusively to state lands and minerals.\4\
It would not apply to or in any way affect the rights of
individuals or entities that possess an interest in non-federal
lands within the proposed withdrawal area, including allotment
lands.
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\4\ Exec. Order 2019-002--Moratorium on Oil and Gas Leasing in the
Greater Chaco Area (Apr. 27, 2019).
There is substantial on-the-ground evidence for this
conclusion. According to BLM, ``there have not been any new
leases issued [within the proposed withdrawal area] since
2011.'' \5\ While ``there have been multiple lease parcels
nominated over the past ten years within the withdrawal area,''
those parcels were all deferred because of the need to complete
tribal consultation and comply with other legal obligations.\6\
Additionally, since 2019, Congress has withheld funding for any
oil and gas leasing activities on federal lands within the
proposed withdrawal area.\7\ Thus, for over ten years, BLM has
managed the proposed withdrawal area as if a withdrawal had
been in place.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ BLM, Petition/Application for Withdrawal 3.
\6\ See, e.g., BLM, July 2013 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale EA
12 (deferring multiple parcels within the proposed withdrawal area
because ``Tribal Consultation in Progress'').
\7\ Press Release, NM Delegation Secures Protections for Chaco
Canyon Area in Government Funding Bill (Dec. 19, 2019).
Yet, oil and gas development in the proposed withdrawal area
continued during this time frame without apparent interruption.
Since 2012, BLM has approved approximately 19 drilling permits
for previously-issued leases within the proposed withdrawal
area.\8\ Further, since 2012, oil and gas companies have
drilled at least thirty-three new wells in the proposed
withdrawal area, including at least four that access Navajo-
owned oil and gas resources.\9\ Finally, over the past four
years, the Federal Indian Minerals Office has planned at least
two oil and gas lease sales for allotment lands that included
numerous parcels within the proposed withdrawal area.\10\
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\8\ Based on data downloaded from BLM's AFMSS on Apr. 13, 2022.
\9\ Based on data downloaded from the New Mexico Oil Conservation
Division's website on Apr. 13, 2022.
\10\ Federal Indian Minerals Office (FIMO), Oil and Gas Lease Sale,
April 2018 EA 39; FIMO, Oil and Gas Competitive Lease Sale EA 2021 9
(Sept. 2021).
Inaccurate/Misleading Statement #2: Oil and gas companies have
not harmed cultural resources or sacred sites in the landscape
surrounding Chaco Canyon. Oil and gas development has
completely transformed much of northwestern New Mexico. What
was once a remote and undeveloped region now resembles an
industrial zone. Over 15,000 miles of roads, mostly built by
the oil and gas industry, fragment the landscape surrounding
Chaco Canyon.\11\ More than 90 percent of federal lands in the
Farmington Field Office are leased,\12\ and companies have
drilled over 37,000 wells in the area.\13\
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\11\ BLM, Mancos-Gallup RMPA/EIS AMS 2-122 (Mar. 2015).
\12\ Press Release, Legislation to Permanently Protect Greater
Chaco Landscape Passes House of Representatives (Oct. 30, 2019).
\13\ BLM, Farmington Mancos-Gallup 2020 Affected Environment
Supplemental Report AE-92 (Feb. 2020).
This has directly and profoundly harmed significant cultural
resources and sacred sites. Oil and gas development has
``destroyed'' long stretches of the Great North Road--a highly
significant ``cosmographic expression'' built by the Chacoan
people to ``unit[e] the Chaco world and its work with its
spiritual landscape.'' \14\ In fact, the broader complex of
Chacoan roads that emanates from Chaco Canyon and ``unites''
cultural features across the broader landscape is ``rapidly
deteriorating,'' in large part due to oil and gas
development.\15\
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\14\ Sofaer, Marshall, and Sinclair, The Great North Road: a
Cosmographic Expression of the Chaco Culture of New Mexico 9.
\15\ Friedman, Sofaer, and Weiner, Remote Sensing of Chaco Road
Revisited 378 (Nov. 2017).
The indirect impacts of oil and gas development are also
widespread and severe. According to leading Chaco experts,
components of the Chaco Culture WHS now resemble ``industrial
parks.'' \16\ For example,
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\16\ Ruth M. Van Dyke, Impacts of Oil and Gas Drilling on
Viewscapes and Soundscapes at the Chaco Outlier of Pierre's, San Juan
County, New Mexico 1 (Feb. 16, 2017).
Despite the efforts of the Bureau of Land Management and
the National Park Service to jointly minimize the ground
footprint impacts of oil and gas drilling on the Pierre's
community, there have been significant impacts to the viewscape
and the soundscape. No less than 12 pumpjacks and at least 5
drilling containers are visible from the high places in the
community. Pumpjacks . . . are prominently visible on the
skyline from Houses A and B as well as the pinnacle sites.
Noise from the nearest pumpjack . . . , located approximately
600 m southwest of Pierre's butte, is audible from throughout
the community. Looking south toward Chaco Canyon, numerous
pumpjacks . . . dot the valley floor.\17\
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\17\ Id. at 14-15.
Such impacts are, unfortunately, commonplace, particularly on
lands north and east of the proposed withdrawal area, which
have experienced and continue to experience significant
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
development pressure.
If oil and gas development continues to encroach upon and
within the proposed withdrawal area, these direct and indirect
impacts will individually, collectively, and permanently alter
the irreplaceable cultural landscape that surrounds CCNHP.
These impacts will be significant--and likely unavoidable--
which several DOI agencies and offices have previously
recognized. For example:
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
(ACHP): ``The effects of continued [oil and gas]
development [in the landscape surrounding Chaco Canyon]
stand not only to directly impact historic properties;
they may also impair the traditions and tribal way of
life that has endured for centuries if not carried out
with an understanding of these important connections.''
\18\
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\18\ Letter from Milford Wayne Donaldson, Chairman, ACHP, to David
Bernhardt, Secretary, DOI 1 (June 10, 2019).
BLM: ``Leasing this parcel could potentially
involve significant access issues. Access across Tsun
Je Zhin Mesa north of parcel #64 could intrude across
the Chaco North Road. Our staff have identified clear
evidence for the North Road on Tsun Je Zhin Mesa as
well as with the east half of the parcel in Ah-shi-sle-
pah Wash.'' \19\
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\19\ Letter from David J. Mankiewicz, BLM, to Leigh Kuwanwisiwma,
Director, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office 2 (Dec. 23, 2009).
Federal Indian Minerals Office (FIMO): ``For
Parcel 791 219, 99.9% of the physical [area of
potential effects] APE and 70.4% of the atmospheric APE
fall within the viewshed of the North Road. For Parcel
791 220, 57.5% of the physical APE and 84.2% of the
atmospheric APE fall within the viewshed of the North
Road. Given that the North Road is a NR eligible
property (Criterion A, C, and D) and that setting is an
important element of its significance, it is unlikely
then that unmitigated development of Parcel 791 219
would be feasible. . . .'' \20\
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\20\ FIMO, Oil and Gas Competitive Lease Sale EA 2021 98 (Sept.
2021).
National Park Service (NPS): ``[t]he recent
proposed lease sale of 36 BLM parcels for oil and gas
development near Chaco Culture National Historical Park
and World Heritage Site has drawn considerable concern
from park management and other stakeholders. Though
that sale has been postponed to January 2014, we
believe this scale of development has the potential for
significant adverse effects on park viewsheds and
related values. The CCNHP viewshed contains numerous
ancient road alignments, including portions of the
Great North Road, and others that extend to the
northeast and northwest. Should these lease sales go
forward, park visitors will see construction and use of
new oil and gas roads, interfering with their views of
the ancient roads. Visitors will see oil and gas wells,
new electric transmission lines, and heavy transport,
construction, and ongoing well production traffic, all
of which would cumulatively affect the context,
setting, and historical integrity of the park.\21\
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\21\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 4 (May
29, 2013) (emphases added).
Inaccurate/Misleading Statement #3: CCNHP and important
cultural resources in the surrounding landscape are already
protected. The Chaco culture's sphere of influence encompassed
much--if not the entirety--of the Four Corners region. Evidence
of this is found at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona,
Chimney Rock National Monument in Colorado, and the Bluff Great
House in Utah. Yet, these protected places are exceptions to
the norm, as oil and gas development--particularly on public
lands in northwestern New Mexico--has ``destroyed'' many
significant cultural features created by the Chacoans and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
turned others into ``industrial parks.''
Further, while oil and gas development is not allowed within
CCNHP, much of the surrounding landscape, including public
lands bordering the national park, are currently open to
leasing and drilling. According to NPS, there would likely be
``significant adverse effects on park viewshed and related
values'' if federal lands in the proposed withdrawal area are
leased and drilled.\22\ That is why ACHP has called for a
``buffer zone'' around CCNHP and why the All Pueblo Council of
Governors and many others are supporting legislation that would
statutorily withdraw federal lands within ten miles of CCNHP
from future oil and gas leasing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ Id.
III. The Proposed Withdrawal is Needed to Fulfill DOI's Obligations to
Protect Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the Chaco
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Culture World Heritage Site
The proposed withdrawal would provide enhanced and much-needed
protection for CCNHP. In particular, it would limit harmful development
activity within the park's viewshed. The withdrawal would also help
prevent further degradation to the integrity of the Chaco Culture WHS.
A. The proposed withdrawal is needed to limit harmful development
activity within the park's viewshed.
By limiting oil and gas development within the park's viewshed, the
proposed withdrawal would help address ``the greatest external threat
to park resources.'' According to NPS, there are several significant
cultural locations within CCNHP that are susceptible to visual and
auditory impacts from oil and gas development within the park's
viewshed, including Penasco Blanco, Pueblo Alto, Pueblo Pintado, and
Tsin Kletsin.\23\ Pueblos and Tribes that access and use these sites
for traditional purposes have expressed concern for ``the broad effects
from oil and gas development that result in an altered landscape where
individuals are no longer able to complete early morning prayers, night
observances, or other ceremonies due to the impaired visual and
auditory setting.'' \24\ ACHP has raised identical concerns:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 2 (May
29, 2013).
\24\ BLM, Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft RMPA/EIS, Appendix H-2
(Feb. 2018).
Chaco also is a place of transcendent spiritual and traditional
cultural importance to Indian tribes of the region. Many
Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the Four Corners region recognize
that the Chaco Culture area is rich with sacred sites of utmost
importance to them. The threats posed by continued development
are not merely physical impacts on historic properties; they
can impair the traditions and tribal way of life that has
endured for centuries.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ Letter from Milford Wayne Donaldson, Chairman, ACHP, to Rep.
Grijalva & Rep. Bishop, House Natural Resources Committee 1 (Apr. 30,
2019).
Accordingly, Pueblos and Tribes have repeatedly asked the Interior
Department to avoid issuing any more oil and gas leases on federal
lands within the proposed withdrawal area.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ See, e.g., Letter, All Pueblo Council of Governors, to State
Director, BLM (Jan. 14, 2018) (protesting oil and gas leases within the
proposed withdrawal area); Press Release, All Pueblo Council of
Governors Response to BLM's Preferred Plan for Greater Chaco (Mar. 3,
2020) (``For years, and at the urging of Pueblos and other tribes, DOI
has designated federal land in this 10-mile area unavailable or
otherwise removed parcels from oil and gas lease sales. APCG and many
other stakeholders of this region have repeatedly called upon the
federal government to protect this region.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, all of these sites are open to and interpreted for
members of the public, many of whom value the park because of its
``solitude, natural quiet, remote high desert environment, and minimal
park development,'' which provide ``an unparalleled opportunity to
stand among the ruins and imagine the activity that occurred during the
height of the Chacoan occupation.'' \27\ Thus, by limiting oil and gas
development within the park's viewshed, the proposed withdrawal would
help protect these sites and further DOI's obligation to ``accommodate
access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious
practitioners'' and ``avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity
of such sacred sites.'' \28\
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\27\ NPS, Chaco Culture National Historical Park General Management
Plan Amendment/Environmental Assessment 15.
\28\ Exec. Order 13,007, 61 Fed. Reg. 26,771 (May 29, 1996); see
also NHPA XXX.
Over the years, NPS, BLM, and ACHP have all found that there could
be significant impacts on the park's viewshed if widespread oil and gas
development were to occur within the proposed withdrawal area. In 2013,
NPS provided BLM with comments on a draft visual resources management
plan for the Farmington Field Office. In those comments, NPS stated
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
that
[t]he recent proposed lease sale of 36 BLM parcels for oil and
gas development near Chaco Culture National Historical Park and
World Heritage Site has drawn considerable concern from park
management and other stakeholders. Though that sale has been
postponed to January 2014, we believe this scale of development
has the potential for significant adverse effects on park
viewsheds and related values. The CCNHP viewshed contains
numerous ancient road alignments, including portions of the
Great North Road, and others that extend to the northeast and
northwest. Should these lease sales go forward, park visitors
will see construction and use of new oil and gas roads,
interfering with their views of the ancient roads. Visitors
will see oil and gas wells, new electric transmission lines,
and heavy transport, construction, and ongoing well production
traffic, all of which would cumulatively affect the context,
setting, and historical integrity of the park.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 4 (May
29, 2013) (emphases added).
NPS specifically highlighted the sparsity of development within the
park's viewshed, particularly to the north: ``This landscape is not
pristine or untrammeled, but it is largely intact and the fact the
ancient features are still visible and detectable suggests that the
level of integrity is high. Each additional modern feature, ground
disturbance, or terrain modification obscures or outright obliterates
these features.'' \30\ Separately, NPS has found that a ``cultural
landscape'' exists that ``encompasses the whole park, and includes the
viewshed into and from adjacent lands, dark night sky, air quality, and
resources and values of traditionally associated peoples,'' \31\ and
stated that ``impacts to viewsheds have the potential to diminish
integrity of the park cultural landscape.'' \32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ Id. at 3.
\31\ BLM, Draft EA/FONSI Jan. 2014 Oil & Gas Lease Sale 24; see
also Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 6 (May
29, 2013) (``Surrounding lands outside the park boundary also
contribute to the integrity of setting and feeling of the park cultural
landscape.'').
\32\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 7 (May
29, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLM has reached similar conclusions. Several years ago, after
receiving lease nominations within the proposed withdrawal area, BLM
prepared a series of viewshed maps, which confirm that public lands
through the proposed withdrawal area are visible from several key
observation points within the park.\33\ BLM concluded that development
on these parcels ``could impact visitor experience of sweeping,
unimpaired views; appreciation of ancient sites with minimal
distractions; and no intrusions of man-made noise or light (at night)
at those points by introducing man-made structures into the
landscape.'' \34\ BLM also found that development on lease parcels over
twenty miles away would be visible from within the park.\35\ For this
reason, in 2018, BLM included an alternative in the Mancos-Gallup Draft
RMP Amendment that would close federal lands to leasing up to fifteen
miles from the park's boundary--five miles beyond what is proposed in
the withdrawal.\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\ BLM, Penasco Blanco Viewshed Analysis Results; BLM, Pueblo
Alto Viewshed Analysis Results; BLM, Pueblo Pintado Viewshed Analysis
Results; BLM, Tsin Kletsin Viewshed Analysis Results.
\34\ BLM, Draft EA/FONSI Jan. 2014 Oil & Gas Lease Sale 62.
\35\ Id. at 63.
\36\ BLM, Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft RMPA/EIS, Appendix H-4
(Feb. 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, ACHP has echoed NPS and BLM's findings concerning the
impact of oil and gas development on the park's viewshed. In 2013, in
comments on Farmington's draft visual resources management plan, ACHP
advised BLM that ``[i]t is particularly important to apply Class I or
II designations to all areas within the Chaco viewshed, including those
currently available for oil and gas leasing, in order to protect the
viewshed from adverse visual effects.'' \37\ Further, in 2019,
following then-Secretary of the Interior Bernhardt's decision to
recognize a congressional moratorium on leasing within the proposed
withdrawal area by announcing an administrative moratorium on leasing
within the withdrawal area, ACHP again raised concerns for how DOI was
managing the landscape surrounding CCNHP: ``The effects of continued
development stand not only to directly impact historic properties; they
may also impair the traditions and tribal way of life that has endured
for centuries if not carried out with an understanding of these
important connections.'' \38\ ACHP specifically endorsed the creation
of a ``buffer zone'' around the park where oil and gas leasing on
federal lands would be prohibited.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ Letter from Reid J. Nelson, ACHP, to Lindsay Eoff, Project
Manager, BLM 1 (May 31, 2013).
\38\ Letter from Milford Wayne Donaldson, Chairman, ACHP, to David
Bernhardt, Secretary, DOI 1 (June 10, 2019).
\39\ Letter from Milford Wayne Donaldson, Chairman, ACHP, to Rep.
Grijalva & Rep. Bishop, House Natural Resources Committee 2 (Apr. 30,
2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In sum, over the years, three DOI agencies--NPS, BLM, and ACHP--
have repeatedly voiced concern for the impact of oil and gas
development on the park, including its viewshed, and have recommended
courses of action, including creation of a ``buffer zone,'' that are in
complete harmony with the withdrawal proposed by Secretary Haaland.
B. The proposed withdrawal is needed to prevent further degradation of
the Chaco Culture WHS.
The National Park Service and archaeological experts with decades
of experience studying Chaco Canyon and the surrounding landscape have
identified oil and gas development as the ``greatest external threat''
to the integrity of the Chaco Culture WHS. Notably, the landscape that
surrounds and contextualizes the Chaco Culture WHS contributes to its
``outstanding universal value.'' According to NPS,
[t]he original [WHS] nomination underwent an important
modification that led to the inclusion of five associated Chaco
Greathouse communities managed by the BLM and Aztec Ruins
[National Monument], another NPS unit. This unusual action
(which followed the US congressional passage of PL 96-550) was
done to recognize that the Chacoan civilization and its remains
are not confined to the concentrated area in Chaco Canyon
proper. . . . The listing is remarkable in that UNESCO
recognized and requested that the additional `outlying'
segments be included in the listing because they illustrate the
vast extent of the Chaco World in the 10th through the 12th
centuries.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\40\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 3 (May
29, 2013) (emphases added).
NPS has also noted that while ``[m]ost of the Great North Road and
numerous other road alignments are outside of the World Heritage
boundaries[,] . . . views of and along those roads contribute to
Chaco's outstanding universal value.'' \41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\41\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, over the years, oil and gas development has impaired the
``outstanding universal values'' of the WHS, as detailed in a recent
assessment of Pierre's Site by Professor Ruth Van Dyke, a leading
expert on Chaco Canyon. Professor Van Dyke found ``that although the
BLM has taken care not to place drill rigs on top of surface
archaeological sites, there are major indirect and cumulative impacts
to the resources--specifically, to the viewscapes and soundscapes.
Sadly, rather than a sacred landscape and part of a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, the Pierre's community today resembles an industrial
park.'' \42\ In a separate study, Professor Van Dyke and two of her
colleagues indicated that ``energy development in the 20th century has
destroyed virtually any traces of the North Road between Kutz Canyon
and Aztec.'' \43\ As noted earlier, ``views of and along [the Great
North Road] contribute to Chaco's outstanding universal value.'' \44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\42\ Ruth M. Van Dyke, Impacts of Oil and Gas Drilling on
Viewscapes and Soundscapes at the Chaco Outlier of Pierre's, San Juan
County, New Mexico 1 (Feb. 16, 2017).
\43\ Van Dyke, Lekson, and Heitman, Chaco Landscapes: Data, Theory
and Management 50 (Feb. 25, 2016).
\44\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 3 (May
29, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPS has made similar findings. In a 2013 report on the state of the
Chaco Culture WHS, NPS identified ``energy development as the greatest
external threat to park resources'' and acknowledged that ``[t]he
ability to consistently and successfully manage external threats and
their effects on the cultural values is not present.'' \45\ Also in
2013 and in response to a specific leasing proposal for public lands in
close proximity to the WHS, NPS stated that ``Chaco's specific World
Heritage values of sweeping, unimpaired views, clean air, and no
intrusions of man-made noise or light would be affected by a high level
of development near the World Heritage sites.'' \46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\ Id.
\46\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 7 (May
29, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This leasing proposal was just one of several in recent years that
included public lands within the proposed withdrawal area. One of those
proposals included a parcel that overlapped with the Great North Road
about four miles north of the NHP. According to BLM, ``[l]easing this
parcel could potentially involve significant access issues. Access
across Tsun Je Zhin Mesa north of parcel #64 could intrude across the
Chaco North Road. Our staff have identified clear evidence for the
North Road on Tsun Je Zhin Mesa as well as with the east half of the
parcel in Ah-shi-sle-pah Wash.'' \47\ Fortunately, and in response to
concerns from the Hopi Tribe, BLM deferred this parcel--but, like most
of the landscape surrounding the park, it remains open to leasing and
development.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\47\ Letter from David J. Mankiewicz, BLM, to Leigh Kuwanwisiwma,
Director, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office 2 (Dec. 23, 2009).
To prevent further degradation to the Chaco Culture WHS, ACHP has
endorsed the creation of a ``buffer zone'' around the park. In
commenting on the Chaco Cultural Heritage Protection Act, which would
withdraw the same federal lands from oil and gas leasing that DOI's
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
proposed withdrawal would, ACHP stated that:
[b]y creating the ``Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area,''
the legislation would remove development threats on federal
lands within and adjacent to the Chaco National Historical Park
and other portions of the World Heritage Site. It should be
noted that by doing so the Congress would be fulfilling the
obligations of the World Heritage Convention for states party
to protect their World Heritage Sites and, where necessary, to
create buffer zones for that purpose. The provisions of H.R.
2181 would in large part meet the threats identified in the
Chaco Culture World Heritage Site Statement of Outstanding
Universal Value.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\ Letter from Milford Wayne Donaldson, Chairman, ACHP, to Rep.
Grijalva & Rep. Bishop, House Natural Resources Committee 2 (Apr. 30,
2019).
Creating such a ``buffer zone'' would also address NPS's
``considerable concern'' for leasing in the landscape surrounding the
Chaco Culture WHS,\49\ and help avoid ``reduc[ing] this landscape to
dots on a map that threaten to destroy the most compelling, least-
understood, and perhaps most significant aspects of [the Chaco]
phenomenon.'' \50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\49\ Letter from Lawrence T. Turk, Superintendent, Chaco Culture
National Historical Park, to Lindsay Eoff, Project Manager, BLM 4 (May
29, 2013).
\50\ Van Dyke, Lekson, and Heitman, Chaco Landscapes: Data, Theory
and Management 1 (Feb. 25, 2016).
C. The proposed withdrawal would help DOI fulfill its legal obligation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
to achieve ``maximum consistency'' with state and local plans.
The proposed withdrawal would help DOI achieve consistency with the
New Mexico State Land Office's withdrawal of state lands surrounding
CCNHP. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, BLM must
ensure that its land management efforts are consistent ``with State and
local plans to the maximum extent'' possible.\51\ While this
requirement does not require absolute consistency between federal and
state/local plans, ``it ensures that the States' interests . . . will
not be ignored. . . .'' \52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1712(c)(9).
\52\ Cal. Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co., 480 U.S. 572, 596
(1987) (Powell, J., dissenting).
On April 27, 2019, New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie
Garcia Richard issued Executive Order (EO) No. 2019-002--Moratorium on
New Oil and Gas and Mineral Leasing in Greater Chaco Area. The EO
explains that ``the protection of Chaco Culture National Historical
Park and other sites is essential to safeguard archaeological and
cultural resources of the tribes, nations and pueblos, the State of New
Mexico and the United States. . . .'' \53\ Accordingly, the EO
``withholds'' state trust lands ``from new leasing for oil and gas or
mineral purposes'' within the proposed withdrawal area ``until December
31, 2013. . . .'' \54\ Because DOI's proposed withdrawal would have the
same effect on federal lands (for a period for twenty years), it would
help DOI achieve ``maximum consistency'' with the State of New Mexico's
current plan for the landscape surrounding Chaco Canyon.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ SLO EO 2019-002
\54\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. The Proposed Withdrawal is Needed to Protect Cultural Resources
The significance and importance of the 10-mile zone revolves around
its values--spiritual, archaeological, and scientific. Chaco Canyon and
the surrounding Greater Chaco Landscape constitute a living cultural
and ancestral landscape of great spiritual significance to the Pueblo
Tribes of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. The Pueblos trace their
ancestry to Chaco's many ceremonial and sacred sites, as well as to
traditional cultural places on this landscape. Pueblo ancestors have
lived and practiced ritual within Chaco's boundaries and across the
Greater Chaco Landscape for thousands of years. Navajo residents of
Greater Chaco have enduring ties to this landscape, as well, and the
Pueblos and the Navajo Nation identify many traditional cultural places
here.
In addition to years of previous work, archaeological survey and
reconnaissance work (reflected in Figure 1) by Archaeology Southwest in
2020 revealed more than 4,200 archaeological and historic sites in the
protective zone.\55\ These places were created by diverse groups--
including Paleoindian, Archaic, Puebloan, Navajo, Jicarilla Apache, and
others--in time periods from about 10,000 BCE to the present. Because
less than 20 percent of the area enclosed by the 10-mile zone has been
archaeologically surveyed, the actual site count is undoubtedly much
higher.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\55\ Reed 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 1
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
.epsAt least 10 significant ancient Chacoan-Pueblo communities are
known to lie within and just beyond the 10-mile zone around Chaco Park.
These include the Bis san'ni Community, located a few miles northeast
of Chetro Ketl, and the Pierre's Community, located up the Great North
Road, at about the edge of the 10-mile protection zone. A linear
community lies along the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah road, which originates at
Penasco Blanco and trends to the northwest for more than 25 kilometers
(19 miles). Most of this linear ancient community lies within the 10-
mile protection zone. Additional Chacoan communities within the 10-mile
zone include Casa del Rio, Bee Burrow, Kin Indian-Escavada-Greasy Hill,
Greenlee, Indian Creek, Mesa Tierra, and Tse Lichii'. As described
below, these are significant sites--the characteristics and condition
of which merit additional study and protection from oil-gas
development.
The ancient Pueblo community at Bis san'ni comprises at
least 30 sites in a roughly 4 km-square or roughly 1000-
acre area. The community lies about 5 miles northeast of
Pueblo Bonito. The core of the site is a Chaco great house
with about 40 rooms and 5 kivas. Pueblo sites in the
community around Bis san'ni contain about 50 rooms and
several kivas. In addition, the community contains resource
procurement sites and other sites of limited use.
The Pierre's site complex is the largest community on
Chaco's Great North Road. Pierre's contains three small
Chacoan great houses with perhaps 50 total rooms, single
and second--story, and several kivas. The community also
incorporates a watchtower-like feature called El Faro (the
lighthouse). In the community around Pierre's core, at
least 75 rooms are present at numerous small pueblo
habitation or field house sites. Additional sites include
artifact scatters, the Great North Road, and rock features.
Additional discussion of Pierre's is provided below.
Mesa Tierra is a Chacoan great house with 30 rooms and 5
kivas located southwest of Pueblo Bonito. The site was
built on a mesatop and includes a small community of
surrounding sites with perhaps 20 additional rooms.
Casa del Rio lies along Chaco's West Road and comprises a
great house with perhaps 140 rooms and several large, dense
midden areas. An ancient reservoir lies south of the great
house. The community around Casa del Rio is largely
unknown, due to the lack of archaeological survey.
Greenlee lies southeast of the Chaco Park boundary and
consists of a Chacoan great house with 15 rooms and one
kiva. It sits on a low mesatop. A Chacoan road segment run
to the east of the site. A probable community of small
sites surrounds Greenlee but its nature is unclear due to
limited archaeological investigation.
Bee Burrow is a small Chacoan great house with 11 rooms
and 2 kivas located south of Pueblo Bonito and the Park
boundary. Chaco's South Road passes by the site to the
east. Petroglyphs are present along a cliff face southwest
of the great house. The community surrounding Bee Burrow is
poorly understood but contains dozens of small pueblo sites
and perhaps 500 total rooms.
The Indian Creek community lies west of Chaco and includes
two small Chacoan great houses--Casa Cielo and Casa Abajo--
and a community of 20 small pueblo sites with over 100
rooms. In addition to the communities listed above, there
are others--clusters of sites that may constitute distinct
communities and have not yet received detailed examination.
To better understand the nature and extent of cultural resources in
the 10-mile zone, Archaeology Southwest undertook a reconnaissance
project focusing on the northwest, north, and northeast portions of the
10-mile area.\56\ A primary goal of the work was to identify or confirm
cultural communities in the 10-mile zone, with the main criterion being
spatial proximity. In several cases, the mix of sites across time
periods was substantial. For these areas, then, the geographically
proximate sites were not described as discrete communities, but rather
as site clusters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\56\ Reed 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A larger objective in this work was connected to the currently
ongoing RMPA and EIS planning process undertaken by the BLM and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). This goal involved looking at the
Greater Chaco Landscape in not so much a totally unique manner, but at
a different scale than is pursued by the Agencies. Typically, Federal
Agencies in the western United States treat cultural sites as single
phenomena during the Section 106 process. Thus, archaeological
contractors identify sites or TCPs during projects, and the projects
are redesigned, in most cases, to avoid the resources by 50-100 feet.
In rarer cases, such as road alignments, the decision is made to
conduct test excavations to mitigate effects on the cultural resources.
This avoidance policy has spared many cultural resources from
outright destruction, but has also resulted in a highly fragmented
cultural landscape across many places of the American West, and in
particular, across the Greater Chaco Landscape. As a result, many
indirect and cumulative effects have built up across Greater Chaco, as
the ancient Chacoan-Puebloan landscape has been slowly but persistently
in-filled by the industrial infrastructure of the oil-gas industry.
In our view, a better perspective looks at cultural sites not in
isolation, but as pieces of larger communities on the landscape. This
community- or landscape-based approach has been part of archaeological
research for nearly 25 years, but it has not yet appeared in the
Agencies' playbook. Although the BLM lands in Greater Chaco are
currently leased at more than 90 percent, this landscape-level approach
can be implemented to protect communities and site clusters that have
not yet seen impacts, such as those seen at the Pierre's Community.\57\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\57\ See Van Dyke 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To add to what Van Dyke's study has revealed and what prior BLM
GIS-based analysis also showed, we compiled a map of the Pierre's
Community and then overlaid the current BLM ACEC that was put in place
years ago in an effort to protect the community and keep oil-gas
development away (Figure 2). Again, as Van Dyke has clearly
illustrated, the number and density of oil-gas well pads and other
facilities has compromised the viewshed and soundscape around the
Pierre's Community. This study and the mapping exercise amplify this
message.
Figure 2 shows sites in the ancient Pierre's Community and site
cluster, encompassing at least 160 sites of varying ages (primarily
Chacoan with some Archaic, Early Navajo, and Historic Navajo
manifestations), with the BLM's ACEC zones of protection shown. The
ACECs were designed to protect Pierre's and two sections of the Great
North Road, both north and south of the community. As the map shows,
however, the ACECs cut through the middle of the community--protecting
some sites but not offering any protection for outlying sites that are
part of the ancient and historic community. Although the Pierre's
Community is recognized as part of the Chaco Culture World Heritage
designation, beyond BLM small ACECs, this amazing place has no special
protection from oil-gas or other development.
Figure 2
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Moving north of the Pierre's Community, we come to a point that
is near the northern margin of the 10-mile zone (Figure 3). This site
cluster, described as ``North of Pierre's,'' includes more than 100
sites of primarily historic Navajo and Archaic ages that lie on
predominantly BLM lands. Beyond the initial recording of these sites on
various projects, little additional research has been completed. At
present, we do not know whether these sites constitute one or more
discrete cultural communities. Additional research is necessary to
better understand this very interesting site cluster. We do know that
the density of sites in this cluster was the main reason that the
withdrawal boundary was drawn where it lies. Currently, this cluster of
sites has little protection.
Figure 3
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
West of the Pierre's Community, we come to another dense
cluster of sites identified as the Split Lip Flats cluster, after a
local topographic feature (Figure 4). This very dense cluster contains
at least 266 sites that are primarily of Middle-Late Archaic,
Basketmaker II, and Pueblo I-III origin, located primarily on BLM-
managed lands. The Chacoan road known as the Ah-She-Sle-Pah road is
shown on the same map (in Figure 4), running northwest from just below
the Chaco Canyon sites of Penasco Blanco and pointing to the core of
the Split Lip Flats cluster. Although it has hardly been documented,
there is a Pueblo II community in this cluster on the road alignment.
More research would help us understand this area northwest of Chaco's
boundary. As the map figure shows, there is an ACEC that encompasses a
small portion of the Ah-She-Sle-Pah road. The bulk of this dense and
poorly understand site cluster and community lies on BLM lands, and it
is not protected in any way.
Figure 4
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Next, we move to the east, past Chaco's boundary and to the
community known as Bis san'ni (Figure 5). This Chacoan community was
well studied in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Cory Breternitz, Mike
Marshall, and others. The community encompasses at least 61 sites that
are predominantly Pueblo II in age. Earlier and later Pueblo sites are
present, as well as Archaic and Historic Navajo age sites. On the
north, the community is largely bounded by the wide swath of Escavada
Wash. BLM land is but a small percentage in the Bis san'ni area, mostly
on the north end of the Chacoan community. Although Bis san'ni is
recognized as unique Chacoan Outlier, it is afforded no special
protection, and oil-gas wells could be placed in close proximity to the
community.
Figure 5
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2952.020
.epsLastly, we move north of Bis san'ni to a location near the
northeast edge of 10-mile zone. This site cluster is the smallest, with
30 sites, and is identified as the Northeast of Chaco site cluster
(Figure 6). The sites are split between Historic Navajo camps and
settlement dating between 1880 and 1960, and a range of Archaic and
likely Archaic camps and scatter sites. Similar to the North of
Pierre's site cluster, these sites are known only through limited,
survey-level documentation. Data show the presence of a Navajo
community in the area, from 1880 to 1960. Nevertheless, additional
research is required to better understand the Navajo community and to
tease out the parameters of Archaic period settlement in the cluster,
from 5500 to 800 BCE. This site cluster is probably the most at-risk of
all discussed here, because companies working in the Mancos Shale oil
development have placed many wells in the area just beyond the site-
cluster boundary and the 10-mile boundary. If the BLM and BIA do not
honor the 10-mile protection zone in this area, it is very likely that
the sites in this cluster will become mere islands of ``preserved''
remnants of Navajo and Archaic cultures embedded within a highly
industrialized modern landscape.
Figure 6
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The group of six ancient and historic communities and site
clusters discussed here is just a sample of those that lie within the
10-mile protection zone. Along with the ten previously documented and
described Chacoan communities, they clearly illustrate the high density
of cultural and historic sites in this area directly adjacent to Chaco
Park. These findings again reinforce our understanding that the 10-mile
zone of protection is not an arbitrary boundary. The 10-mile zone
contains irreplaceable ancient and historic sites and communities that
merit much more protection than BLM and BIA policy and regulations
currently provide.
Other than the Pueblo of Acoma's 2018 project with Archaeology
Southwest (Anschuetz, Reed et al. 2019, little recent ethnographic work
has been undertaken with any Tribal groups. Dozens of traditional
cultural properties (TCPs) were revealed during the Acoma Project
within the 10-mile zone, indicating that there are probably hundreds,
if not thousands, of TCPs and other Tribal cultural sites as yet
unidentified across Greater Chaco. Current, ongoing cultural studies
(funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs), with the Chaco Heritage
Tribal Association--a coalition of Pueblo groups--and the Navajo Nation
will add immeasurably to our understanding of the 10-mile zone and the
Greater Chaco Landscape. A failure to protect Federal lands in the 10-
mile zone would undoubtedly result in loss of sensitive cultural
resources.
Beyond the specifics of TCPs, sacred sites, cultural and historic
sites, other scientific aspects of the Greater Chaco Landscape attest
to its significance, including the Chaco Park's International Dark Sky
designation and the incredible viewsheds and soundscapes Ruth Van Dyke
(2017) and other archaeologists are only beginning to document.
Additionally, the 10-mile zone encompasses much of the Park's viewshed,
and visitors are able to view and appreciate the significance of the
largely-undeveloped landscape surrounding the Park from Pueblo Alto,
Pueblo Pintado, and several other locations.
These values plainly underscore that the 10-mile zone of protection
is not arbitrary. The 10-mile zone contains irreplaceable ancient and
historic sites and communities that merit greater protection than BLM
and BIA regulations currently provide. This reinforces the need for
permanent withdrawal of the 351,000 acres in Secretary Haaland's order,
as well as the need for legislation to permanently remove the threat of
future oil-gas development from this land.
V. The Proposed Withdrawal Will Support Local Community Health and
Well-Being
Not only does BLM have the inherent authority to withdraw these
lands from mineral development, but it is imperative for a number of
resource values as well as the surrounding communities that BLM
withdraw these lands from mineral development.
A. BLM must analyze impacts to community health and well-being
throughout the environmental analysis.
The proposed withdrawal can and should be an example of putting the
commitments that the Biden Administration has emphasized into action
for the benefit of the communities surrounding and historically
connected to the greater Chaco landscape. As emphasized in Executive
Order (EO) 13990, ``Protecting Public Health and the Environment and
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis'', it is the Federal
government's responsibility to ``promote and protect our public health
and the environment; and conserve our national treasures and monuments,
places that secure our national memory.'' CCNHP is undoubtedly a
national treasure rich in cultural history that deserves continued and
improved protection. The EO emphasizes, in places ``[w]here the Federal
Government has failed to meet that commitment in the past, it must
advance environmental justice.'' Given the extensive amount of existing
oil and gas development in the region, existing community health
impacts, high poverty rates, and countless other harms against
Indigenous communities tied to the region, CCNHP and the proposed
withdrawal area is a prime location for the Federal government to make
progress toward righting past wrongs and advancing public health and
environmental justice. In doing so, the Federal government
must be guided by the best science and protected by processes
that ensure the integrity of Federal decision-making. It is,
therefore, the policy of [the Biden] Administration to listen
to the science; to improve public health and protect our
environment; to ensure access to clean air and water; to limit
exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; . . . to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions; to bolster resilience to the impacts
of climate change; to restore and expand our national treasures
and monuments.\58\
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\58\ EO 13990, ``Protecting Public Health and the Environment and
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis'' January 20, 2021.
Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-
actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-
environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/
The present environmental analysis is one of the most prime
opportunities for the Biden administration to meet its commitments and
stand up for environmental justice and community health.
Additionally, evaluating and addressing the impacts to the health
and economic welfare of surrounding communities must be an integral
part of the ongoing environmental analysis. As stated throughout these
comments, it will be important for the agencies to incorporate into
this assessment a clear commitment and framework for ongoing
consultation and coordination with Pueblos, Tribes, and residents.
BLM must take a hard look at health and safety impacts to the
community surrounding the proposed withdrawal. Local community and
Tribal members have expressed serious concerns about the impacts of oil
and gas development on local air and water quality, as well as noise
and dust from nearby operations. Given the science supporting negative
health impacts and continual requests from those most impacted by this
decision, our coalition fully supports the proposed withdrawal area.
This withdrawal would generally decrease risks to public health and
safety from air emissions, noise, light pollution, and traffic, thus
benefiting community health and wellbeing.
The impact to public health from industrialized drilling and
associated climate impacts cannot be understated, particularly with
such a rampant acceleration in the surrounding area in a short period
of time. A 2014 review identified 15 different components of
unconventional oil and gas development, everything from trucks and
tanks to chemicals and venting, which can present a chemical, physical
and/or safety hazard.\59\
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\59\ John L. Adgate et al., Potential Public Health Hazards,
Exposures and Health Effects from Unconventional Natural Gas
Development, 48 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 8307 (Feb. 24,
2014).
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Residents living near drilling and fracking operations experience
increased reproductive harms, asthma attacks, rates of hospitalization,
ambulance runs, emergency room visits, self-reported respiratory
problems and rashes, motor vehicle fatalities, trauma, and drug abuse.
A 2019 Physicians for Social Responsibility review concluded:
By several measures, evidence for fracking-related health
problems is emerging across the United States. In Pennsylvania,
as the number of gas wells increase in a community, so do rates
of hospitalization. Drilling and fracking operations are
correlated with elevated motor vehicle fatalities (Texas),
asthma (Pennsylvania), self-reported skin and respiratory
problems (southwestern Pennsylvania), ambulance runs and
emergency room visits (North Dakota), infant deaths (Utah),
birth defects (Colorado), high risk pregnancies (Pennsylvania),
premature birth (Pennsylvania), and low birthweight (multiple
states). Benzene levels in ambient air surrounding drilling and
fracking operations are sufficient to elevate risks for future
cancers in both workers and nearby residents, according to
studies. Animal studies show that two dozen chemicals commonly
used in fracking operations are endocrine disruptors that can
variously disrupt organ systems, lower sperm counts, and cause
reproductive harm at levels to which people can be
realistically exposed.\60\
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\60\ See https://www.psr.org/blog/resource/compendium-of-
scientific-medical-and-media-findings-demonstrating-risks-and-harms-of-
fracking/
Across the country, multiple studies have pointed to the negative
impacts of oil and gas development on community health, raising deep
environmental justice concerns. In Pennsylvania, the following symptoms
were reported by over half the people living near gas development who
responded to a health survey. They included fatigue (62%), nasal
irritation (61%), throat irritation (60%), sinus problems (58%),
burning eyes (53%), shortness of breath (52%), joint pain (52%),
feeling weak and tired (52%), severe headaches (51%), and sleep
disturbance (51%). The survey was completed by 108 individuals (in 55
households) in 14 counties across Pennsylvania.\61\ Similar impacts are
probable to exist across impacted communities in New Mexico.
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\61\ Nadia Steinzor, et al., Investigating links between shale gas
development and health impacts through a community survey project in
Pennsylvania, New Solutions, vol. 23 iss. 1. (2013).
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In one study, health experts surveyed agreed that oil and gas
setbacks of over 1,000 feet were likely inadequate to protect public
health, and additional setbacks were necessary to protect young
children and elderly people.\62\ Many unconventional oil and gas
setback rules, for setbacks of 1000 feet or less, do not adequately
protect health, especially children's respiratory health, that ``the
majority of municipal setback ordinances are not supported by empirical
data,'' and calling for a one-mile minimum for setbacks between
drilling facilities and schools, hospitals, and occupied dwellings in
light of the heightened health risks of residing within .5 mile or less
of unconventional oil and gas drilling sites.
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\62\ See Celia Lewis et al., Setback Distances for Unconventional
Oil and Gas Development: Delphi Study Results. 13 PLoS One e0202462
(Aug. 16, 2018).
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One such study found that babies whose mothers lived near multiple
oil and gas wells were 30% more likely to be born with heart defects
than babies born to mothers who did not live close to oil and gas
wells.\63\
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\63\ Lisa M. McKenzie et al., Birth Outcomes and Maternal Resident
Proximity to Natural Gas Development in Rural Colorado, 122
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 412 (April 2014).
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In general, research indicates that the potential cumulative
effects of social and environmental stressors and social determinants
of health in the context of oil and natural gas activity can increase
the risk or magnitude of exposure and the frequency and/or severity of
adverse health impacts of oil and gas drilling (e.g., pollution sources
are often located closer to communities of color and low-income
``environmental justice'' communities--in this context largely Navajo
residents currently already being hit very hard by COVID-19--underlying
health conditions can increase vulnerability to pollution-related
health impacts, and pollution-related health impacts can exacerbate
existing health and socioeconomic stressors); and they can present
obstacles to preventing, diagnosing, managing, and treating adverse
health impacts.
A study by Johns Hopkins University, which examined 35,000 medical
records of people with asthma in Pennsylvania, found that people who
live near a higher number of, or larger, active gas wells were 1.5 to 4
times more likely to suffer from asthma attacks than those living
farther away, with the closest groups having the highest risk.\64\
These asthma-related impacts are of particular concern in the
communities adjacent to the proposed withdrawal and the Farmington
Field Office. In San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties, child asthma
hospitalizations exceed the New Mexico state average.\65\ The New
Mexico Department of Health has noted that low-income populations and
``environmental justice'' populations face not only disproportionate
asthma risks, but also significant difficulty managing their asthma, in
part due to lack of access to health care. Rio Arriba and McKinley
Counties have some of the highest rates of asthma emergency department
visits in Northern New Mexico, also higher than the state average.
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\64\ Rasmussen, Sara G. et al., Association Between Unconventional
Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma
Exacerbations, 176 JAMA Internal Medicine 1334 (2016).
\65\ New Mexico Dept. of Health, The Burden of Asthma in New
Mexico: 2014 Epidemiology Report (Jan. 2014), at 41, available at
https://nmhealth.org/data/view/environment/54.
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In 2017, over 40% of San Juan county residents stated that they
have difficulty accessing health care often due to geographic
constraints but also for economic reasons.\66\ Cumulative health
effects result throughout the course of life of a person suffering from
air pollution related asthma: children with asthma are much more likely
to miss school, hurting their educational prospects as well as their
health (with some adverse health effects enduring into adulthood), and
resulting in significant funding losses for local schools.\67\
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\66\ 2017 Community Health Needs Assessment Report San Juan County,
New Mexico.
\67\ See Attendance Works, Mapping the Early Attendance Gap (2017).
Available at http://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/
Mapping-the-Early-Attendance-Gap_ Final-4.pdf
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The agency should consider this scientific information in full and
acknowledge that oil and gas development and resulting climate change
impacts will have direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to the
health and welfare of surrounding communities. In the planning area,
these impacts can also have a differential adverse impact on low-income
populations or communities of color, creating environmental justice
concerns that can and should be addressed in the plan and in any
subsequent approved activities. Supporting a 20-year withdrawal for the
proposed area would significantly benefit community health and
wellbeing.
B. BLM should analyze socio-economic impacts and develop measures to
mitigate those impacts as necessary.
In addition to health impacts, oil and gas development can have
socioeconomic impacts on local communities. For instance, the influx of
construction and operations workers associated with oil and gas
development and ancillary facilities in communities with low-income and
Indigenous populations could lead to the undermining of local community
social structures and, consequently, could lead to a range of changes
in social and community life. BLM should evaluate socioeconomic impacts
and include those in considering the costs and benefits of approving
the proposed withdrawal.
A study by Headwaters Economics recommends what data to track along
with ideas for how to approach and develop monitoring protocols to help
planners, local leaders, industry, and community members understand and
respond to the social and economic impacts of a high intensity
industrial activity like hydraulic fracturing.\68\
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\68\ See https://headwaterseconomics.org/energy/oil-gas/energy-
monitoring-practices/.
The Headwaters study recommends that the following five areas be
monitored to more fully assess the impact of oil and gas development on
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communities:
1. Population growth & worker residency patterns: an influx of
temporary and transient workers may create an inflated
demand on social services, housing, and infrastructure,
straining the capacity of small communities to meet that
need.
2. Employment, personal income, and local business effects:
monitoring this data can help states and communities
understand which types of businesses may be most vulnerable
to energy-related economic impacts and guide how and where
to direct support before, during, and after boom periods.
3. Cost of living and housing: the average wages in a community
experiencing an energy boom may not rise concurrently with
the increased energy development. An increased price of
living may adversely impact those whose wages do not
increase with the rise of energy activity.
4. Service, infrastructure, capacity, and revenue: a region's tax
base may increase with a growth in energy activity, but the
appropriation of those funds to address environmental and
health impacts may be difficult. A boom in the energy
sector of a community may result in an increased need for
police, fire protection, roads, water treatment, landfills,
and other government activities, all of which can be
costly.
5. Quality of life and other local concerns: as reflected in
multiple community accounts of health concerns, citizen
science health assessment studies, numerous complaints
filed to the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources
Department Oil Conservation Division regarding leaks and
emissions from oil and gas sites in the Greater Chaco
Region, the rapid growth of energy development in the area
has resulted in measurable detriments to public and
environmental health.
We urge BLM to incorporate into its approach for the proposed
withdrawal a thorough assessment of the socioeconomic impacts of the
projected oil and gas development in the planning area and to develop
mitigation measures to address those impacts.
VI. The Proposed Withdrawal Will Benefit the Climate and Mitigate the
Impacts of Climate Change
The primary purpose of the proposed withdrawal is to protect Chaco
Canyon and the greater connected landscape's rich Tribal and cultural
legacy. It is important to note that in addition to the vast cultural
values and the need to protect the landscape, the proposed action also
provides progress toward the necessary climate goal of limiting warming
to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Federal government is at a critical moment
in time--the decisions made now will impact the climate and quality of
life for future generations.
DOI has the authority to adopt a programmatic as well as a
localized approach to phase out and ultimately eliminate fossil fuel
development and production on public lands and waters.\69\ BLM must
manage public lands according to ``multiple use'' and ``sustained
yield'' and ``in a manner that will protect the quality of scientific,
scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric,
water resources, and archeological values.'' \70\ Multiple use
obligates the agency to make the ``most judicious use'' of public lands
and their resources to ``best meet the present and future needs of the
American people.'' \71\ This requires taking ``into account the
longterm needs of future generations,'' ensuring ``harmonious and
coordinated management of the various resources without permanent
impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the
environment.'' \72\ Importantly, BLM must also ``take any action
necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the lands.''
\73\ The significant adverse impacts caused by burning fossil fuels
from oil and gas development and production on public lands directly
and urgently threaten BLM's ability to uphold its statutory mandates
under FLPMA.
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\69\ See 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1701-1785; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321-4370h; 30
U.S.C. Sec. 226(a), (b), (m); 43 C.F.R. Sec. 3101.1-2 (2019).
\70\ 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1701(a)(7) & (8), Sec. 1712(c)(1),
Sec. 1732(a).
\71\ Id. Sec. 1702(c).
\72\ Id.
\73\ Id. Sec. 1732(b).
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As documented in the Farmington Field Office--Mancos-Gallup Draft
Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendment
(RMPA) completed in February 2020, oil and gas development has been the
predominant use in the Farmington Field Office for decades.\74\ BLM has
already leased 1.8 million acres in the Farmington Field Office for
development--an astonishing ``92% of Federal fluid minerals within the
planning area.'' \75\ Industry has also drilled over 37,000 wells and
built a 15,000-mile long network of access roads within the planning
area.\76\ And if nothing changes (i.e., under the Draft RMPA's no-
action alternative), then oil and gas leasing could continue on 95
percent of the planning area.\77\
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\74\ See Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft Environmental Impact
Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendment, available online at:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/68107/510
\75\ Id. at 1.
\76\ Id. at AE-92.
\77\ Id. at 3-121.
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BLM's multiple use mandate requires careful and thoughtful
balancing between developing and conserving resources and decision-
making based on current inventories of ``public lands and their
resource and other values.'' \78\ Over the years, the balance in the
Farmington Field Office has swung decidedly away from conserving
cultural and natural resources and toward development. Accordingly, BLM
and DOI have an affirmative obligation to comply with the multiple use
mandate by prioritizing conservation alternatives for the Greater Chaco
Landscape. The proposed withdrawal area is a necessary and, in the
context of the larger field office, minimal, buffer required to
prioritize protection over additional development in the Greater Chaco
Region.
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\78\ See 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1702(c) (directing BLM to achieve ``a
combination of balanced and diverse resource uses that takes into
account the long-term needs of future generations for renewable and
non-renewable resources, including, but not limited to, recreation,
range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural
scenic, scientific and historical values'').
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VII. The Proposed Withdrawal is Needed to Protect Chaco's International
Dark Sky Certification
CCNHP was first established as a national monument in 1907 to
preserve and tell the story of Chaco Canyon, which continues to be an
important cultural center for tribal communities today. The park
protects many of these impressive structures and is one of the largest
collections of ancestral sites north of Mexico. While the footprint of
CCNHP itself is small, the larger connected cultural landscape is vast.
In and around the park, ecological resources, cultural sites,
properties, and resources are greatly significant and essential to the
integrity of the landscape--including clean air and water, wildlife
habitat, culturally significant sites including vegetation, and dark
night skies.
Chaco has long been considered by many night sky enthusiasts to be
one of the best places in America to stargaze. Today, amidst this
ancient landscape, visitors can experience the same dark sky that the
Ancestral Puebloans with ties to Chaco Culture observed a thousand
years ago. The protection of dark night skies is a priority at Chaco
not only for the enjoyment of star-gazing visitors, but for the natural
environment as well. Nocturnal wildlife relies on darkness for
survival, and the natural rhythms of humans and plants depend on an
unaltered night sky. And night skies and astronomy are essential to
understanding and fully engaging with the formation and continued
significance of Chacoan sites.
Archaeoastronomer Anna Sofaer, who studied the sites for 20 years
beginning in 1977, has documented the intricate astronomical system in
the design of this vast Puebloan site, extending beyond the Park
boundaries. Astronomical alignments have been noted in many sites at
Chaco. Seven buildings in Chaco Canyon have alignments with the Maximum
and Minimum risings and settings of the Moon. No other culture in the
world is known to build structures in alignment with this long
cycle.\79\
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\79\ Sofaer, Anna. Chaco Astronomy: An Ancient American Cosmology.
Ocean Tree Books, 2008.
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In 2013, CCNHP was officially designated a Dark Sky Park by the
International Dark Sky Association. The park's natural nighttime
darkness, commitment to reducing light pollution, and ongoing public
outreach led to its certification. Chaco takes advantage of this asset
through evening astronomy programs at their public observatory, where
visitors can observe the clear and dark night sky.\80\
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\80\ https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/nature/darkskypark.htm
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In addition to the harm unchecked industrial development can have
on dark skies, a 2018 study out of Cornell/Iowa showed that park
visitation drops 8% or more when pollution is high.\81\
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\81\ Air pollution and visitation at U.S. national parks. Science
Advances. 4. eaat1613. 10.1126/sciadv.aat1613.
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``Air Quality Resource Values'' or AQRVs, are parks' identified
lists of values that the National Park Service is concerned about being
impacted by pollution--including dark skies and ecosystems.\82\
According to the National Park Service, more than 3,300 after dark
visitor contacts are recorded annually at Chaco Culture National
Historical Park.\83\ Sky glow adversely impacts nighttime scenic
quality and visual resources by inhibiting park visitors' ability to
view celestial objects. Disruption of the natural cycles of light and
dark also have detrimental effects on wildlife, including bats and the
insects on which they feed. Bright flaring operations less than 10
miles from Chaco are often easily discernible. This proposal will
safeguard air-quality related resources by better regulating this light
and air pollution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\82\ Air Quality Related Values in National Parks. https://
www.nps.gov/articles/aqrv-
assessment.htm#:?:text=Air%20quality%20related%20values%20(AQRVs,%2C%20e
cological%2C
%20or%20recreational%20resource.&text=particles%20affecting%20visibility
%2C%20and
\83\ Chaco Night Sky Program. https://www.nps.gov/chcu/
planyourvisit/nightsky.htm#:?:text=
Over%203%2C000%20visitors%20and%20school,to%20image%20deep%2Dspace%20obj
ects.
VIII. The Proposed Withdrawal Directly Benefits the Species in the
Area, and Supports the Protection of federally listed
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Threatened and Endangered Species
All of the benefits stated above indirectly benefit all species of
plant and animal in the region by limiting human-species conflicts,
reducing light pollution which can disrupt routines, and contributing
to a better balanced climate. The limitation on oil and gas development
will also directly improve the lives of species that call Chaco home
including ``elk, deer, bobcats, rabbits, badgers, porcupines, bats,
snakes, lizards and other amphibians, and diverse bird populations.''
\84\
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\84\ Chaco Culture National Historical Park-Nature, https://
www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/nature/index.htm
Additionally, this proposed withdrawal will directly support the
protection of listed threatened and endangered species. A quick search
of the Fish and Wildlife Service's iPac mapping tool shows the
potential existence of several threatened and endangered species in the
withdrawal area. These include Canada lynx, Mexican spotted owl,
Southwestern willow flycatcher, yellow-billed cuckoo, Colorado
pikeminnow, razorback sucker, Monarch butterfly, Knowlton's cactus,
Mancos milk-vetch, Mesa Verde cactus, and the Zuni fleabane. Creating
development-free space around the Park will benefit these species in
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their recoveries.
VI. Conclusion
Once again, the undersigned strongly support this proposal and
encourage the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act swiftly and ensure
protection for the next 20 years. This withdrawal allows the BLM to
better meet its obligations to the CCNHP and the WHS of which it is
part. This withdrawal will also significantly benefit a number of
resources, as well as the surrounding communities. Please include this
letter in the project record. We look forward to continuing to work
with the BLM, and the Farmington Field Office, to protect Greater
Chaco.
Sincerely,
Logan Glasenapp Paul F. Reed
Staff Attorney Chaco Scholar
New Mexico Wild Archaeology Southwest
Michael Casaus Emily Wolf
NM State Director NM Sr. Program Coordinator
The Wilderness Society National Parks Conservation
Association
Angel Pena Ellen Montgomery
Executive Director Public Lands Campaign Director
Nuestra Tierra Environment America
______
ENVIRONMENT AMERICA
Washington, DC
July 12, 2023
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Stauber and Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez:
We are writing in opposition to H.R. 4374, which would nullify
Public Land Order No. 7923, withdrawing certain land in San Juan
County, New Mexico, from mineral entry. We support Order No. 7923,
which will protect the greater Chaco Canyon landscape.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves part of an
important place that was once the center of life for Ancestral
Puebloans. The park provides a safe haven for diverse plant and animal
species that were once more numerous in the San Juan Basin. Oil and gas
activity have long threatened the last undeveloped portions of the
Greater Chaco Landscape.
Chaco Canyon is known for its dark skies. Situated in an often-
cloudless desert far from the lights of development and industry, it's
so uniquely perfect for stargazers that in 2013 it was designated an
``International Dark Sky Park.'' In this darkness and isolation, desert
wildlife thrive. Elk, bobcats, badgers, bats and lizards all make their
homes here in dense concentrations, living and roaming among the ruins
and the red rock formations that surround them. Some of them are
nocturnal, adapted to, and dependent on, the dark night skies.
In developing Public Land Order No. 792 to protect this national
treasure, the Department of Interior followed all necessary processes.
During a public comments period which included public meetings
throughout 2022, they received more than 130,000 comments from the
public in favor of the withdrawal.
We urge you to oppose H.R. 4374 and to support the protection of
Chaco Canyon.
Sincerely,
Lisa Frank, Ellen Montgomery,
Executive Director,
Washington Legislative
Office Public Lands Campaign Director
______
Submission for the Record by Rep. Grijalva
Rep. Grijalva submitted e-mail messages from 956 constituents.
The messages can be viewed on the Committee Repository at:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II06/20230713/116135/HHRG-
118-II06-20230713-SD011.pdf
------
Archaeology Southwest Conservation Lands Foundation
Environment America National Parks Conservation Association
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance The Wilderness Society
July 12, 2023
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: H.R. 4374 to nullify Public Land Order No. 7923, withdrawing
certain land in San Juan County, New Mexico, from mineral entry
To whom it may concern:
On behalf of our organizations' millions of members and supporters,
we write today to strongly oppose H.R. 4374, introduced by
Representative Elijah Crane. Our organizations have been working to
protect the Greater Chaco landscape for decades, and we fully support
the Department of the Interior's (DOI) recently finalized withdrawal of
public lands from future mineral development on federal lands within 10
miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) for the next 20
years.
The approximately 336,404 withdrawn acres of federal public lands
and minerals create a buffer around CCNHP, which protects approximately
4,000 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, representing more
than 12,000 years of human cultural history in Chaco Canyon. The park
also protects key plants and wildlife within the Colorado Plateau
ecosystem and presents an important opportunity to safeguard the
region's biodiversity and monitor its environmental quality. CCNHP is
an International Dark Sky Park and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Chaco Canyon was a center of Pueblo culture between the 9th and
13th centuries, and has 16 buildings within the park: the largest, best
preserved, and most complex prehistoric architectural structures in
North America.\1\
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\1\ https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/historyculture/significance-of-
the-park.htm
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While Chaco Canyon was once the center of a thriving ancient
society, today, Chaco Canyon and the surrounding Greater Chaco
Landscape remain a living cultural and ancestral landscape of great
spiritual significance and traditional lifeways to the Pueblo Tribes of
New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.\2\ The national park helps to protect
the structures and stories of people whose descendants maintain deep
spiritual and cultural ties to the landscape. Visitors can also enjoy
the quiet and peace found in the park's scenic vistas, night skies, and
clean air.
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\2\ https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/chaco-
10-mile-primer.pdf
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Unfortunately, extensive oil and gas development threatens the
natural and cultural resources in the park and surrounding Greater
Chaco Landscape, air and water quality, and public health in the
region. BLM has already leased over 90% of the federal lands
surrounding Chaco for drilling, and oil and gas companies have drilled
more than 37,000 wells in the area and built a sprawling network of
roads--15,000 miles--five times longer than the distance from Los
Angeles to New York.\3\ Permanent protections and an assessment of the
cumulative impact of oil and gas on health, culture, and climate are
needed to ensure the resources and stories at CCNHP and in the Greater
Chaco Landscape are protected, and the recently finalized
administrative withdrawal is a crucial first step.
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\3\ https://www.abqjournal.com/2477783/buffer-zone-a-vital-first-
step-to-protecting-chaco.html
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Many Chacoan sites exist outside the Park's official boundaries, so
lease sales by BLM in the surrounding area almost always result in the
loss of artifacts, history, and sacred sites as well as wildlands,
habitat, and dark skies. The proposal to create a 10-mile buffer zone
around CCNHP was developed through a robust stakeholder process which
demonstrated the significance of protecting this portion of the Greater
Chaco Landscape. Recent archaeological surveys and reconnaissance work
by Archaeology Southwest revealed more than 4,000 archaeological and
historic sites in the northern portion of the withdrawal zone.
Additionally, because less than 20 percent of the area enclosed by the
10-mile zone has been archaeologically surveyed, the actual site count
is undoubtedly much higher.\4\ The Final Environmental Assessment for
the withdrawal reflects that ``there are 4,730 archaeological sites
within the proposed 10-mile withdrawal but outside the CCNHP'' and that
``[t]here are also an unknown number of undocumented archaeological
sites within the withdrawal boundary.'' \5\ Moreover, the cultural
resources important to Pueblos and Tribes exist at a landscape scale
and are not all archeological in nature. The 10-mile zone protects much
of CCNHP's viewshed and dark skies as well, meaning visitors from all
over the world can continue to experience the historic and sensitive
landscape without the encroachment of energy development.
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\4\ https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/chaco-
10-mile-primer.pdf
\5\ U.S. Dep't of Interior, Proposed Chaco Area Withdrawal
Environmental Assessment, DOI-BLM-NM-F010-2022-0011, at 1-1, 4-13 (May
2023) [hereinafter Final EA], available at https://eplanning.blm.gov/
public_projects/2016892/200507928/20079943/250086125/
20230531_ChacoWithdrawal_ EA_Final_508.pdf
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Public Land Order No. 7923 is limited in scope. It respects valid
existing mineral development rights and private property rights. It
applies only to future leasing of federal lands and minerals. It does
not apply to pre-existing leases or affect the rights of individuals or
entities that possess an interest in non-federal lands or minerals
within the proposed withdrawal area, including allotment lands and
minerals. It does not preclude the issuance of permits to drill
pursuant to existing leases, the issuance of rights of way, or
infrastructure expansion.
Due to its limited scope and related actions that have prevented
new leasing, Public Land Order No. 7923 retains the status quo that has
been in effect for over a decade. Since 2011, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has not issued any leases within the withdrawal area,
and has deferred nominated lease parcels within the withdrawal area
around CCNHP pending completion of Tribal consultation and other legal
obligations.\6\ Additionally, Congress has withheld funding since 2019
for any oil and gas leasing activities on federal lands within the
withdrawal area.\7\ Yet, oil and gas development in the withdrawal area
has continued. BLM has approved approximately 19 drilling permits since
2012 for previously-issued leases within the withdrawal area.\8\ Over
the same period, oil and gas companies drilled at least thirty-three
new wells in the withdrawal area, including at least four that access
Navajo-owned oil and gas resources.\9\
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\6\ See, e.g., BLM, July 2013 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale EA
12 (deferring multiple parcels within the proposed withdrawal area
because ``Tribal Consultation in Progress'').
\7\ See Press Release, NM Delegation Secures Protections for Chaco
Canyon Area in Government Funding Bill (Dec. 19, 2019); BLM, Petition/
Application for Withdrawal 3.
\8\ Based on data downloaded from BLM's AFMSS on Apr. 13, 2022.
\9\ Based on data downloaded from the New Mexico Oil Conservation
Division's website on Apr. 13, 2022.
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The Department of Interior issued Public Land Order No. 7923
pursuant to the authority and process that Congress enacted in the
Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). In FLPMA, Congress
made an express delegation of withdrawal authority to the executive
branch and provided that the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
make, modify, extend, or revoke withdrawals, but only in accordance
with the provisions and limitations of FLPMA, Section 204.\10\
Consistent with FLPMA, the Department of Interior evaluated the
environmental impacts of the current uses of the land, the economic
impact of the withdrawal, and the effects of the withdrawal on impacted
individuals and groups; consulted with sovereign Pueblo and Tribal
nations, local governments, and impacted individuals and groups; and
conducted a robust public engagement process that garnered widespread
support for the proposal, including over 110,000 public comments in
support.
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\10\ 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1714.
The administrative mineral withdrawal adopted through Public Land
Order No. 7923 provides temporary protection for sensitive cultural and
natural resources surrounding CCNHP until permanent protection can be
secured legislatively. Our organizations began advocating for
legislative protection long before the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area
Protection Act (S. 2907) \11\ was first introduced in the 115th
Congress by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in
2018, over five years ago. In the 116th Congress, this legislation was
reintroduced in both the House (H.R. 2181) \12\ and the Senate (S.
1079).\13\ The House Bill, sponsored by then-Representative Ben Ray
Lujan, had co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, and the bill
passed the House in 2019 with bipartisan support. The legislation was
reintroduced in the 117th Congress (S. 5124 \14\; H.R. 9344 \15\) and
most recently in the 118th Congress (S. 1404 \16\; H.R. 3062 \17\),
sponsored by Senator Ben Ray Lujan and Representative Teresa Leger
Fernandez, and co-sponsored by New Mexico's full congressional
delegation.
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\11\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/
2907?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=95
\12\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/
2181?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=32
\13\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/
1079?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=33
\14\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/
5124?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=4
\15\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/
9344?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=3
\16\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/
1404?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=2
\17\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/
3062?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B %22Chaco+Heritage%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1
Both Public Land Order No. 7923 and the pending legislation strike
a balance between the preservation of existing rights to use and
develop non-federal lands and minerals, including those held in Trust
or by allottees, and the need to protect the array of cultural and
ecological resources, as well as public health, in the region. Adjacent
non-federal lands and federal lands with existing leases will continue
to experience development. The analysis set forth in the Environmental
Assessment for Public Land Order No. 7923 concluded that the action
will result in approximately forty-seven fewer oil and gas wells being
drilled in the withdrawal area.\18\ Although the withdrawal represents
a compromise, the reduction in oil and gas development will positively
impact the Chaco region's cultural, ecological, scenic, and
recreational values.\19\
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\18\ Final EA at 2-14.
\19\ Final EA at 1-9, 1-10, 1-11; 2-14, 2-15, 3-1, 4-12, 4-13, 4-
16, 4-35, 4-39 (reflecting that the withdrawal would have a positive
impact on the Chaco region's scenic and cultural values, with
accompanying benefits to the quality of experiences for recreational
users; provide improvements to the visual setting of the area,
including enhanced visibility for night sky viewing, decreased noise
and traffic from drilling and production operations, and improved
regional air quality; decrease greenhouse gas emissions; minimize
disturbance to paleontological resources; prevent negative impacts to
wilderness areas and characteristics; reduce the spread of invasive
species and noxious weeds; prevent erosion that could impact wetlands
and riparian zones; improve water quality and availability; avoid
disturbance and damage to soils, vegetation, and wildlife; and improve
the quality of life and public health in local communities, including
communities of environmental justice concern).
Public Land Order No. 7923 reflects a robust public process and
thousands of public comments, honors New Mexico's history and culture,
and recognizes that some places are just too special to lose.
Therefore, we strongly oppose H.R. 4374, which would undermine the
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values and resources protected by the withdrawal.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Emily Wolf, Paul F. Reed,
NM Sr. Program Coordinator Preservation Archaeologist
National Parks Conservation
Association Archaeology Southwest
Sally Paez, Michael Casaus,
Staff Attorney NM State Director
New Mexico Wilderness
Alliance The Wilderness Society
Ellen Montgomery, Romir Lahiri,
Public Lands Campaign
Director NM Associate Program Director
Environment America Conservation Lands Foundation
______
Submissions for the Record by Rep. Leger Fernandez
Statement for the Record
Governor Brian D. Vallo
Pueblo of Acoma
April 15, 2019
On behalf of the Pueblo of Acoma (``Pueblo'' or ``Acoma''), I thank
members of the Committee for traveling here to learn about the impacts
of oil and gas development, and the importance of protecting
Waphrba'shuka--Chaco Canyon, and the Greater Chaco Region.
I. Cultural Resources
Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region, plays an integral role
in Acoma's living history, our culture, and identity. Our discussion of
Chaco cannot be separated from our discussion of our present-day home
and community of Haaku, Acoma. As Acoma people, Chaco Canyon and the
Greater Chaco Region are deeply rooted in our collective memory, and
the experiences of our ancestors. It is an extension of our ancestral
homeland, where our Ancestors lived for generations to form the
foundations of our cultural practices, traditions, and beliefs that
help define our identity as Acoma people today. Chaco Canyon, and its
vast landscape, are not abandoned--but contain the cultural resources
that tie Acoma to Chaco, and from Chaco to the place of our emergence.
The Greater Chaco Region, is therefore a living landscape, depended
on by living Indigenous communities, like Acoma. Within the Greater
Chaco Region are archaeological and significant cultural resources,
left by our Creator, utilized by our Ancestors, and accessible to us
for the continuance of our cultural practices. As Acoma, we have a
culturally embedded and inherent responsibility to protect these
resources. Many of these cultural resources remain unidentified in the
Greater Chaco Region. While archaeologists are adept at recognizing
many types of archaeological resources (potsherds, room blocks, pit
houses, etc.), many of the cultural resources important to the Pueblo
are outside the domain of archaeology. For Acoma, all ancestral pueblo
archaeological resources are cultural resources, but not all cultural
resources are archaeological in nature, and therein, lies the major
issue. When we are confronted with unchecked oil and gas development in
a region we know to be rich in cultural resources, we are forced to
rely upon federal agencies, as our trustee, to safeguard these
resources. However, these agencies are often unable or unwilling to
take the necessary first step needed to engage with tribal experts to
identify these significant cultural resources. This necessary first
step includes providing us with the opportunity to survey nominated
lease parcels and potential drilling sites before federal action is
taken.\1\
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\1\ See ``Uncited Preliminary Brief (Deferred Appendix Appeal) of
Amici Curiae All Pueblo Council of Governors and National Trust for
Historic Preservation, in Support of Appellants'', Dine Citizens
Against Ruining Our Environment, et al v. Ryan Zinke, et al, Civ. No.
18-2089 (Sept. 7) (10th Cir. 2018). All Pueblo Council of Governors,
amicus brief describing violations of the National Historic
Preservation Act, and implementing regulations in failing to consult
with Pueblo tribal governments during applications for permits to drill
(``APDs''), in order to gather required information about potentially
affected historic properties including traditional cultural properties
(TCPs), and how approving the APDs would adversely affect Pueblo TCPs.
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II. Current Oil and Gas Development Issues
Currently, oil and gas development is overwhelming this fragile and
sacred landscape. The BLM Farmington Field Office, whose boundaries
include the primary bulk of the New Mexico portions of the Greater
Chaco Region, has exhausted nearly all available lands for leasing. Due
to developments in oil and gas technology, previously inaccessible
reaches of oil are now open, dangerously encroaching upon Chaco Canyon.
This renewed interest by industry has spilled east into a portion of
the neighboring BLM Rio Puerco Field Office that juts into the Greater
Chaco Region.\2\ Under the guise of ``streamlining,'' \3\ the BLM
issued Instruction Memorandum 2018-034, ``Updating Oil and Gas Leasing
Reform--Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews'' which has made an
already fraught situation worse by strictly adhering to a mandatory
quarterly leasing schedule, dismantling many land management processes,
and all but ensuring oil and gas leases are sold within in a minimum
six month time frame. This rush to sell leads to incomplete and
inadequate analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act and the
National Historic Preservation Act.\4\
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\2\ See Attachment 1 ``Map--BLM Lease Parcels Overview.''
\3\ See BLM Instruction Memorandum 2018-034, ``Updating Oil and Gas
Leasing Reform--Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews.''
\4\ Under the National Historic Preservation Act (``NHPA''), 54
U.S.C. Sec. 300101 et seq. and its implementing regulations, Pueblo
cultural resources may be considered historic properties or traditional
cultural properties under proper analysis and may be eligible for
listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Under the NHPA
when a federal undertaking takes place, a process, often referred to as
the Section 106 process begins. Section 106 is a critical, step-driven
process, meant to determine, in order, the 1) area of potential
effects; 2) identification of historic properties; 3) the assessment of
adverse effects; and 4) the resolution of adverse effects. The Section
106 process is where meaningful tribal consultation is required to
advise the agency on the identification and evaluation of historic
properties, including those of traditional religious and cultural
importance. The National Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA'')
incorporates NHPA analysis into its environmental assessments and
environmental impacts statements, requiring simultaneous analyses in
order to assess the full impact of an undertaking.
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A. March 2018 Lease Sale (BLM Farmington Field Office)
In March 2018, the Pueblo of Acoma protested the nomination of
parcels in the Greater Chaco Region, some coming within 10-miles of the
Chaco Culture National Historical Park (``CCNHP''). Acoma demanded site
visits to view the parcels in order to determine the presence of Acoma
cultural resources. In the single sample field investigation, Acoma,
along with representatives from other Pueblos, observed features viewed
by them as cultural resources. Many of these cultural resources were
unaccounted for by the BLM. For example, Acoma representatives observed
tracts with a type of ancestral agricultural land modification found
throughout the core of Acoma's traditional homeland, to which they
refer to as na baa'ma. Na baa'ma tracts are more than simply settings
suitable for farming, rather these areas are integral in Acoma's age-
old cultural-historic traditions about how its people learned to
interact with land and water resources to sustain their community over
centuries. These locations are often associated with other cultural and
archaeological resources which Acoma's representatives observed. With
these observations, and limited tribal consultation thereafter, the
Pueblo of Acoma, along with the All Pueblo Council of Governors
(``APCG''), protested the lease sale. Subsequently, the Department of
the Interior made the correct decision, by choosing to defer all leases
in the BLM Farmington Field Office due to concerns about the adequacy
of its cultural resource analysis.
Citing concerns about the uncertainty of cultural impacts, then
Secretary Ryan Zinke stated: ``I've always said there are places where
it is appropriate to develop and where it's not. This area certainly
deserves more study [.] . . . We understand the cultural importance of
this area, and the need to gather additional information about this
landscape before holding a lease sale.'' \5\ Since then, the BLM has
not worked with the Pueblo of Acoma to address deficiencies in its
cultural resource information, and the BLM has never offered another
site visitation.
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\5\ See BLM Press Release ``BLM Defers Oil and Gas Lease Sale in
New Mexico'' available at: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-
defers-oil-and-gas-lease-sale-parcels-new-mexico
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B. December 2018 Lease Sale (BLM Farmington & Rio Puerco Field Offices)
In December 2018 the BLM Farmington and Rio Puerco Field Offices
nominated additional parcels in the Greater Chaco Region, with the BLM
Farmington Field Office having parcels within 10-miles of the CCNHP.
The Pueblo of Acoma, APCG, and individual Pueblos, protested, offering
the same reasons cited during the protest of the March 2018 Lease
Sale--the insufficiency of the agency's efforts to identify Acoma's
cultural resources known to exist in the region. No sample field
investigations were offered by either field office, despite the
Pueblo's requests and offers to allow Acoma representatives into the
field to assist the BLM in identifying critical cultural resources.
Acoma and APCG protested the lease sale, resulting in the BLM
Farmington Field Office deferring all of its parcels. However, the BLM
Rio Puerco Field Offices chose to sell leases for all its parcels.
This discrepancy baffled the Pueblo. Only divided by district
boundaries, many of the parcels offered by the two offices were in the
same vicinity, some less than \1/2\ mile from each other, and therefore
suffering from the same lack of information concerning Pueblo cultural
resources. The Pueblo of Acoma can only conclude that an arbitrary and
capricious action occurred.
C. March 2019 Lease Sale (BLM Farmington & Rio Puerco Field Offices)
Most recently, the BLM Farmington and Rio Puerco Field Offices
nominated parcels in the BLM's March 2019 Oil and Gas Lease Sale.
Again, the BLM Farmington Field Office nominated parcels in the Greater
Chaco Region, with nine coming within 10-miles of CCNHP. In February,
these nine parcels were withdrawn due to pressure from the Pueblos.
However, the Farmington Field Office retained nearly 22 parcels in its
lease sales, many just outside the 10-mile area surrounding CCNHP.
Several of these parcels were adjacent to, or near, parcels previously
deferred in March and December 2018 due to deficiencies in the agency's
cultural resource analysis under NHPA and NEPA.
The Pueblo of Acoma requested tribal consultation with both field
offices through the BLM New Mexico State Office, at its earliest
opportunity after the lapse in federal appropriations ended, but prior
to the issuance of the draft environmental assessments. The lapse in
federal appropriations had closed all communication with staff at
district levels, including key tribal consultation coordinators.\6\
Despite the government shutdown, no delay in the leasing schedule
occurred commensurate with the 35 days lost during the shutdown.
Instead, Acoma only consulted with the Farmington Field Office about a
week before the lease sale, and the Rio Puerco Field Office failed to
meet with the Pueblo. Again, no sample field investigations occurred,
despite Acoma's requests and offers to allow Acoma representatives into
the field to assist the BLM in identifying cultural resources that the
agency failed to identify in the previous lease sale analyses. To
Acoma's knowledge, no additional or substantive work occurred that
would correct the issue of BLM's inability to identify Acoma cultural
resources. As a result, the BLM Farmington and Rio Puerco Field Offices
moved forward and sold the remaining 30 leases in the March 2019 lease
sale.
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\6\ See, Protest Letter from Aaron M. Sims, Chestnut Law Offices on
behalf of the Pueblo of Acoma, to State Director, Bureau of Land
Management--New Mexico State Office (Feb. 20, 2019) (on file with the
Pueblo of Acoma and BLM NM Office).
D. BLM Farmington Field Office--Resource Management Plan Amendment and
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draft Environmental Impact Statement
In 2014, due to new developments in horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing technology, the BLM Farmington Field Office began
the process of amending its 2003 Resource Management Plan. Due to the
extent of tribal land within the jurisdiction of this field office, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Regional Office, is also participating
in this process as a co-lead agency. This Resource Management Plan
Amendment (``RMPA''), would analyze the impact of this new technology
in the Farmington Field Office planning area and its impact on
previously inaccessible portions of the Greater Chaco Region (much of
which comes to the north and east of CCNHP, which is now a high target
for development). This guiding planning document is critical for
appropriately regulating all BLM oil and gas activity in the Greater
Chaco Region. Despite this important process to formulate appropriate
land management policies, the BLM continues to move forward with oil
and gas leasing and development, like those described above, as well as
issuing permits to drill wells, and granting rights of way for related
infrastructure. These backdoor processes mean new leases, like those in
the December 2018 and March 2019 lease sales, and associated
development will not be subject to the RMPA. Instead, these activities
go forward without being subject to well-thought-out policies that
Acoma, and other Pueblos and tribes, are attempting to address with the
BLM and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the RMPA.
Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the federal law
that guides the BLM in stewarding our public lands, the RMPA must
strike a critical balance in addressing the needs of ongoing
development in the Greater Chaco Region, and at the same time
protecting its complex cultural and living landscape. This takes time.
Our fear is that once all parties complete an adequate RMPA, there will
be nothing left to save--as the BLM will have leased much of the
remaining available land in the Greater Chaco Region.
III. Acoma Efforts
The Pueblo of Acoma has never been uncooperative and/or
unresponsive where these issues are concerned, in fact, the Pueblo has
always, offered solutions to address the critical lack of information
about Acoma's ties to Chaco Canyon, the Greater Chaco Region, and its
cultural resources therein. In consultation, Acoma repeatedly
underscored the need for a comprehensive ethnographic assessment and
cultural landscape analyses by federal agencies to identify previously
unidentified cultural resources, and has offer to assist agencies in
reevaluating the archaeological sites it has identified. In particular,
the BLM has repeatedly responded that it does not have the funding,
resources, or frankly, the time, to conduct such studies.\7\ As such,
our interpretation is that the agency is stating it does not have the
time to comply with the clear mandates of federal law. As a result, the
Pueblo of Acoma, alongside outside partners, is conducting a limited
ethnographic assessment of Acoma's ties to the Greater Chaco Region.
This important study to document Acoma's relationship with Chaco
Canyon, provides critical information about the types of cultural
resources expected to be found, information to analyze previously
identified archaeological sites, and areas of critical importance to
the Pueblo. Through the expense of Acoma's time and admittedly limited
financial resources, our hope is that this work will inform the BLM's
current data that we know to be insufficient and incomplete.
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\7\ This is despite duties under Section 106 during an undertaking
to fill critical information gaps, when an agency does not have the
information it needs. Or, despite the BLM's standing obligation under
54 U.S.C. Section 306101, and its implementing regulations, requiring
the agency to establish its own historic preservation programs for the
identification, evaluation, and protection of historic properties in
its control (this is often referred to as ``Section 110'' of the NHPA).
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IV. Requests
Acoma has a number of requests for you that we believe together
will help protect the cultural resources in the Greater Chaco Region.
First, we request that you support the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area
Protection Act, which would remove federal minerals in the designated
withdrawal area from future oil and gas development.
Second, we request that, until the legislation is passed, pressure
be placed on the Department of the Interior (``DOI'') to prospectively
deem the parcels within the withdrawal area unavailable for oil and gas
development before DOI takes the step of including them in a lease
sale. And, until DOI takes this prospective action, we ask that you
mandate DOI to remove parcels within that area from each lease sale in
which they are listed.
Third, we request that pressure be placed on DOI for active
collaboration with the Pueblos, to prospectively identify and analyze
the cultural resources, in compliance with federal law, on proposed
parcels for oil and gas leasing even outside the withdrawal area before
listing the parcels in a lease sale. This is especially critical for
parcels that fall just outside the withdrawal area boundary--similar to
those sold in the most recent March 2019 lease sale. And, when DOI does
list those parcels without sufficient study as required by law, we ask
that you instruct DOI to remove them from the particular lease sale
until the studies are conducted, just as Secretary Zinke did in March
2018.
Fourth, we request that you place pressure on DOI to rescind
haphazard directives including BLM Instruction Memorandum 2018-034,
that leads to forced development, insufficient analysis, and the likely
destruction of our cultural resources in violation of federal law. We
ask that directives like BLM Instruction Memorandum 2018-034 be
rescinded, or exclude the BLM-New Mexico Office from its application,
to allow for the RMPA to be developed and implemented without
undermining by oil and gas leasing and permitting activities.
Last, we request that you encourage DOI to work with Acoma,
individual Pueblos, and the APCG to study the cultural resources in the
Greater Chaco Region. APCG is currently in discussions with DOI on a
proposed study of an area within the Greater Chaco Region. This study
and studies of this type could serve to fill the critical gap in
information about Pueblo cultural resources that the BLM currently
suffers.
*****
ATTACHMENT 1
``Map--BLM Lease Parcels Overview''
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Greater Chaco Coalition Coordinating Group Members
&
Coalition Members and Supporting Organizations
July 13, 2023
Dear Secretary Haaland:
We are writing to express our strong support for your efforts to
protect the Greater Chaco region. This vast and culturally significant
landscape spanning northwestern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona,
southeastern Utah, and southwestern Colorado holds immense importance
not only for the present generation but also for future generations to
come.
As a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to
safeguarding the Greater Chaco region, we have long advocated for the
Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to take
decisive action against unchecked fossil fuel development. The impact
of oil and gas drilling, fracking, pipelines, processing facilities,
and mining on the region's public lands, clean air and water, and
community health cannot be ignored. Over the years, millions of voices
have joined together, calling on you and other leaders to put an end to
the costly and unsustainable industrial exploitation that jeopardizes
this precious landscape. Federal courts have even ruled that the
current levels of exploitation are unjustified and unlawful. The
overwhelming support for safeguarding Greater Chaco has remained
steadfast and resolute.
We commend President Biden for launching the Honoring Chaco
Initiative in 2021, which offers immense promise in delivering the
necessary protections and paving the way for preserving this invaluable
cultural landscape.
Today, we urge you to recommit yourself to the protection of
Greater Chaco, its communities, and the pursuit of a just and equitable
transition. The Honoring Chaco Initiative provides an opportunity to
establish a new paradigm for the management of public lands and
resources in this region, one that prioritizes principles of health,
justice, equity, and sustainability.
While we appreciate the steps that have been taken to protect
certain areas of Greater Chaco from industrial exploitation, we
recognize that more needs to be done beyond mere buffer zones and lines
on maps to truly safeguard the safety and well-being of this cultural
landscape.
Looking ahead, we call on you to ensure the Honoring Chaco
Initiative continues to progress and advance the following core goals:
Wind down and phase out fossil fuel exploitation in
Greater Chaco.
Develop and implement Tribal co-management strategies for
the region's public lands and resources.
Fully protect and restore the air quality, ground and
surface waters, and healthy lands of the region.
Allocate resources to enable communities to achieve
economic security and sustainability.
Now is the time to redouble our efforts in support of the Honoring
Chaco Initiative. With the momentum built over the years in the fight
to safeguard Greater Chaco, we must take decisive action to guide a
just and equitable transition away from exploitation for this cherished
landscape and its communities.
The future of Greater Chaco lies in our collective hands, and we
deeply appreciate and value your leadership in this crucial endeavor.
We would also like to address the unacceptable attacks directed
personally at you, Secretary Haaland. We strongly condemn such behavior
and reaffirm our unwavering support for your dedication and commitment
to fostering the first-of-its-kind Honoring Chaco Initiative.
The Greater Chaco Coalition (Frack Off Chaco) stands united as a
collaborative effort between Indigenous community leaders, Native
organizations, nonprofits, and public lands and water protectors.
Guided by the Jemez principles, the Coalition works together to advance
the following platform:
An end to sacrifice zones and further oil and gas
extraction across the Greater Chaco region.
Meaningful Tribal and community consultation and consent
at every stage of decision-making.
Consideration of cumulative impacts and the health and
holistic wellness of impacted communities.
Advancement of environmental justice and just transitions
for the Greater Chaco region beyond extraction.
The overwhelming support for this platform over the past decade and
through three administrations highlights the depth and breadth of
commitment to advancing these principles. Notable instances of support
include:
2013: Eastern Navajo Agency Council resolution calling for
a moratorium on horizontal fracking.
2015: Resolutions from Torreon Chapter, Counselor Chapter,
and Ojo Encino Chapter on Navajo Nation calling for a
moratorium on horizontal fracking.
2015-Present: The Greater Chaco Coalition's protests
against federal oil and gas lease sales in New Mexico,
including the Greater Chaco Landscape and the Permian
Basin, resulting in over 2 million individual protest
comments submitted.
2016: Publication of an amended notice of intent that
includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as a co-leading
agency with the BLM in the Farmington Resource Management
Plan Amendment (RMPA) process, marking the first
collaboration of its kind between the agencies. Impacted
community members provide over 1,000 in-person comments
during the RMPA public scoping process.
2017: Joint statement from the All Pueblo Council of
Governors and Navajo Nation President and Vice President
opposing horizontal fracking in the Greater Chaco region.
2017: Passage of a resolution by the National Congress of
American Indians to support a moratorium on leasing and
permitting in the Greater Chaco region.
2017: Passage of House Memorial 70 to protect the Greater
Chaco Canyon Landscape by the New Mexico Legislature.
2018: Rally with over 200 advocates at the BLM New Mexico
State Office protesting the oil and gas lease sale,
including 44,000 acres in the Greater Chaco region and
40,000 acres near Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke deferred
the parcels in the Greater Chaco region to further analyze
over 5,000 cultural sites within the leasing area.
2019: Delivery of over 33,000 protests by the Greater
Chaco Coalition opposing a BLM oil and gas lease sale in
Greater Chaco and Greater Carlsbad regions.
2022: BLM and BIA host a series of public Q&A sessions and
a 90-day comment period on the proposed administrative
mineral withdrawal. Members of the Greater Chaco Coalition
delivered nearly 80,000 comments to the BLM New Mexico
State Office, urging broader landscape-level protections
beyond a 10-mile buffer and calling for the agencies to
`Truly Honor Chaco'. In response to widespread criticism of
the public engagement process and a request from the
leadership at the All Pueblo Council of Governors, the BLM
and BIA held additional public meetings, changed the format
to allow for public comment, and extended the comment
deadline by an additional 30 days.
2023: Dine CARE, et al. v. Bureau of Land Mgmt., et al.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit rejected
nearly 200 Trump-era approved drilling permits defended by
the Biden administration in favor of conservation groups.
The ruling found that the agency violated NEPA by failing
to account for the health impacts of toxic air pollution
from oil and gas activities and the carbon pollution
impacts to the climate. This marks the first time the 10th
Circuit has ruled in favor of citizen groups on these
issues, resulting in a halt to new drilling permits.
Given this resounding support and the significant milestones
achieved over the years, we urge you to continue championing the cause
of Greater Chaco. The Honoring Chaco Initiative represents a beacon of
hope for the preservation and protection of this cherished landscape.
Thank you for your tireless dedication to safeguarding Greater
Chaco, promoting justice and equity, and ensuring a sustainable future
for all. We stand ready to support your efforts and work
collaboratively to honor the legacy of this extraordinary cultural
landscape.
Sincerely,
Greater Chaco Coalition Coordinating Group Members:
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Coalition Members and Supporting Organizations:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
July 11, 2023
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: H.R. 4374, Nullifying Public Land Order No. 7923, Withdrawing
Certain Land in San Juan County, New Mexico, from Mineral Entry
Dear Chairman:
I, , Navajo Nation enrolled citizen and/or Allottee of
,
thank the Committee for the opportunity to provide written testimony on
the bill to nullify Public Land Order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain
Land in San Juan County, New Mexico, From Mineral Entry, H.R. 4374. The
bill was introduced by Representative Elijah Crane, R-AZ-2. I write to
express strong opposition to this legislation and request this
Committee's solidarity to stand with front line Navajo community and
Allottee members for permanent and broad protections of the Greater
Chaco Landscape.
I. Background (Context)
My name is , I am an enrolled citizen of the Navajo
Nation from
. My community is approximately miles away from Chaco
Culture
National Historical Park (Chaco Canyon). As a Dine citizen who has
experienced the harmful legacy of oil and gas development, I am
uniquely qualified to speak upon the need for a 10-mile withdrawal area
and the Department of the Interior's (DOI) administrative decision to
withdraw federal lands and minerals surrounding Chaco Canyon from
future mineral development for a 20-year term.
Since time immemorial, my clan, family, and community have resided
in
. In adherence to our Dine Traditional Law, these teachings
have
served to guide our existence on Mother Earth as stewards of her body
and ecosystems. Unfortunately, the Navajo Nation, like many tribes,
have been subject to impositions of colonialism, law, and policy
designed to fracture our internal governance and responsibilities.
During a painful period of Navajo history, the people sought to defend
our sovereignty from the Dawes Act of 1887 and the beginning of the
Federal Indian Boarding School era of 1890. Many Navajo community
members from the Eastern Agency were provided individual allotment land
when their children were removed from Dinetah (the ancestral homeland
for Navajo). This era is partially responsible for the establishment of
the checkerboard land parcels on the Eastern Navajo Agency that
encompasses land in the state of New Mexico.
Over the past one hundred years across federal, state, tribal, and
allotment lands, the oil and gas development has encroached Chaco
Canyon for petrochemical exploration and development. The legacy of
extraction has harmed the land and the cultural landscape important to
the Dine people, Pueblos, and Tribes who claim cultural affiliation to
the sacred and irreplaceable landscape. Unfortunately, upwards of 90
percent of available federal lands and minerals have been leased for
development surrounding Chaco Canyon without sufficient cumulative
environmental and ethnographic analyses. Furthermore, inadequate
environmental analyses and measures have subjected our front line
Navajo communities to severe negative health impacts and depletion of
important water systems vital to livelihood, agriculture, and many
cultural practices. The increased mineral development has brought
immense challenges to my personal health and the future vitality of my
community.
Therefore, as a Dine citizen, I extend my strong support for the
2023 public land order from the Department of the Interior (DOI) to
administratively withdraw federal lands in an approximate 10-mile
withdrawal area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park and
including its outliers for a 20-year term. And, I strongly support the
Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) as an ongoing effort to create better
land co-management practices in the Greater Chaco Region. DOI's June 2,
2023 administrative withdrawal decision comes after long standing
Navajo Allottee and community calls to address legacy impacts of oil
and gas leasing. This effort preserves Navajo Nation and Allottees
rights to seek mineral development on their own land, and supports
Navajo Nation resolutions from the Eastern Navajo Agency Council,
Counselor Chapter, Ojo Encino Chapter, Dilkon Chapter, and Torreon/Star
Lake Chapter. It supports the status quo of yearly Congressional
appropriations moratorium language that prevents the Bureau of Land
Management from utilizing resources to conduct mineral leasing on
public lands within the withdrawal area, and finally supports Pueblo
and Dine Solidarity. We ask that the Navajo Nation President and the
Navajo Nation Council to uphold their original stewardship
responsibilities.
II. Impacts
Since 2013, local Navajo Chapter Houses have adopted Resolutions
calling upon the federal government including Congress and DOI to
initiate steps towards better land management and prevention of further
leasing on Public Lands under certain conditions, including the support
for Navajo Nation and Allottees to continue exploring options for oil
and gas leases. These calls to action derived from community members
experiencing declining air quality through venting and flaring of oil
and gas development without much stewardship leading to thousands of
abandoned oil wells, and increased vehicular traffic of industrial oil
and gas semi-trucks. There is major concern that oil and gas wells are
depleting and contaminating community aquifers by multistage hydraulic
fracturing. These actions have brought forth a rise in health
complications and illnesses like cancer and respiratory problems, which
increased COVID deaths.
The cumulative health and environmental impacts of oil and gas
extraction are devastating. In 2016, the Counselor Health Impact
Assessment--K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee began to account for
the legacy of mineral development and assess the health complications
and impacts for Dine communities. This work culminated in the
completion of the study ``A Cultural, Spiritual and Health Impact
Assessment Of Oil Drilling Operations in the Navajo Nation area of
Counselor, Torreon and Ojo Encino Chapters'' in 2021. The research and
findings of this study were approved by the Navajo Nation Human
Research Review Board.
The study's findings were numerous. Among them:
Air monitoring conducted in Counselor Chapter in 2018
revealed levels of airborne formaldehyde that far exceeded
permissible exposure levels, levels of particulate matter
that routinely spiked to unhealthy and hazardous levels, as
well as the continuous presence of VOCs, all of which can
be harmful to human respiratory health, and in the case of
formaldehyde, lead to nose and throat cancer.
Mapping of wells in Counselor Chapter in 2018 found that
most of Counselor's 700 residents live within a mile of at
least one oil and gas facility that emits pollutants.
Among Counselor residents surveyed for the health impact
assessment portion of the study, 90% reported sinus
problems (discharge, obstruction and pain); 80% reported
coughs, headaches, itching/burning of eyes, joint pain,
fatigue and sleep disturbance; 70% reported nosebleeds and
wheezing (loud breathing); 60% reported shortness of
breath; and 42% reported itching of skin/rash. All these
symptoms are consistent with exposure to pollution from oil
and gas production.
The study also found that local Dine community members
(including allotment owners) in Counselor, Ojo Encino, and
Torreon Chapters experience significant cultural,
spiritual, and social harms from oil and gas extraction.
These include: familial and community conflicts;
desecration of sacred sites; degradation of the land;
disrespect of tribal sovereignty by oil companies; concern
about being able to sustain a livelihood from the land;
disappearance of traditional herbs and medicines; feelings
of not being heard by federal, state, and tribal leaders.
The study found that balance and harmony in these
communities bas been eroded by oil and gas drilling, deeply
affecting Dine lifeways.
III. History of Dine, Pueblo, and Cross-Organizational Engagement to
Support Greater Chaco Landscape Protections
While our front line communities are well aware of the legacy
health and landscape impacts, there has always been a strong
understanding that Navajo Allottees rely on the economic benefits of
mineral exploration. After numerous internal family discussions and
community meetings, a consensus emerged that any calls for protections
would incorporate the need to preserve Navajo Trust lands and Allotment
lands to seek mineral development.
Navajo Nation was originally a driving force behind the
Chaco withdrawal. At the urging of local Chapter Houses,
the Navajo Nation helped design a 10-mile withdrawal area
surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park
including its outliers and included in the Chaco Heritage
Area Protection Act bill language to preserve the rights of
Navajo and Allottees to develop on their land even within
this withdrawal area.
President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland initiated
concurrent administrative efforts to protect Chaco Canyon
and Greater Chaco Region and improve land management
practices through the Honoring Chaco Initiative.
Stated concerns regarding withdrawal of surrounding
federal land isolating or land-locking allotment parcels
and thereby making them less attractive to developers for
new development have largely been dispelled according to
DOI's Environmental Assessment on the effects of the
withdrawal.
DOI conducted extensive consultation with former Navajo
President Nez and Council leadership and current leadership
at every stage of its proposed and contemplated
Administrative Withdrawal proceedings.
DOI facilitated public comment opportunities at every
stage of the administrative withdrawal proceedings,
including the participation of Navajo community and
Allottee members to express their position.
IV. Request
I request you to oppose H.R. 4374 the bill to nullify Public Land
Order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain Land in San Juan County, New
Mexico, From Mineral Entry.
The above form letter was signed by the following Navajo Nation
citizens:
Virginia Brown, Johnny Slim,
Baca Prewitt Baca Prewitt
Eloise Brown, Hazel James-Tohi,
Tse Axinaozti'i, NM Mex Springs, NM
Verna Craig, Katey Vandever,
Churchrock Baca Prewitt
Edward Etcitty, Obie Vandever,
Gadiiahi Tokoi Baca Prewitt
Nathaniel Etcitty, Ira Vandever,
Greenwood Springs, AZ Baca Prewitt
Donna House, Joe Vandever,
Oak Springs, AZ Baca Prewitt
Terry James, Daniel Vandever,
Greasewood Springs Baca Prewitt
Kyle Jim, Stephanie Vicra,
Shiprock, NM Tuba City, AZ
George Nez, Virginia Washburn,
Baca Prewitt Gadiiahi Tokoi
Jennifer Nez, Valerie Wickstrom,
Coyote Canyon Huerfano
Bertha Nez, Linda Williams,
Coyote Canyon ChurchRock
Karen Noon, Althea Yazzie,
Huerfano Twin Lakes
Clorissa Pierce, Chili Yazzie,
Huerfano Shiprock, NM
Michaela Pino, Janene Yazzie,
Pine Hill, NM Lupton, AZ
Sharon Sandman,
SheepSprings
______
Statement for the Record
Dr. David J. Tsosie
Nahata Dziil Chapter
Enrolled Navajo Nation Citizen
Dine Centered Research and Evaluation
Navajo Citizen and Medicine Man thanks the Committee for the
opportunity to provide written testimony on the bill to nullify Public
Land Order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain Land in San Juan County, New
Mexico, From Mineral Entry, H.R. 4374. The bill was introduced by
Representative Elijah Crane, R-AZ-2. I write to express strong
opposition to H R. 4374 and to express my strong support for the
protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape, including Secretary
Haaland's recent decision to withdraw federal minerals from future oil
and gas leasing near Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
I. Background
My name is David J. Tsosie. I am an enrolled citizen of the Navajo
Nation from Nahata Dziil Chapter. I hold a Doctorate in Education from
Arizona State University. I am a medicine man and a member of the Dine
Hataalii Association. I am also a research consultant with Dine
Centered Research and Evaluation (DCRE), a Navajo think-tank that uses
Dine Traditional law and ways of knowing to address contemporary social
and environmental problems. DCRE is a proud participant in the
Department of the Interior's Honoring Chaco Initiative.
In my role with DCRE, I served as the Principal Investigator for
the study ``A Cultural, Spiritual and Health Impact Assessment of Oil
Drilling Operations in the Navajo Nation area of Counselor, Torreon and
Ojo Encino Chapters'', or the HIA-KBHIS study. The HIA-KBHIS was
conceptualized by the Counselor Health Impact Assessment--K'e Bee
Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee, composed of community members from the
Greater Chaco region. The research and findings of the HIA-KBHIS were
approved by the Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board. Some of the
findings were also published in the American Journal of Public Health.
It was also presented to various standing committees of the Navajo
Nation Council and Navajo Nation Departments having oversight authority
over environmental issues.
The HIA-KBHIS is a two-part study. The first part presents air
monitoring and health survey data from residents in Counselor Chapter.
The second part distills results of a survey about the cultural and
spiritual impacts of oil and gas extraction in the three Chapters of
Counselor, Ojo Encino and Torreon. Together, both parts of the study
demonstrate that Dine people in the Greater Chaco Landscape are
suffering health, environmental, social, and cultural harms from oil
and gas extraction. The HIA-KBHIS is part of a large body of evidence
that supports broad landscape-level protections for the Greater Chaco
Landscape. Public Land Order No. 7923 is an important step toward
achieving the protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape and frontline
communities that many Indigenous communities, Tribes, Nations, and
allied groups have long advocated for.
II. HIA-KBHIS Findings
I want to highlight several findings of the HIA-KBHIS that support
Public Land Order No. 7923 and additional actions to protect the
Greater Chaco Landscape through co-management and cultural landscape-
level management.
Key Health and Air Monitoring and Survey Findings
A. Locally specific air monitoring conducted in Counselor Chapter
revealed levels of airborne formaldehyde that far exceeded
permissible exposure levels, levels of particulate matter
that routinely spiked to unhealthy and hazardous levels, as
well as the continuous presence of VOCs, all of which can
be harmful to human respiratory health, and in the case of
formaldehyde, lead to nose and throat cancer.
B. Most of Counselor's 700 residents live within a mile of one or
more oil and gas facility.
C. Among Counselor residents surveyed, 90% reported sinus problems
(discharge, obstruction and pain); 80% reported coughs,
headaches, itching/burning of eyes, joint pain, fatigue and
sleep disturbance; 70% reported nosebleeds and wheezing
(loud breathing); 60% reported shortness of breath; and 42%
reported itching of skin/rash. All these symptoms are
consistent with exposure to pollution from oil and gas
production.
Key Cultural and Spiritual Survey Findings
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
III. Discussion and Request
Recently, fossil fuel interests have promoted a narrative that
local Dine communities in the Greater Chaco Landscape do not support
actions to protect the land or transition to a clean energy future.
However, the community-led and community-based research represented in
the HIA-KBHIS shows that a majority of Dine citizens in this region are
concerned about the health impacts and harms of oil and gas pollution
and have experienced negative social and cultural harms from the influx
of industry. There is great concern about what this means for their
future.
Dine people in Eastern Navajo Agency care about protecting sacred
places, being able to practice Dine lifeways, and living in harmony
with the land and one another. The oil and gas industry has created
conflicts in Eastern Dine communities. These conflicts can make it
difficult for some community members to speak up, but many of their
voices come through clearly in these survey responses. I urge you to
listen to their voices and oppose H.R. 4374.
______
Statement for the Record
Cheyenne Antonio
Greater Chaco Coalition
Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment
On behalf of the Greater Chaco Coalition (Frack Off Chaco), I
hereby submit this official testimony in response to the House Natural
Resources Committee Hearing regarding H.R. 4374. I appreciate the
committee's attention to the critical issues surrounding the protection
of the Greater Chaco region and its cultural landscape.
The Greater Chaco Coalition, a collaborative effort between
Indigenous community leaders, Native organizations, nonprofits, and
public lands and water protectors, is dedicated to advocating for
greater protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape. Guided by the
Jemez principles of democratic organizing, our coalition collectively
pursues a platform that includes crucial goals such as:
Putting an end to sacrifice zones and further oil and gas
extraction across the Greater Chaco region.
Ensuring meaningful Tribal and community consultation and
consent at every stage of decision-making.
Considering the cumulative impacts and the health and
holistic wellness of impacted communities.
Advancing environmental justice and just transitions for
the Greater Chaco region beyond extraction.
We express our unwavering support for the Department of the
Interior and the Bureau of Land Management in their efforts to foster
the groundbreaking Honoring Chaco Initiative. This initiative provides
a crucial opportunity to address the legacy impacts of sacrifice zones
across the Greater Chaco Landscape and prioritize the health, justice,
equity, and sustainability of this culturally significant region.
Throughout the past decade, the Greater Chaco Coalition has
actively engaged in numerous actions to advocate for the protection of
the Greater Chaco region, garnering overwhelming support from diverse
stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, conservation
organizations, and concerned citizens. Notable milestones in our
collective efforts include:
In 2013, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council passed a
resolution calling for a moratorium on horizontal
fracking.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Resolution No. ENAC 12-2013-03.
Resolutions from the Navajo Nation Torreon Chapter,
Counselor Chapter, and Ojo Encino Chapter in 2015 also
called for a moratorium on horizontal fracking.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See for example the Resolution of Torreon Star Lake Chapter
passed on March 9, 2015; Counselor Chapter Resolution passed on March
10, 2015; and Ojo Encino Chapter Resolution 03-09-15/002 passed on
March 9, 2015.
Since 2015, the Greater Chaco Coalition has actively
protested quarterly federal oil and gas lease sales in New
Mexico, resulting in over 2 million individual protest
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
comments.
In 2016, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) joined the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a co-leading agency in
the Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) process for
the Farmington Field Office (within the Greater Chaco
region), facilitating collaboration between the agencies.
The Greater Chaco Coalition mobilized impacted community
members to provide over 1,000 in-person comments during the
RMPA public scoping process.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Frack Off Chaco blog for lease sale actions and comments
submitted: https://www.frackoffchaco.org/_blog#_blog
A joint statement opposing horizontal fracking in the
Greater Chaco region was issued in 2017 by the All Pueblo
Council of Governors and the Navajo Nation President and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vice President.
The National Congress of American Indians passed a
resolution in 2017 to support a moratorium on leasing and
permitting in the Greater Chaco region.
In 2017, the New Mexico Legislature passed House Memorial
70 that reaffirmed the state's commitment to protecting and
preserving tribal, cultural, and historical sites and
resources in the Greater Chaco landscape.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ House Memorial 70, 2017 1st Regular Legislative Session,
available at: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/17%20Regular/final/
HM070.pdf
In 2018, over 200 advocates rallied at the BLM New Mexico
State Office, leading to the deferral of parcels in the
Greater Chaco region for further analysis of cultural
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
sites.
In 2019, the Greater Chaco Coalition delivered over 33,000
protests opposing a BLM oil and gas lease sale in the
Greater Chaco and Greater Carlsbad regions.
The All Pueblo Council of Governors and Navajo Nation
Office of the President and Vice President held a historic
summit in 2019 to support protections for the Greater Chaco
Landscape.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See press release from All Pueblo Council of Governors,
available at: Historic Joint Convening between the All Pueblo Council
of Governors and Navajo Nation 2019
The New Mexico State Land Office issued Executive Order
2019-002, imposing a moratorium on new oil and gas and
mineral leasing within a roughly 12-mile area around Chaco
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Culture National Historical Park.
The completion of the Counselor Health Impact Assessment--
K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee (HIA/KBHIS) study in
2021, approved by the Navajo Human Research Review Board
which culminated from a health and cultural impact
assessment that began in 2016.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Assessment available at: Final HIA-KBHIS
July 2021.pdf
In 2021, during the Biden-Harris administration's first
White House Tribal Nations Summit, President Joe Biden and
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced steps to protect
Chaco Canyon and the greater connected landscape, including
initiating a 20-year moratorium on new oil and gas
development on unleaded federal lands within a 10-mile
radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Secretary
Haaland also unveiled the Honoring Chaco Initiative.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See BLM's Honoring Chaco Initiative website at: Honoring Chaco
Initiative/Bureau of Land Management
In 2022, the BLM and BIA conducted public Q&A sessions and
extended the comment period on the proposed mineral
withdrawal. Members of the Greater Chaco Coalition
delivered nearly 80,000 in-person comments, emphasizing the
need for broader landscape-level protections and truly
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
honoring Chaco.
In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
ruled in favor of conservation groups, rejecting nearly 200
Trump-era approved drilling permits defended by the Biden
administration, due to the Bureau of Land Management's
violation of NEPA.
These milestones and the broad support they reflect underscore the
urgent need to prioritize the protection of the Greater Chaco region. I
call on the House Natural Resources Committee to champion the cause of
Greater Chaco and support legislation that aligns with the goals
outlined by the Greater Chaco Coalition.
In conclusion, I express my deep appreciation to the committee for
addressing this critical matter and providing an opportunity to submit
our official testimony. We remain steadfast in our commitment to
safeguarding the Greater Chaco region, advancing justice and equity,
and ensuring a sustainable future for all.
Thank you for your dedicated service, and I appreciate your
consideration of our testimony. I am available for further information
or clarification.
______
MEMORANDUM
23rd Navajo Nation Council
Honorable Lorenzo C. Bates, Speaker
TO: Resources & Development Committee
DATE: October 13, 2016
SUBJECT: Concerns of Tri-Chapters of Eastern Agency Regarding Sacred
Sites
First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the
Resources & Development Committee (RDC) for addressing numerous issues
and considering many legislations that impact the Navajo Nation.
With this in mind, concerns were brought to the attention of the
Sacred Sites Task Force Sub- Committee by the Tri-Chapters consisting
of Counselor, Ojo Encino, and Torreon regarding ongoing petroleum
drilling activities occurring on identified areas of culturally and
historically sacred areas. The three communities hosted a meeting in
Counselor, NM on October 11, 2016 to provide information to the task
force.
The meeting resulted in additional concerns. These concerns include
health issues, air quality, protection of sacred sites, road
conditions, human rights, public safety, jurisdiction, lack of
community consultation, and lack of communication. The task force took
the initial approach on minimal information due to the proximity of the
activities related to cultural and historical areas.
In addition, a list of tasks were proposed in coordination with
Division of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Department, and
Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission on how to address the chapter's
concerns. The following tasks were identified:
Position Statement of the Navajo Nation
Identify the issues as it applies to jurisdiction issues
Describe the direction the Navajo Nation will take in
addressing community concerns
Identify the role of BLM and BIA as it applies to
community concerns
The task force recognized the complexities in addressing these
concerns that involve potential violations of drilling related
activities and the negative impact it places on the communities. One
argument the Navajo Nation continues to encounter is the various
jurisdictional issues as it relates to BLM boundaries, allotment
boundaries, and trust boundaries. It is suggested a form of
communication needs to be established to help determine the
jurisdictional issues.
Recognizing RDC as the oversight authority, it is able to address
these concerns. With this, I recommend that Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to meet with RDC on this
matter. In addition, I recommend the Tri-Chapters to present a thorough
report to RDC. The Sacred Sites Task Force Sub-Committee can assist in
arranging the meeting details, which should occur no later than 30
days.
It is important for players to come together to further discuss and
attempt to identify solutions. BIA and BLM are vital in addressing the
situation. Therefore, I am requesting your guidance in addressing these
issues.
Your consideration is greatly appreciated. Please feel free to
contact Office of the Speaker at (928) 871-7160 if you have any
questions or suggestions for the next meeting.
______
RESOLUTION OF COUNSELOR CHAPTER
COUNSELOR, NEW MEXICO
RESOLUTION #COUN-2015-03-
Requesting the New Mexico Congressional Caucus to Intervene on behalf
of their citizens regarding the actions of the Bureau of Land
Management on the leasing of certain parcels of public lands for
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing by calling for a
moratorium until the Resource Management Plan is revised or amended;
and, To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and, To implore the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise due diligence trust
responsibility to assure that the trust status rights of the Navajo
citizens who are allotees or are heirs of allotees are protected; and,
related actions
WHEREAS;
Pursuant to Navajo Nation Code, Counselor Chapter is certified to plan,
to oversee community development, and to govern for the benefit of the
community residents; and
Counselor Chapter has the inherent right to position itself for the
public interest, public safety and the general welfare of their
community and its residents; and,
Counselor Chapter has steadfastly communicated, coordinated and
cooperatively planned the regional development of the five most Eastern
Chapters of the Navajo Nation; and,
Counselor Chapter reads that the 2003 Resource Management Plan for the
Farmington BLM District does not sufficiently address the technological
development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic tracking; and, at best
had minimal input and participation in the drafting, development and
finalization the Plan; and,
Counselor Chapter is keenly aware of the Bureau of Land Management's
actions to lease the public lands for oil/gas exploration in a manner
that precludes its multiple use to a singular use for energy
development; and,
The Counselor Chapter and its residents have personal knowledge of the
adverse impacts their relatives are experiencing with the declining air
quality through the venting and flaring, the increased vehicular
traffic, and the familial discord resulting from the bonus payments for
the leasing of the allotments; and
As well, Counselor Chapter has knowledge that the Pinon Pipeline
proposed by Saddle Butte Midstream, LLC is proceeding post haste absent
a proper Environmental Impact Statement; and,
The Counselor Chapter has community voters who have allotments, are
heirs and have an interest in the Mancos-Gallup shale formation areas,
wherein Land Agents contracted by the many layered interests of the
energy exploration corporations are leading the allotees to sign the
leases without proper legal advisement; and, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs have not held individual advisement and PUBLIC HEARINGS to
ensure that the trust status of the allotees are protected; and
Counselor Chapter supports the rights identified in the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly in September 2007 and was supported by
President Obama in December 2010 by issuing that the Declaration has
both moral and political force must guide the policies and practices of
all the agencies for the Federal government to assure the needs,
interests and points regarding land use priorities, protection of
culturally grounded ways of life and safe guarding the environment
which are imbued in Articles 26, 27, 29 and 32 of the U.N. Declaration.
Above all concerns, Counselor Chapter positions itself to have the
Federal agencies recognize the home sites, traditional and customary
use areas to be protected as there is the living Navajo society and
culture in place since before the agencies were authorized
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
Counselor Chapter requests the New Mexico Senators Tom Udall, Heinrich
and Congressman Lujan to:
1. Intervene on behalf of their citizens regarding the actions of
the Bureau of Land Management on the leasing of certain
parcels of public lands for horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing by calling for a moratorium until the
Resource Management Plan is revised or amended; and,
2. To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and,
3. To implore the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise
due diligence trust responsibility to assure that the trust
status rights of the Navajo citizens who are allotees or
are heirs of allotees are protected; and,
Furthermore, Counselor Chapter requests assistance to secure funding to
conduct health impact assessments, baseline water and soil testing and
air quality monitoring for the impacted areas.
CERTIFICATION
We hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered by
the Counselor Chapter, Navajo Nation, in the State of New Mexico, at
which a quorum was present and that same was passed by a vote of 13 in
favor, 0 opposed and 3 abstained on this 10th day of March, 2015.
Harry J. Willeto, Chapter President
Laura C. Lopez, Vice President
Marlene Thomas, Chapter Secretary/Treasurer
Elizabeth Stoney, Land Board Member
______
Statement for the Record
Daniel E. Tso
Chair of the Counselor Health Impact Assessment
K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee
My name is Daniel Tso and I am a citizen of the Navajo Nation. I
was born in the Torreon/Starlake area near the headwaters of the Chaco
Wash and currently reside in Flora Vista, New Mexico, in the Greater
Chaco Landscape. I am the Chair of the Counselor Health Impact
Assessment--K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee, which is a committee
of researchers that monitors the public health, cultural, and spiritual
impacts of fracking in the Navajo Nation Chapters of Counselor, Ojo
Encino, and Torreon/Starlake, in the Greater Chaco Landscape. I have
served as Council Delegate to the Navajo Nation Council from 1986-1995
and from 2019-2023, representing Eastern Navajo communities in the
Greater Chaco Landscape. I also hold shares in 14 allotments in the
region, all within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
I am grateful for the opportunity to provide written testimony to
the Subcommittee in support of landscape-level protections for the
Greater Chaco region. I urge you to oppose House Resolution 4374 and
direct the Department of the Interior to move forward with the Honoring
Chaco Initiative.
As a Dine person, a lifelong resident of the Greater Chaco
Landscape, an allottee, and as a formal Council Delegate to the Navajo
Nation Council, I hope to convey to this subcommittee the importance of
protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape and people who live there. For
too long, the American Federal Government has facilitated and benefited
from the destruction of our sacred lands. I ask today that you uphold
Secretary Haaland's important decision to protect a small part of our
homelands so that our future generations may continue to revere our
sacred places and practice our traditional ways.
There are nearly 40,000 oil and gas wells across the Greater Chaco
Landscape, and the vast majority of federal lands have already been
leased for extraction. Over the years, I have experienced the
devastating effects of oil and gas extraction on the land, air, water,
sacred places, and the public health and wellbeing of our communities.
I have watched our community roads get completely torn up by oil and
gas traffic, endangering public safety. I have witnessed the ruinous
aftermath of countless explosions, spills, and leaks at fracking sites
that cause irreversible damage to our lands. I have suffered headaches
and sore throats from breathing in the oil and gas fumes, and I have
noticed an increase in health problems, like cancers and respiratory
issues, among our community members. Children in my family who live in
Counselor Chapter have had to make the difficult decision to attend
school in Cuba, New Mexico, outside of their community, because the
Lybrook Elementary School is surrounded by oil and gas wells.
Sadly, the federal government did not disclose to our communities
how oil and gas extraction on our homelands would cumulatively impact
our wellbeing. Groups like Dine Citizens Caring for our Environment
(Dine C.A.R.E.) have sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over oil
and gas leasing in the Greater Chaco region, arguing that the BLM was
signing off on oil and gas development without doing the proper
analysis of the health impacts that we knew that we were experiencing.
In February 2023, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this
claim, and ordered the BLM to re-analyze the health impacts of oil and
gas development in the region.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Dine C.A.R.E. vs. Haaland, 59 F.4th 1016 (8th Cir. 2023).
Given the lack of attention paid to the concerns of Eastern Dine
communities, the late Dr. Larry Emerson and I helped form the Counselor
Health Impact Assessment--K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee (HIA-
KBHIS Committee), of which I am the Chair. The HIA-KBHIS Committee
assembled community researchers and medicine people to examine the
impacts of oil and gas through a Dine Lens, incorporating Dine
traditional stories and teachings. Our study protocol was approved by
the Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board, as was the final study,
which was published in 2021.
The results of the HIA-KBHIS were alarming. Air monitoring showed
that Dine residents in Counselor Chapter are exposed to dangerous
levels of hazardous air pollutants. Almost all residents surveyed
reported health symptoms consistent with exposure to oil and gas
pollution. For example, over 90% of residents suffer from a sore throat
and sinus problems, while 80% reported coughs, headaches, itching or
burning eyes, joint pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance.\2\ Residents
are exposed regularly to volatile organic compounds (VOC) present at
gas and oil wells. Short-term exposure to VOCs can cause eye and
respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders,
fatigue, loss of coordination, allergic skin reaction, nausea, and
memory impairment or inability to concentrate. Long-term effects
include loss of coordination and damage to the liver, kidney, and
central nervous system.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Tsosie et al. 2021; Atencio et al. 2022. Federal Statutes and
Environmental Justice in the Navajo Nation: The Case of Fracking in the
Greater Chaco Region. American Journal of Public Health. 112, 116-123,
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306562
\3\ Ibid.
The HIA-KBHIS further found that community members in Counselor,
Ojo Encino, and Torreon/Starlake Chapters have suffered significant
cultural, spiritual, and social harms, which were exacerbated with the
introduction of multi-staged horizontal fracturing, or fracking,
beginning around 2010. Fracking has eroded balance and harmony in the
community, deeply affecting Dine lifeways. Survey respondents reported
experiencing familial and community conflicts due to oil and gas. They
expressed concern that sacred sites had been desecrated, the land had
been degraded, oil companies did not respect their sovereignty, and
traditional medicines and herbs were disappearing. Community members
also expressed fear that they would no longer be able to sustain a
livelihood from the land if it continued to be degraded by oil and
gas.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Ibid.
When fracking hit the Greater Chaco region, oil and gas companies
began targeting allotment owners to lease their lands. Oil and gas
companies sent representatives to Chapter Houses and into communities
to encourage allotment holders to sign leases, incentivizing them with
promises of lease bonuses and royalties. Lease contracts were always
presented in English, a language not spoken or read by many of our
elderly community members. Community members were not explained the
terms of the agreements, the potential impacts of extraction, or how
their allotments could be unitized with other parcels of different
jurisdictions. Allottees were not informed that they could negotiate,
as co-owners, on their royalty rates.\5\ In short, oil and gas
companies took advantage of many allottees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ The Bureau of Land Management Environmental Assessment on the
Chaco Area Withdrawal (DOI-BLM-NM-F010-2022-0011) states that
``Allotted lease royalty rates range from 2 percent to 20 percent of
production with the most common active rates being 12.5 percent, 16.67
percent, 16.7 percent, 18.75 percent, and 20 percent. These rates
increase in complexity depending on whether the lease is a
participating area in a communitization or unitization agreement.
Rental rates vary from $1.25 to $11 with the current value being $7 per
acre, such that the average rental for a standard 160-acre allotment is
roughly $1,120 per year; however, it could be significantly more or
less depending on the rental rate and acreage'' (4-15). Compare page 4-
7 for federal rates.
It is important to understand that due to the fractionation of
allotment land holdings, many allotments in the regions have hundreds
of co-owners.\6\ Allotment tracts with 20 co-owners or more only
require 51% of shareholder consensus to lease (25 C.F.R. 162.012). In
our community, where economic opportunities are few, disagreements
within families about whether or not to lease have caused deep
divisions. Moreover, the extent of fractionation means that while some
leased parcels yield significant payments for co-owners, others receive
only pennies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Shoemaker, Jessica. 2016. ``Emulsified Property.'' Pepperdine
Law Review 43 (945); ``Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments: And To
Permit The Leasing of Oil and Gas Rights on Navajo Allotted Lands''.
U.S. Congress Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. S. HRG 106-282.
Statement of Shenan Atcitty, Nordhaus Law Firm, for the Shii Shi Keyah
Association. November 4, 1999
Oil and gas is not the future of a thriving Eastern Navajo Agency.
Instead, our communities need support investing in and developing non-
extractive economic opportunities and transitioning away from the
fossil fuels that have harmed our health and lands for too long.
Through Secretary Haaland's Honoring Chaco Initiative, we can
collaborate with Tribes, Pueblos, impacted Indigenous community
members, and other stakeholders to devise solutions that will ensure
environmental and economic justice for our region.
As a Dine person, my lifeways and spiritual ways are profoundly
connected to the landscape. Like many members of my community, my
cultural traditions depend on being able to visit sacred places in the
Greater Chaco region and on being able to live in harmony and co-
existence with the land and animals. My community suffers a deep injury
when the land, air, and water are degraded by oil and gas pollution.
As evidenced by numerous resolutions and statements passed by
Navajo Nation Chapters, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council, the Navajo
Nation Office of the President and Vice President, the All Pueblo
Council of Governors, the National Congress of American Indians, and
other groups and advocates, there has been an outpouring of support and
solidarity for the protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape over the
last decade.\7\ I add my voice to this resounding call in support of
broad landscape-level protections for this region and the people, of
which Secretary Haaland's administrative withdrawal is a crucial first
step.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Resolution of Torreon Star Lake Chapter passed on March 9,
2015; Counselor Chapter Resolution passed on March 10, 2015; and Ojo
Encino Chapter Resolution 03-09-15/002 passed on March 9, 2015; OLC-7-
01. http://www.dineresourcesandinfocenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/
02/0025-17.pdf; Eastern Navajo Agency Council BLM Resolution.
Resolution No. ENAC 12-2016-03; Begaye, Russel, and Jonathan Nez. 2017.
``Re: Concerns Regarding Chaco Canyon Cultural Historic Park,''
February 6, 2017. https://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wp-content/uploads/
2017/03/NN-Moratorium-request-2017-02-23-.pdf; Navajo-Hopi Observer.
2017. ``Fracking and drilling near Chaco Canyon challenged by Begaye,
Nez''. Navajo-Hopi Observer. February 28, 2017. Accessed July 8, 2023.
https://www.nhonews.com/news/2017/feb/28/fracking-and-drilling-near-
chaco-canyon-challenged/; Riley, Kurt, 2017, ``To Support Moratorium on
Leasing and Permitting In Greater Chaco Region.'' Resolution,Cultural
Protection & NAGPRA, Milwaukee: National Congress of American Indians,
http://www.ncai.org/resources/resolutions/to-support-moratorium-on-
leasing-and-permitting-in-greater-chacoregion; Resolution of Counselor
Chapter, #COUN-2019-02-001. All Pueblo Council of Governors, 2019,
``Tribal Leaders Host Historic Summit to Support the Protection of the
Greater Chaco Landscape,'' https://www.apcg.org/uncategorized/historic-
joint-convening-betweenthe-all-pueblo-council-of-governors-and-navajo-
nation-2019/.; Lizer, Myron. 2019. Testimony of Navajo Nation Vice
President Myron Lizer for the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources
Field Hearing on, ``Oil and Gas Development: Impacts on Air Pollution
and Sacred Sites.'' Santa Fe. https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-
congress/house-event/LC63888/text?s=1&r=21410; New Mexico State Land
Office Executive Order No. 2019-002, ``Moratorium on New Oil and Gas
and Mineral Leasing in Greater Chaco Area'', April 27, 2019. https://
www.nmstatelands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SLO_EO-2019-002.pdf;
TSL #12/2019-35, passed December 8, 2019.
______
Dine Medicine Men's Association, Inc.
RESOLUTION
THE DINE MEDICINE MEN ASSOCIATION, INC. HEREBY PRESENTS THIS RESOLUTION
TO SUPPORT THE DINE AND THE EASTERN NAVAJO AGENCY TO DISCONTINUE THE
FRACKING AND DRILLING OF THE 31 CHAPTERS. THE OIL COMPANIES THAT ARE
VIOLATING THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS RIGHTS BY DEVELOPING FRACKING AND
DRILLING WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIFICATION WITH THE MEMBERS IN THE ABOVE AREA.
THE FRACKING AND DRILLING IMPEDES THE LIFE STYLE OF THE DINE COMMUNITY
MEMBERS WHERE ALL THE SACRED SITES ARE LOCATED.
WHEREAS:
1. The Dine Medicine Men's Association, Inc. is a non profit
organization incorporated with Navajo Nation Commerce and
has been in existence since the early 1970s. The
Association consists of members from the grass roots level
of traditional spiritual leaders (hataalii, cultural
educators and traditionalists, and holds a sacred trust
from the Holy people as a Dine Way of Life; and
2. On Dine tah and the Eastern Navajo Agency of 31 Chapters There
documented historic sacred sites recorded at the Navajo
Nation Historic Preservation Office. Dine traditional
stories (Hane') are documented as being related to the
Emergence, the White Shell Woman, the Water Monster and the
Sacred Mountains Offering sites. To the Dine people, The
sacred sites exist to Perpetuate life, and are revered
through offering of prayers for the wellness of self,
families and relatives on their land and in their
communities; and
3. The Dine Medicine Men's Association as Medicine People of the
Navajo Nation do hereby take a defensive position against
Fracking and Drilling and further development by the Oil
Companies in and around the Dine' tah in the Eastern Navajo
Agency's 31 Chapters; and
4. The Dine community members are spiritually and emotionally
threatened by the outsiders who do not understand the
significance of what is sacred to the Indigenous people who
are called Dine altse kee hatiinii, first inhabitants of
Dine land before the arrival of the European colonizers. It
is believed by many of our Dine people that the Fracking
and Drilling business is leading to damage and further
extinction of the Dine Way of life; and
5. Under some important expressions of international law and policy,
including the United Nations Declaration Rights of the
Indigenous Peoples (which the Navajo Nation helped develop
and officially supported), Indigenous Peoples have the
rights to: 1) protect and have private access to their
sacred places (Article 12); 2) strengthen their spiritual
relationships with traditionally used lands (Article 25);
and 3) determine their own development priorities and
strategies through free, prior, and informed consent
(Article 32); and
6. Under current laws, rules, and regulations, the U.S. Bureau of
Indian Affairs, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The
State of New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals, and
Natural Resources Oil Conservation Division, and the Navajo
Nation Historic Preservation Division should have
individually and collectively notified the Dine Medicine
Men's Association, Inc. and the Eastern Navajo Agency of 31
Chapters of the proximity to sacred sites in Dine tah of
the Fracking and Drilling locations. As well, these
governmental agencies should have performed the
inspections, hearings, and investigations required of them
under the laws of due process and equal protection.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
1. The Dine Medicine Men's Association, Inc. supports the Dine tah
and Eastern Navajo Agency 31 Chapters' request to stop the
Fracking and Drilling that is desecrating, defiling, and
despoiling the sacred sites in and around the area of the
Dine tah and in and on the Eastern Navajo Agency Chapters.
2. The Oil Companies' business development is threatening further
extinction of the Dine Way of Life by bringing disharmony
to the spirits on the sacred sites, and that development
impedes the rights of the traditional members to make their
ceremonial offerings at the sacred sites and where the
sacred Herbs grow and are picked for healing.
3. The Medicine People as leaders, are ethically and justly
obligated to protect, serve, and heal with ceremonies, and
to protect their people from all harm and danger on the
Dine land (Dine Bikeya). As such leaders, the Medicine
People demand that the BIA, the BLM, the New Mexico State
OCD, the New Mexico Counties and the New Mexico and Navajo
Nation Historic Preservation Departments perform the duties
required of them by law to assist the Eastern Navajo Agency
of 31 Chapters in safeguarding our sacred sites and Dine
way of life.
4. Therefore, let it be known that we, the members of the Dine
Medicine Men's Association are taking the position that
there must be an immediate and permanent moratorium issued
against all further extractive activities by commercial or
government energy entities in and around Dine tah and the
Eastern Navajo Agency of 31 Chapters; and we, as Medicine
People take this stance to safe guard the sacred sites with
our prayers for our present and future generations.
CERTIFICATE
We hereby certify that the foregoing resolution of the Dine Medicine
Men's Association, Inc., was duly considered by the Association and
Board of Directors at a duly called meeting at Huerfano Mesa, Dzilth-
na-o-dith-hle New Mexico, at which a quorum was present, and that the
same was approved by the vote of 26 in favor, 0 0pposed on the 11th day
of October 2015.
Johnson Dennison, President
Roland Begay, Vice President
Virginia L. Edgewater, Secretary/Treasurer
*****
DINE MEDICINE MEN ASSOCIATION
RESOLUTION DMMA #111917-2
REQUESTING THE NAVAJO NATION OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE
PRESIDENT, ALL PUEBLO COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS, AND GREATER CHACO COALITION
AND PARTNERS TO CONSULT WITH DINE MEDICINE MEN ASSOCIATION FOR ANY
POSITIONS TAKEN ON FRACKING AND HORIZONTAL DRILLING IN GREATER CHACO AS
PART OF DINE FUNDAMENTAL LAW AND OUR CULTURAL AND TRADITIONAL INHERENT
RIGHTS.
WHEREAS:
1. The Dine Medicine Men Association, Inc. (Dine Bi Nahaga Yee
Da'ahota') is a non-profit organization incorporated with
the Navajo Nation Business Regulatory and has been in
existence since the early 1970s; and
2. Dine traditional medicine people always have the commitment to
teach, preserve, and protect the welfare of the Dine People
as well as the welfare of the Dine Nation through providing
exceptional protocol of the traditional knowledge of the
distinctive oral philosophy of Indigenous way of life based
on the Dine Infinite Oral Sacred Philosophy of the
Spiritual Belief foundation. Hence, it always has been the
moral principle that guided the ceremonial sacred songs and
prayers interwoven with intellectual oral planning and
teaching with dignity and integrity which is still the
effectual foundation of Dine Life Way since time
immemorial; and
3. Dine Medicine Men Association has always strongly advocated that
Dine People have sacred cultural and historical ties to the
Greater Chaco just like sacred cultural and historical ties
to the Dzilth-na-o-dith-hle Mesa which is near the Greater
Chaco; and
4. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye joined forces with All
Pueblo Council of Governors to state their position on
tracking and horizontal drilling in Greater Chaco without
consulting with the Dine Medicine Men Association; and
5. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye sent a letter dated
February 6, 2017 to Bureau of Land Management-Farmington
Field Office in reference to Concerns Regarding Chaco
Canyon Cultural which he didn't consult with Dine Medicine
Men Association before sending the letter; and
6. Dine Medicine Men Association strongly believes Navajo Nation
Office of President and Vice-President should be consulting
with Dine Medicine Men Association instead of outside
entities and partners on the fracking and horizontal
drilling in Greater Chaco; and
7. Dine Medicine Men Association is adamant that consultation be
provided by Dine Medicine Men Association on the fracking
and horizontal drilling in Greater Chaco due to the Dine
People having sacred cultural and historical ties to the
Greater Chaco.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
THE DINE MEDICINE MEN ASSOCIATION HEREBY REQUESTS NAVAJO NATION OFFICE
OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT, ALL PUEBLO COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS,
AND GREATER CHACO COALTION AND PARTNERS TO CONSULT WITH DINE MEDICINE
MEN ASSOCIATION FOR ANY POSITIONS TAKEN ON FRACKING AND HORIZONTAL
DRILLING IN GREATER CHACO
CERTIFICATION
I, hereby, certify that the following resolution was duly considered by
the Dine Medicine Men Association at a duly called meeting in Nageezi
Chapter, at which a quorum of membership was present and that the same
was passed by a vote of 29 in favor, 0 opposed this 19 day of November
2017.
Mr. Kenneth Maryboy, President
______
State of New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands
Executive Order No. 2019-002
Moratorium on New Oil and Gas and Mineral Leasing
in Greater Chaco Area
WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Public Lands has broad constitutional
authority and statutory jurisdiction over the direction, control, care
and disposition of state trust lands, in accordance with the acts of
Congress relating thereto and such regulations as may be provided by
law (see NM Const., art. XIII, Sec. 2 and NMSA 1978, Sec. 19-1-1); and
WHEREAS, the Commissioner is authorized to withhold any tracts of state
trust lands from leasing for oil and gas or other purposes if in her
opinion the best interests of the state land trust will be served by so
doing (see NMSA 1978 Sec. Sec. 19-8-33 and 19-10-19; 19.2.100.31 NMAC);
and
WHEREAS, the Commissioner and the State Land Office have a duty to
exercise due caution to ensure that cultural properties on state trust
lands are not inadvertently damaged or destroyed (see NMSA 1978
Sec. 18-6A-5); and
WHEREAS, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a state,
national and international treasure; and
WHEREAS, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park was designated a
World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987 and is one of only 23 World
Heritage Sites in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park attracts tourists
from around the world; and
WHEREAS, Chacoan roads and Great Houses are important archaeological
resources, but also significant cultural resources to the Native
American nations, tribes and pueblos of New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, many Native American nations, tribes and pueblos of New Mexico
have an archaeological, historical and cultural connection to the Chaco
Culture National Historical Park, and consider the national historical
park and other areas within the greater Chaco landscape to be sacred
sites; and
WHEREAS, the protection of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and
other sites is essential to safeguard archaeological and cultural
resources of the tribes, nations and pueblos, the State of New Mexico
and the United States; and
WHEREAS, a moratorium on new oil and gas or mineral leasing in the
greater Chaco landscape will enable the State Land Office to explore
other land uses that are more consistent with the protection and
preservation of the landscape; and
WHEREAS, a moratorium will provide an opportunity to engage Native
American nations, tribes and pueblos of New Mexico as well as other
interested stakeholders regarding the management of state trust lands
within the greater Chaco region; and
WHEREAS, a moratorium will provide an opportunity to consult with the
New Mexico Congressional Delegation and United States Bureau of Land
Management about proposed federal legislation concerning leasing
restrictions and overall landscape management practices in the region;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Stephanie Garcia Richard, Commissioner of Public
Lands, do hereby order and direct that the state trust lands described
in Appendix A shall be withheld from new leasing for oil and gas or
mineral purposes until December 31, 2023; and
BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that the withdrawal from leasing ordered herein
shall be recorded in the State Land Office oil and gas and minerals
tract books by means of a land use restriction;
BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that nothing herein shall restrict the State Land
Office from issuing permits, rights of way or business leases related
to existing oil, gas or mineral leases within the area subject to the
land use restriction; and
BE IT FURTHER ORDERED the State Land Office will convene a Chaco
Working Group to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Public
Lands regarding land management practices in the greater Chaco region
as they relate to state trust lands.
SIGNED THIS 27 DAY OF April 2019.
Stephanie Garcia Richard
Commissioner of Public Lands
*****
STATE OF NEW MEXICO COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS
NEGATIVE MINERAL EASEMENT ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENT LAND USE RESTRICTION OR
CONDITION
LURC No. 01-19
This Land Use Restriction or Condition (``LURC'') is executed by the
Commissioner of Public Lands for the State of New Mexico (the
``Commissioner''), Trustee for the State of New Mexico (the ``State'')
under the Act of June 20, 1910, 36 stat. 557, ch. 310 (the ``Enabling
Act''), and is effective as of the date of the Commissioner's
signature.
1. Purpose. Pursuant to Executive Order 2019-002, the Commissioner
has issued a moratorium on new oil, gas and mineral leasing
on lands under her authority (``State Trust Lands'') within
the Chaco Canyon landscape to safeguard archaeological and
cultural resources of the tribes, nations and pueblos, the
State of New Mexico and the United States.
2. Mineral Rights. The Commissioner, as manager of the trust
established by the Enabling Act, and specifically of
mineral rights on State Trust Lands, is executing this LURC
on behalf of the State, which retains ownership of and has
reserved the rights to, all minerals of whatsoever kind,
including oil and gas, in these lands, and to it, or
persons authorized by it, the right to prospect for, mine,
produce and remove the same, and perform any and all acts
necessary in connection therewith, upon compliance with the
conditions and subject to the limitations of the laws of
the State of New Mexico.
3. Property. The Property covered by this LURC (the ``Property'') is
approximately 72,776 subsurface acres as described in the
Exhibit A (a table identifying the relevant State Trust
Lands, with an accompanying map).
4. Term. This LURC shall be effective as of the date of the
Commissioner's signature and shall terminate December 31,
2023.
5. Restriction on Future Use; Right to Develop Mineral Rights from
Other Land.
a. Restriction on Use. The Commissioner shall not execute
new leases on the Property for the purpose of conducting
activities with respect to exercising mineral rights. For the
term of this LURC, the Commissioner shall not issue any new
mineral leases to exercise the right to engage in or permit
exploration for, mining, exploitation or extraction of minerals
of whatsoever kind on or under the Property, including but not
limited to oil and natural gas, geothermal resources, helium,
carbon dioxide, coal and lignite, uranium, saline, brine,
copper, iron, lead, talc, barite, gold and silver, precious and
semi-precious stones, caliche, building stones, shale, clay,
sand, gravel and rock for crushing. Nothing in this LURC shall
limit the rights, privileges, and obligations contained in
leases that came into effect prior to the execution of this
LURC.
b. Right to Develop Mineral Rights from Other Land. This
LURC shall not be construed as a waiver of the right of the
State to explore for, develop, mine, or produce the mineral
rights, including without limitation, oil and gas with wells
drilled on the surface of land other than the Property,
including, but not limited to, directional wells bottomed
beneath or drilled through any part (other than the surface) of
the Property, or by pooling its oil, gas and other mineral
interests with lands adjoining the Property in accordance with
the laws and regulations of the State, so long as no activity
takes place between the surface and a depth of five hundred
feet (500').
c. Reservations. The Commissioner reserves the right to
grant rights-of-way, easements, permits, or business leases
over, upon, or across the Property for uses related to existing
oil, gas or mineral leases within the area subject to this
LURC. Reserved uses related to existing oil, gas or mineral
leases include, but are not limited to, pipelines and ingress
and egress across the Property that may be necessary for
mineral development or production authorized through existing
leases.
6. No Waiver, Release, or Relinquishment of Rights. Nothing herein
shall be construed as waiving, releasing or relinquishing
any right, title or interest of the State of New Mexico in
and to any rights with respect to the Property, including
mineral rights in and under, and that may be produced from,
the Property.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Commissioner has executed this Land Use
Restriction or Condition effective as of the date of her signature
below.
STATE OF NEW MEXICO COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS
Stephanie Garcia Richard
Commissioner of Public Lands
Date: 4-27-19
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Gadii'ahi-To'koi, Navajo Nation
July 11, 2023
Hon. Pete Stauber, Chairman
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
House Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Opposition to H.R. 4374, the ``Energy Opportunities for All Act''
Dear Chairman Stauber:
I am an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and a New Mexico San
Juan County resident where my family and I hold the ``Notah Sosa''
allotment with the listed track number 23N 8W 36 in the Betonnie Tsosie
Wash Unit. This is located south of the Nageezi Chapter House above the
Escavado Wash and outside of the 10-mile protected radius (buffer zone)
around Chaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP). Since my
childhood I have always been told that we are from Chaco Canyon. My
late mother Rita Cason always talked to me about our five times great
maternal grandfather and grandmother who were forced at gunpoint by the
United States Government to walk over 400 miles to Fort Sumner in what
is known as the Long Walk. After the signing of the Treaty of 1868 my
grandparents returned to their homeland ``Dine Bikeyah'' located within
our Four Sacred Mountains. When they returned from Hweeldi ``Bosque
Redondo'' the United States Government only gave them a section of the
land that today my family and I hold ownership of surface and mineral
rights in a checkerboard region of different land status jurisdictions.
Today, we receive royalty payments from DJR Energy, a private
upstream oil and gas company. These payments are never the same and are
always different. Also, we have known that some Navajo Allottees
receive substantial amounts of royalties, we are far from that and have
always talked about building a house and a farm on our land there. We
also understand that the allotment has a special land status and gives
us allottees a unique relationship with the Secretary of the Department
of Interior (DOI) who holds this land into Trust for us and future
generations. About 10 years ago the Navajo Nation pursued to get all of
these allotment lands through the federal ``Land Buy Back Program''. My
family was offered a low market value that we would receive a one time
payment for giving up our ownership. Many of my relatives came to the
consensus to Not sell their land but to hold on to it. It was around
this time that my family became aware about discussions between the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), DOI, Navajo Nation, and the All Pueblo
Council of Governors (APCG) about establishing a mineral withdrawal for
future oil and gas development around Chaco Canyon. Through numerous
family gatherings this topic of a ``buffer zone'' came up and we talked
through about where we stand on it. We all had our different reasons
but we have had a consensus to support the land protection designation
of a 10-mile ``buffer zone''.
Furthermore, I have shared information to my family about
Representative Crane Legislation H.R. 4374 the ``Energy Opportunities
for All Act'' and I stand in solidarity with my family to oppose this
legislation. My aunt Annie C. Begay told me ``there have been many
different oil and gas companies taking from the land but if you look
around we have nothing in our community to show for it''. I carry her
reason as well as many other Navajo Tribal members that we want to have
a thriving community like other oil and gas producing communities. We
have a once in a generation opportunity to make meaningful investments
in communities like Nageezi to build homes and community centers. A
library or even a laundromat to help give hope to many people. The
opportunities that leadership of all levels should be working toward is
securing energy democracy for all Navajos to ensure every house is
electrified and has running water.
Ahehee',
Joseph F. Hernandez,
Community Organizer
______
Statement for the Record
Kendra Pinto
Counselor Chapter Navajo Nation
July 13, 2023
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this letter of opposition
to H.R. 4374, legislation that would prevent Public Lands Order No.
7923, known as the Chaco Area mineral withdrawal. My name is Kendra
Pinto, I live in the Counselor Chapter of Navajo Nation, within the
Greater Chaco landscape and what is now known as the San Juan Basin. My
family and I are Dine and have lived and worked on our ancestral lands
for generations. Our home and ancestral lands are now surrounded by oil
and gas development with at least 5 active well sites within a mile of
me.
Over the last decade, truck traffic, well sites, compressor
stations, and related infrastructure have blighted our landscape
disturbing wild trees, wild grasses, dwindling rare cacti, and plants
used for medicinal purposes. These drastic changes to our natural
environment have also impacted our human environment. The influx of
unfamiliar oil field workers has corresponded with more violence, drug,
and alcohol abuse in my community, leaving me in fear for my own
safety. Women in the community are told to be alert of their
surroundings, a common suggestion in recent years with the hydraulic
fracturing boom, with workers that typically do not live in or reside
in the Chaco region. Due to our location in a remote area, emergency
services for people who live in the Chaco Canyon are limited and may be
significantly delayed if weather is a factor.
In July 2021, I became a certified optical gas imaging (OGI)
thermographer. As staff for Earthworks, a national nonprofit dedicated
to protecting communities and the environment from mineral development,
I operate a specialized infrared camera, used by industry and
regulators, that can see otherwise invisible methane and other volatile
organic compounds (VOC) generated by oil and gas facilities. In April
2022, I filmed OGI videos detecting these emissions over the course of
two days in and near the 10 mile buffer of the Chaco Area mineral
withdrawal, and subsequently found one facility within the buffer zone
and two facilities on the outskirt of the zone that were emitting.
Three complaints were filed with the New Mexico Environment Department
(NMED).\1\ Since 2018, I have filed more than 50 complaints to NMED
regarding methane and VOC emissions from oil and gas facilities in the
Four Corners region. These complaints document how oil and gas
development has damaged my air quality, ancestral lands, traditional
resources, and quality of life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The YouTube links to the OGI videos are available here:
Morrison SWD #2, San Juan County, NM (April 2022) and Federal 21-6-28
SWD #33, Sandoval County, NM (April 2022) and Federal 21-6-29 #2
Sandoval County, NM (April 2022)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over 90% of the public lands surrounding me and my family have been
leased for mineral resource exploration and development, and it has not
been entirely beneficial to all who live in this area. Public health
and public safety are major concerns for local residents who are living
with the impacts of development. The Chaco Area mineral withdrawal will
ensure me and my family have a future and the lands surrounding us will
have the potential to remain pristine and livable. I request you oppose
H.R. 4374. Thank you for your consideration.
______
Statement for the Record
Myron Lizer
Navajo Nation Vice President
Thank you Chairman Lowenthal, Representative Grijalva,
Representative Haaland, and Representative Lujan. My name is Myron
Lizer and I am the Vice President of the Navajo Nation. I appreciate
the opportunity to testify today at this field hearing on the impacts
of oil and gas development for air pollution and sacred sites. Oil and
gas development has provided sustained income for the tribal government
and provided jobs for the Navajo Nation, which has about 42%
unemployment. In the past, the Navajo Nation has used its carbon-based
natural resources to provide energy to the United States. However, the
ability for the Navajo Nation to determine where oil and gas
development occurs and the ability to regulate oil and gas development
is fundamental to providing a clean environment and protecting Native
American sacred sites.
While oil and gas development on the Navajo Nation has provided
royalties to the Navajo Nation for government services and general
funds, we are also looking toward the future and alternative sources of
energy to provide revenue for the Nation. Most recently, Navajo Nation
President Jonathan Nez and myself issued the ``Navajo Hayoolkaal
Proclamation'' or the ``Navajo Sunrise Proclamation'' to diversify the
Navajo Nation energy portfolio from carbon-based energy to renewable
energy development, and to restore the environment, provide electricity
to rural homes, and support new community and utility-scale renewable
energy projects to provide power to the Navajo Nation and the Western
United States. By setting this direction for the Navajo Nation, we look
to be the leader in the clean energy market.
With regards to oil and gas development, we are sensitive to the
location of these facilities near our sacred and cultural sites. This
is dictated by our Navajo culture and tradition to respect our
relatives who have come before us. This is the reason we continue to
support the protection of the Chaco Canyon area from mineral mining and
development and the long-awaited Chaco Cultural Heritage Area
Protection Act that Senator Udall introduced.
Although we are not direct descendants of the pueblo who inhabited
Chaco, our people have long settled in the area and many of our
traditional stories are connected to the Chaco area and the surrounding
region. As native people, we are connected to the land and it is
important to preserve and protect the dwellings and the belongings of
ancestral Native people from disturbance. This is not only a Navajo
teaching but an acknowledgement of a way of life for all indigenous
peoples.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has postponed oil and gas lease
sales near Chaco Canyon to allow for the further review of the cultural
impacts. With regards to BLM's development of a management plan for the
area, the Navajo Nation supports the BLM's development of a sustainable
management plan that would prevent federal oil and gas extraction in a
10-mile radius or Protection Zone from the epicenter of the Chaco
Cultural National Historical Park.
If there is increased oil and gas development in the Chaco region
there will be increased risk for disturbance of the structures and
artifacts. Waste from oil and gas extraction can further contaminate
the region. Increased truck traffic as well as gas powered machinery
can also negatively impact air quality. Oil and gas development
activities will also contribute to an increase in emissions such as
particulate matter (PM), methane, VOCs and other greenhouse gases. Over
time, emissions can damage the sensitive structures and cultural
artifacts within the Chaco region.
Ambient air quality on the Navajo Nation is classified by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) as attainment/unclassifiable
of all monitored air pollutants except for a portion of Coconino
County, Arizona located within 50-km of Navajo Generating Station,
which has been designated unclassifiable with the 2010 SO2
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The NAAQS consists of
six (6) criteria pollutants for which the Navajo Nation currently
monitors four (4) of these criteria pollutants: particulate matter 2.5
(PM2.5, or airborne particles 2.5 microns in diameter and
smaller), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and
nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In the case of the designated non-
attainment area, the applicable threshold for a proposed source or
modification is determined based on the designation where the source is
or would be located. If the source straddles the two areas, the more
stringent thresholds apply.
The U.S. EPA regulates criteria pollutants using the NAAQS, which
establish ambient levels for each criteria pollutant using health and
welfare-based criteria. There are two series of standards. As per the
CAA Sec. 109(b), the ``primary'' standards are designed to provide an
adequate margin of safety that is essential to protecting public
health. The ``secondary'' standards are intended to protect public
welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with
the presence of a criteria pollutant in the ambient air. The primary
standards protect public health and secondary standards protect public
welfare by preventing damage to property such as farm crops and
buildings, visibility impairment in national parks and wilderness
areas, and the protection of ecosystems (U.S. EPA NAAQS Table).
The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) has some
of the most advanced tribal environmental programs in the country. The
NNEPA holds primacy over air and water quality standards and conducts
permitting for water programs. The Nation has received delegation
approval for a Part 71 Operating Permit Program (also known as Title V)
from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX on October
13, 2004 and March 21, 2006. This authority allows the NNEPA to
administer a Title V air program under the Clean Air Act. Under this
delegation, fourteen (14) major sources with potential to emit
pollutants over 100 tons per year, are regulated.
The Navajo Nation has proposed a rule to establish a minor source
permitting program under the Navajo Nation Clean Air Act. Under the
proposed Navajo Nation Minor Source Permit Regulations, the Nation will
provide air pollution permits for minor sources to help reduce methane
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. As proposed, minor
sources must not emit more than 5 tpy (tons per year) of VOCs in an
attainment area. Also, under the proposed rule, if the Navajo Nation
were to become designated as non-attainment, the applicable threshold
for a proposed source or modification will be determined based on the
designation where the source is or would be located. If the source
straddles the two areas, the more stringent thresholds would apply.
Methane emissions not only have an economic impact but also can
have an impact on the environment. Methane is a greenhouse gas that
contributes to climate change by increasing the atmospheric
temperature. The Navajo Nation's proposed minor source rule will help
reduce methane emissions by identifying oil and gas facilities on the
Navajo Nation through a permitting process. Tracking oil and gas
emissions from wells, monitoring the types of oil and gas wells and
retaining location information of oil and gas wells will provide a
foundation for future assessments and recommendations on reducing
emissions, including planning for regulatory initiatives to further
reduce emissions from applicable sources. The Navajo Nation then can
provide recommendations to industrial sources such as oil and gas
facilities, agriculture, and businesses and homes to lessen emissions.
The ``Tribal Minor New Source Review Program for Indian Country'',
(76 Fed. Reg. 38784 (July 1, 2011), 40 C.F.R. Sec. Sec. 49.151-161),
currently regulates minor sources on the Navajo Nation. After the
Navajo Nation issues its own Minor Source Program regulations, NNAQCP
will seek to implement this program in place of the federal government.
The NNAQCP implementation will give the Navajo Nation greater control
over its air resources, and will allow the Navajo Nation to regulate
emissions of air pollution that may impact the environment, public
health and welfare, and cultural and religious resources. The proposed
rule also would impose fees to cover the costs of administering the
minor source program, including permit application, revision and
renewal fees, annual emissions fees, fees for coverage under general
permits, and registration fees.
On September 28, 2018, finalized the DOI BLM Waste Prevention,
Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation rule for
methane (83 Fed. Reg. 49184). The Navajo Nation provided comments on
the proposed rule and requested tribal consultation.
The Navajo Nation also fears that there will be an increase in the
already high number of oil spills from broken pipes, particularly
during the winter when pipes freeze and break. Given our limited
resources, remoteness of Chaco, and, in some cases, authority, the
Navajo Nation is severely limited to responding to spills. If a spill
were to occur, we would have to call upon US EPA who then notifies its
On-Scene Coordinator, who then oversees the process and shares
information with us. In the past our OSC representatives would come
from California or Nevada, further delaying response times. While a
spill eventually gets addressed, we have concerns with response time
and oversight given the limiting factors.
With that said, I also want to address uranium mining and make
clear that we do not support development of any uranium mining. Uranium
mining has been detrimental to the Navajo people for many decades and I
want to make sure that it does not harm any family again. Navajo law
also supports a moratorium on uranium mining and processing activity in
Navajo Indian Country.
In summary, the Navajo Nation is looking to diversify its energy
portfolio to combat climate change and provide clean energy to the
Navajo Nation and the Western United States. I appreciate the
committee's invitation to testify.
______
OJO ENCINO CHAPTER
RESOLUTION OJOE-03-09-15/002
Requesting the New Mexico Congressional caucus to Intervene on behalf
of their citizens regarding the actions of the Bureau of Land
Management on the leasing of certain parcels of public lands for
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing by calling for a
moratorium until the Resource Management Plan is revised or amended;
and, To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and, To implore the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise due diligence trust
responsibility to assure that the trust status rights of the Navajo
citizens who are allotees or are heirs of allotees are protected; and,
related actions
WHEREAS:
Pursuant to Navajo Nation Code, Ojo Encino Chapter is certified to
plan, to oversee community development, and to govern for the benefit
of the community residents; and
Ojo Encino Chapter has the inherent right to position itself for the
public interest, public safety and the general welfare of their
community and its residents; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter has steadfastly communicated, coordinated and
cooperatively planned the regional development of the five most Eastern
Chapters of the Navajo Nation; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter reads that the 2003 Resource Management Plan for the
Farmington BLM District does not sufficiently address the technological
development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic tracking; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter is keenly aware of the Bureau of Land Management's
actions to lease the public lands for oil/gas exploration in a manner
that precludes its multiple use to a singular use for energy
development; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter and its residents have personal knowledge of the
adverse impacts their relatives are experiencing with the declining air
quality through the venting and flaring, the increased vehicular
traffic, and the familial discord resulting from the bonus payments for
the leasing of the allotments; and
Ojo Encino Chapter is expressly concerned that the wells supplying the
Ojo Encino-Torreon-Rincon Marquis community water system will be
adversely impacted by the horizontal drilling and hydraulic tracking
explorations near the Ojo Encino aquifer; Moreover, Torreon/Starlake
Chapter knows that the Water system supplying Pueblo Pintado and
Whitehorse Lake communities has wells using the Ojo Encino aquifer as a
source; and,
As well, Ojo Encino Chapter has knowledge that the Pinon Pipeline
proposed by Saddle Butte Midstream, LLC is proceeding post haste where
a proper Environmental Impact Statement is warranted; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter has community voters who have allotments, are heirs
and have an interest in the Mancos-Gallup shale formation area wherein
Land Agents contracted by the many layered interests of the energy
exploration corporations are leading the allotees to sign the leases
without proper legal advisement; and, the Bureau of Indian Affairs have
not held PUBLIC HEARINGS to ensure that the trust status of the
allotees are protected; and
Ojo Encino Chapter supports the rights identified in the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly in September 2007 and was supported by
President Obama in December 2010 by issuing that the Declaration has
both moral and political force must guide the policies and practices of
all the agencies for the Federal government to assure the needs,
interests and points regarding land use priorities, protection of
culturally grounded ways of life and safe guarding the environment
which are imbued in Articles 26, 27, 29 and 32 of the U.N. Declaration.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
Ojo Encino Chapter requests the New Mexico Senators Tom Udall, Heinrich
and Congressman Lujan to:
1. Intervene on behalf of their citizens regarding the actions of
the Bureau of Land Management on the leasing of certain
parcels of public lands for horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing by calling for a moratorium until the
Resource Management Plan is revised or amended; and,
2. To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and,
3. To implore the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise
due diligence trust responsibility to assure that the trust
status rights of the Navajo citizens who are allotees or
are--heirs of allotees are protected; and,
Ojo Encino Chapter requests assistance to secure funding to conduct
health impact assessments, baseline water and soil testing and air
quality monitoring for the impacted areas.
CERTIFICATION
WE HEREBY CERTIFY the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the
Ojo Encino Chapter at a duly called meeting at Ojo Encino Chapter,
Navajo Nation, (New Mexico) at which a quorum was present and that same
was passed with a vote of 13 in favor, 0 opposed this 9 day of March
2015.
George Werito Jr., President
Jeanette Vice, Vice President
Brandon Sam, Secretary/Treasurer
______
THE NAVAJO NATION
Window Rock, AZ
August 22, 2018
Hon. Lisa Murkowski, Chairwoman
Hon. Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Hon. Mike Lee, Chairman
Hon. Ron Wyden, Ranking Member
Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forest & Mining
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Support for S. 2907, The Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection
Act of 2018
Dear Senators Murkowski, Cantwell, Lee and Wyden:
I write to you as President of the Navajo Nation to express our
support and request yours for the passage of S. 2907, the Chaco
Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2018, which was introduced by
Senator Udall and Senator Heinrich. This bill will help protect the
sacred and cultural Native American sites and artifacts within the
Chaco Canyon National Historic Park from further mineral development on
federal land while maintaining the rights of the owners of trust and
tribal allotments.
The Navajo Nation has a strong interest in this legislation as the
Chaco Canyon National Historic Park sits within our borders, and we
have deep ties to the land. We believe in protecting our native
cultural resources because they are invaluable, historical,
irreplaceable and embody a strong spiritual significance for the Indian
tribes in the region. As such, we consider any further disturbance to
this area as culturally and morally unacceptable. S. 2907 reflects
hundreds of public comments and is supported by the All Pueblo Council
of Governors, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, the Wilderness
Society, and Southwest Native Cultures. Therefore, I urge the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to move the bill forward to
the full Senate for passage. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Russell Begaye,
President
______
THE NAVAJO NATION
RESOLUTION OF DILKON CHAPTER DIL-07-075-15
REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS TO INTERVENE ON BEHALF
OF THEIR CITIZENS REGARDING THE ACTIONS OF THE BUREAU OF LAND
MANAGEMENT ON THE LEASING OF CERTAIN PARCELS OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR
HORIZONTAL DRILLING AND HYDRAULIC FRACTURING BY CALLING FOR A
MORATORIUM UNTIL THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN IS REVISED OR AMENDED;
AND TO CALL FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY TO BE CONDUCTED ON THE
ROUTE OF THE PROPOSED PINON PIPELINE; AND TO IMPLORE THE BUREAU OF
INDIAN AFFAIRS NAVAJO REGION EXERCISE DUE DILIGENCE TRUST
RESPONSIBILITY TO ASSURE THAT THE TRUST STATUS RIGHTS OF THE NAVAJOS
CITIZENS WHO ARE ALLOTEES OR ARE HEIR OF ALLOTEES ARE PROTECTED; AND
RELATED ACTIONS.
WHEREAS:
1. Dilkon Chapter is a certified chapter of the Navajo Nation in
accordance to Navajo Tribal Council resolution CJ-20-55,
and further recognized as a local governmental entity with
the responsibility and authority to implement community
projects that will benefit the Dilkon Community; and
2. By Navajo Nation Council resolution CAP-34-98, also known as the
Local Governance Act, the Navajo Nation Council authorized
Chapters ``[to] make decisions over local matters, ``within
the Chapter area''; and
3. Dilkon Chapter supports the regional development of the five most
Eastern Chapters of the Navajo Nation--said chapters have
steadfastly communicated, coordinated and cooperatively
planned; and
4. Dilkon Chapter understands that the 2003 Resource Management Plan
for the Farmington (NM) Bureau of Land Management District
does not sufficiently address the technological development
of horizontal drilling and hydraulic tracking; and
5. Dilkon Chapter is aware of the Bureau of Land Management's
actions to lease the public lands for oil and gas
exploration in a manner that precludes its multiple use to
a singular use for energy development; and
6. Dilkon Chapter is further aware of the adverse impacts
experienced by those who reside within the affected area--
declining air quality through the venting and fracturing
flares, the increased vehicular traffic, and the familial
discord resulting from the bonus payments for allotment
leasing; and
7. Dilkon Chapter is expressly concerned that the wells supplying
the impacted area--Ojo Encino, Rorreon, Rincon Marquesis--
community water system will be adversely impacted by the
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking exploration near
the Ojo Encino aquifer; moreover, Roreron/Starlake Chapter
issues that the water system supplying the Pueblo Pintado
and Whitehorse Lake communities has wells using the Ojo
Encino aquifer as a source; and
8. Dilkon has learned from Ojo Encino community members that they
have knowledge that the Pinon Pipeline proposed by the
Saddle-Butte Midstream, LLC is proceeding with great
immediacy where a proper Environmental Impact Statement is
warranted; and
9. Dilkon Chapter is aware that the impacted area has community
members who have allotments, are heirs an interest in the
Mancos-Gallup shale formation area wherein Land Agent
contracted by the many layered interest of the energy
exploration are encouraging the allotees to sign the leases
without proper legal advisement, and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs have not held PUBLIC HEARINGS to ensure that the
trust status of the allotees are protected; and
10. Dilkon Chapter supports the rights identified in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September
2007 and was supported by President Obama in December 2010
by issuing that the Declaration has both moral and
political force must guide the policies and practices of
all the agencies for the federal government to ensure the
needs, interests and points regarding land use priorities,
protection of culturally grounded ways of life and safe
guarding the environment which are imbued in Articles 26,
27, 29 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
Dilkon Chapter requests the New Mexico Senators Tom Udall, Heinrich and
Congressman Lujan to:
1. Intervene on behalf of their citizens regarding the actions of
the Bureau of Land Management on the leasing of certain
parcels of public lands for horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing by calling for a moratorium until the
Resource Management Plan is revised or amended; and,
2. To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed pinon Pipeline; and
3. To implore the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise
due diligence trust responsibility to assure that the trust
status rights of the Navajo citizens who are allotees or
are heirs are protected; and
4. Dilkon Chapter requests assistance to secure funding to conduct
health impact assessments, baseline water and soil testing
and air quality monitoring for the impacted areas.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify, the forgoing resolution was duly considered by the
Dilkon Chapter at a duly called meeting at the Dilkon Chapter, Navajo
Nation, (Arizona) at which a quorum was present and that same was
passed with a vote of 26 in favor, 0 opposed on this July 13, 2015.
Lorenzo Lee, Sr., President
Dilkon Chapter
______
Statement for the Record
Samuel Sage
Enrolled Navajo Nation Citizen
July 11, 2023
I Samuel Sage, Navajo Nation enrolled citizen, thank the Committee
for the opportunity to provide written testimony on House Resolution
H.R. 4374. The bill was introduced by Representative Elijah Crane, R-
AZ-2. I write to express strong opposition to this legislation and
request this Committee's solidarity to stand with front line Navajo
community and Allottee members for permanent and broad protections of
the Greater Chaco Landscape.
I. Background (Context)
My name is Samuel Sage, I am an enrolled citizen of the Navajo
Nation from Counselor, NM. My community is approximately 34 miles away
from Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Chaco Canyon). As a Dine
citizen who has experienced the harmful legacy of oil and gas
development, I am uniquely qualified to speak upon the need for a 10-
mile withdrawal area and the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
administrative decision to withdraw federal lands and minerals
surrounding Chaco Canyon from future mineral development for a 20-year
term.
Since time immemorial, my clan, family, and community have resided
in Counselor, NM. In adherence to our Dine Traditional Law, these
teachings have served to guide our existence on Mother Earth as
stewards of her body and ecosystems. Unfortunately, the Navajo Nation,
like many tribes, have been subject to impositions of colonialism, law,
and policy designed to fracture our internal governance and
responsibilities. During a painful period of Navajo history, the people
sought to defend our sovereignty from the Dawes Act of 1887 and the
beginning of the Federal Indian Boarding School era of 1890. Many
Navajo community members from the Eastern Agency were provided
individual allotment land when their children were removed from Dinetah
(the ancestral homeland for Navajo). This era is partially responsible
for the establishment of the checkerboard land parcels on the Eastern
Navajo Agency that encompasses land in the state of New Mexico.
Over the past one hundred years across federal, state, tribal, and
allotment lands, the oil and gas development has encroached Chaco
Canyon for petrochemical exploration and development. The legacy of
extraction has harmed the land and the cultural landscape important to
the Dine people, Pueblos, and Tribes who claim cultural affiliation to
the sacred and irreplaceable landscape. Unfortunately, upwards of 90
percent of available federal lands and minerals have been leased for
development surrounding Chaco Canyon without sufficient cumulative
environmental and ethnographic analyses. Furthermore, inadequate
environmental analyses and measures have subjected our front line
Navajo communities to severe negative health impacts and depletion of
important water systems vital to livelihood, agriculture, and many
cultural practices. The increased mineral development has brought
immense challenges to my personal health and the future vitality of my
community.
Therefore, as a Dine citizen, I extend my strong support for the
2023 public land order from the Department of the Interior (DOI) to
administratively withdraw federal lands in an approximate 10-mile
withdrawal area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park and
including its outliers for a 20-year term. And, I strongly support the
Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) as an ongoing effort to create better
land co-management practices in the Greater Chaco Region. DOI's June 2,
2023 administrative withdrawal decision comes after long standing
Navajo Allottee and community calls to address legacy impacts of oil
and gas leasing. This effort preserves Navajo Nation and Allottees
rights to seek mineral development on their own land, and supports
Navajo Nation resolutions from the Eastern Navajo Agency Council,
Counselor Chapter, Ojo Encino Chapter, Dilkon Chapter, and Torreon/Star
Lake Chapter. It supports the status quo of yearly Congressional
appropriations moratorium language that prevents the Bureau of Land
Management from utilizing resources to conduct mineral leasing on
public lands within the withdrawal area, and finally supports Pueblo
and Dine Solidarity. We ask that the Navajo Nation President and the
Navajo Nation Council to uphold their original stewardship
responsibilities.
II. Impacts
Since 2013, local Navajo Chapter Houses have adopted Resolutions
calling upon the federal government including Congress and DOI to
initiate steps toward better land management and prevention of further
leasing on Public Lands under certain conditions, including the support
for Navajo Nation and Allottees to continue exploring options for oil
and gas leases. These calls to action derived from community members
experiencing declining air quality through venting and flaring of oil
and gas development without much stewardship leading to thousands of
abandoned oil wells, and increased vehicular traffic of industrial oil
and gas semi-trucks. There is major concern that oil and gas wells are
depleting and contaminating community aquifers by multistage hydraulic
fracturing. These actions have brought forth a rise in health
complications and illnesses like cancer and respiratory problems, which
increased COVID deaths.
The cumulative health and environmental impacts of oil and gas
extraction are devastating. In 2016, the Counselor Health Impact
Assessment--K'e Bee Hozhoogo Iina Sila Committee began to account for
the legacy of mineral development and assess the health complications
and impacts for Dine communities. This work culminated in the
completion of the study ``A Cultural, Spiritual and Health Impact
Assessment Of Oil Drilling Operations in the Navajo Nation area of
Counselor, Torreon and Ojo Encino Chapters'' in 2021. The research and
findings of this study were approved by the Navajo Nation Human
Research Review Board.
The study's findings were numerous. Among them:
Air monitoring conducted in Counselor Chapter in 2018
revealed levels of airborne formaldehyde that far exceeded
permissible exposure levels, levels of particulate matter
that routinely spiked to unhealthy and hazardous levels, as
well as the continuous presence of VOCs, all of which can
be harmful to human respiratory health, and in the case of
formaldehyde, lead to nose and throat cancer.
Mapping of wells in Counselor Chapter in 2018 found that
most of Counselor's 700 residents live within a mile of at
least one oil and gas facility that emits pollutants.
Among Counselor residents surveyed for the health impact
assessment portion of the study, 90% reported sinus
problems (discharge, obstruction and pain); 80% reported
coughs, headaches, itching/burning of eyes, joint pain,
fatigue and sleep disturbance; 70% reported nosebleeds and
wheezing (loud breathing); 60% reported shortness of
breath; and 42% reported itching of skin/rash. All these
symptoms are consistent with exposure to pollution from oil
and gas production.
The study also found that local Dine community members
(including allotment owners) in Counselor, Ojo Encino, and
Torreon Chapters experience significant cultural,
spiritual, and social harms from oil and gas extraction.
These include: familial and community conflicts;
desecration of sacred sites; degradation of the land;
disrespect of tribal sovereignty by oil companies; concern
about being able to sustain a livelihood from the land;
disappearance of traditional herbs and medicines; feelings
of not being heard by federal, state, and tribal leaders.
The study found that balance and harmony in these
communities has been eroded by oil and gas drilling, deeply
affecting Dine lifeways.
III. History of Dine, Pueblo, and Cross-Organizational Engagement to
Support Greater Chaco Landscape Protections
There is a long history of inter-Tribal and public engagement in
support of protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape. For example, in
2013, the Eastern Navajo Agency Council called for a moratorium on
hydraulic fracturing in the region. This was followed by the passage of
multiple Navajo Nation Chapter resolutions supporting the protection of
the landscape from oil and gas extraction. In 2017, the All Pueblo
Council of Governors and Navajo Nation President and Vice President
issued a joint statement opposing horizontal fracking in Greater Chaco,
and the National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution to
support a moratorium on leasing and permitting in the region. In 2019,
the New Mexico State Land Office issued Executive Order 2019-002
Moratorium on New Oil and Gas and Mineral Leasing within a 12-mile area
around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and convened a Chaco
Working Group to make recommendations regarding land management
practices in the Greater Chaco region. In 2019, APCG and the Navajo
Nation met in a historic summit to support the protection of the
Greater Chaco Landscape.
While our front line communities are well aware of the legacy
health and landscape impacts, there has always been a strong
understanding that some Navajo Allottees currently rely on the economic
benefits of mineral exploration due to lack of other opportunities in
the area. After numerous internal family discussions and community
meetings, a consensus emerged that any calls for protections would
incorporate the option to preserve Navajo Trust lands and Allotment
lands to seek mineral development.
Since 2016, over 2 million public comments have been submitted to
federal agencies in support of protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape
from oil and gas extraction.
In 2021, President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland initiated
concurrent administrative efforts to protect Chaco Canyon and
theGreater Chaco Region and improve land management practices through
the Honoring Chaco Initiative.
IV. Request
I request you to oppose H.R. 4374 the bill to nullify public land
order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain Land in San Juan County, New
Mexico, From Mineral Entry.
______
National Congress of American Indians
Resolution #MKE-17-008
TITLE: To Support Moratorium on Leasing and Permitting In Greater Chaco
Region
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians
of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon
our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our
descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights
secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States,
and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the
laws and Constitution of the United States and the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to enlighten the
public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve
Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and
welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the
following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was
established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization
of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the protection of each tribe's traditional cultural properties
and sacred sites is necessary to each tribe's cultural preservation now
and into the future; and
WHEREAS, preserving the traditional cultural properties and sacred
sites that exist in the Greater Chaco Region, including, but not
limited to, the Great North Road, the West Road, and Pierre's Site,
along with protection of the night skies, soundscapes, view shed and
sight-lines within and surrounding Chaco Canyon is essential to the
cultures and traditions of tribes in the region; and
WHEREAS, in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt created the 36,000-acre
Chaco Culture National Historical Park to protect significant ancient
ruins for future generations but thousands of traditional cultural
properties and sacred sites are located throughout the Greater Chaco
Canyon Region and are unprotected; and
WHEREAS, the Greater Chaco Canyon Region was historically a center of
tribal culture and economic life where Native people over thousands of
years built great houses, astronomical observation sites, and
ceremonial kivas, and these areas continue to be places of prayer,
pilgrimage and living connections to their ancestors; and
WHEREAS, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other sites in
the Greater Chaco Canyon Region, administered by the Federal Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), have been
designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and
WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of a federal agency to make the
determination of whether a traditional cultural property exists prior
to taking federal action; and
WHEREAS, the BLM and BIA have not initiated any ethnographic work with
tribes in the region to determine whether cultural landscapes in the
Greater Chaco Region/San Juan Basin exist that qualify as a traditional
cultural property, but are proposing leasing of lands and considering
the issuance of permits for development at this time; and
WHEREAS, oil and gas drilling and related infrastructure in the Greater
Chaco Canyon Region harm tribal traditional cultural properties and
sacred sites and degrade and impair the cultural landscape(s) that
include these traditional cultural properties and sacred sites; and
WHEREAS, the oil and gas industry has developed new extraction
technologies by combining horizontal drilling with industrialized
hydraulic fracturing (``fracking''), creating increased industry
interest in the Mancos shale in the Greater Chaco Canyon Region; and
WHEREAS, the BLM and the BIA acknowledge that the agencies have not
analyzed the impacts of fracking in the Greater Chaco Canyon Region and
yet have approved over 400 fracking wells since 2013, which have
already harmed the cultural landscape(s) in the region; and
WHEREAS, the BLM and the BIA are working jointly to amend the BLM's
2003 Resource Management Plan to include consideration of the impacts
of fracking in the Greater Chaco Canyon Region and further agreed to
halt all leases within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon until it
finished amending its Resource Management Plan, which it expects to
issue in late 2018, and until completion of tribal consultations and
community outreach; and
WHEREAS, in January 2017, over the opposition of the tribes in the
region, the BLM issued leases on 843 acres of public lands for fracking
activities within 19 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park;
and
WHEREAS, despite its previous agreement not to do so, and without
completion of any ethnographic study to determine the existence of one,
if not more, traditional cultural landscapes within the Greater Chaco
Region, the BLM and BIA have been issuing permits and recently began a
process to lease areas adjacent to the 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon
Culture National Historical Park, and in close proximity to known sites
of importance on the Great North Road; and
WHEREAS, the continuation of permitting and leasing of public lands by
the BLM and the BIA for fracking activities in increasingly closer
proximity to Chaco Culture National Historical Park threatens
irreparable harm to Chaco Canyon and traditional cultural properties
and sacred sites, including existing traditional cultural landscapes in
the Greater Chaco Region; and
WHEREAS, NCAI has in the past called for moratoria on development of
lands that would threaten tribal interests in lands and cultural
resources, including by passing Resolution #PHX-08-020, To Support
Moratorium on Exploration for Oil and Gas Drilling in the Galisteo
Basin of New Mexico.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI) calls upon the Department of the Interior, acting
through the BLM and the BIA, to immediately issue a moratorium on all
oil and gas permitting and leasing in the Greater Chaco Canyon Region
to protect traditional cultural properties and sacred sites in the
region until the BLM and BIA initiate and complete an ethnographic
study of cultural landscape(s) within the Greater Chaco Region and the
Farmington Field Office Resource Management Plan Amendment and
Environmental Impact Statement for the Mancos-Gallup Formations 2003
Regional Management Plan; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI supports the creation of a protection
zone around Chaco Canyon where the Department of the Interior will
prioritize the protection of traditional cultural properties and sacred
sites, including, but not limited to, the Great North Road, the West
Road, and Pierre's Site; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI calls upon the Department of the
Interior, including the BLM, BIA, and the National Park Service,
pursuant to their authorities and responsibilities under the National
Historic Preservation Act, the Archeological Resources Protection Act,
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act,
and Executive Orders 12898 and 13007, formally adopt and cooperate on
the management of the aforesaid protection zone and conduct meaningful
government-to-government consultations with the tribes in the region;
and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of
NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the
2017 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held
at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, WI, Oct 15, 2017-Oct 20, 2017,
with a quorum present.
Jefferson Keel, President
ATTEST:
Juana Majel Dixon, Recording Secretary
______
TORREON/STAR LAKE CHAPTER
RESOLUTION
Requesting the New Mexico Congressional Caucus to Intervene on behalf
of their citizens regarding the actions of the Bureau of Land
Management on the leasing of certain parcels of public lands for
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing by calling for a
moratorium until the Resource Management Plan is revised or amended;
and, To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and, To implore the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise due diligence trust
responsibility to assure that the trust status rights of the Navajo
citizens who are allotees or are heirs of allotees are protected; and,
related actions
WHEREAS:
Pursuant to Navajo Nation Code; Torreon/Starlake Chapter is certified
to plan, to oversee community development, and to govern for the
benefit of the community residents; and
Torreon/Star lake Chapter has the inherent right to position itself for
the public interest, public safety and the general welfare of their
community and its residents; and,
Torreon/Star lake Chapter has steadfastly communicated, coordinated and
cooperatively planned the regional development of the five most Eastern
Chapters of the Navajo Nation; and,
Torreon/Star lake Chapter reads that the 2003 Resource Management Plan
for the Farmington BLM District does not sufficiently address the
technological development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracking; and,
Torreon/Star lake Chapter is keenly aware of the Bureau of Land
Management's actions to lease the public lands for oil/gas exploration
in a manner that precludes its multiple use to a singular use for
energy development; and,
The Torreon/Star lake Chapter and its residents have personal knowledge
of the adverse impacts their relatives are experiencing with the
declining air quality through the venting and flaring, the increased
vehicular traffic, and the familial discord resulting from the bonus
payments for the leasing of the allotments; and
The Torreon/Star lake Chapter is expressly concerned that the wells
supplying the Ojo Encino-Torreon-Rincon Marquis community water system
will be adversely impacted by the horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracking explorations near the Ojo Encino aquifer; Moreover, Torreon/
Star lake Chapter knows that the Water system supplying Pueblo Pintado
and Whitehorse Lake communities has wells using the Ojo Encino aquifer
as a source; and,
As well, Torreon/Star lake Chapter has knowledge that the Pinon
Pipeline proposed by Saddle Butte Midstream, LLC is proceeding post
haste absent a proper Environmental Impact Statement; and,
The Torreon/Star lake Chapter has community voters who have allotments,
are heirs and have an interest in the Mancos-Gallup shale formation
area wherein Land Agents contracted by the many layered interests of
the energy exploration corporations are leading the allotees to sign
the leases without proper legal advisement; and, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs have not held PUBLIC HEARINGS to ensure that the trust status
of the allotees are protected; and
Torreon/Star lake Chapter supports the rights identified in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly in September 2007 and was supported by
President Obama in December 2010 by issuing that the Declaration has
both moral and political force must guide the policies and practices of
all the agencies for the Federal government to assure the needs,
interests and points regarding land use priorities, protection of
culturally grounded ways of life and safe guarding the environment
which are imbued in Articles 26, 27, 29 and 32 of the U.N. Declaration.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
Torreon/Star lake Chapter requests the New Mexico Senators Tom Udall,
Heinrich and Congressman Lujan to:
1. Intervene on behalf of their citizens regarding the actions of
the Bureau of Land Management on the leasing of certain
parcels of public lands for horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing by calling for a moratorium until the
Resource Management Plan is revised or amended; and,
2. To call for an Environmental Impact Study to be conducted on the
route of the proposed Pinon Pipeline; and,
3. To implore the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Region exercise
due diligence trust responsibility to assure that the trust
status rights of the Navajo citizens who are allotees or
are heirs of allotees are protected; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter requests assistance to secure funding to
conduct health impact assessments, baseline water arid soil testing and
air quality monitoring for the impacted areas.
CERTIFICATION
WE HEREBY CERTIFY the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the
Torreon/Star lake Chapter at a duly called meeting at Torreon/Star lake
Chapter, Navajo Nation, (New Mexico) at which a quorum was present and
that same was passed with a vote of 36 in favor, 0 opposed this 9th day
of March 2015.
David Rico, President
Joe L. Cayaditto, Jr., Vice President
Evangeline Tachine, Secretary/Treasurer
______
TORREON/STAR LAKE CHAPTER
RESOLUTION TSL 04/2016-027
OPPOSING THE MASTER LEASING PLAN AS PROPOSED BY CERTAIN GROUPS; TO
IMPLORE THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM), THE BUREAU OF INDIAN
AFFAIRS (BIA), TO PRIORITIZE THE NAVAJO COMMUNITY CONCERNS ON HEALTH
IMPACTS, AIR QUALITY FACTORS, SAFETY CONCERNS, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO THE SCHOOL BUS ROUTES, AS AN INTEGRAL FACET OF THE PROPOSED
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN--AMENDMENT (RMP-A) AND RELATED ACTIONS.
WHEREAS:
1. Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is a certified unit of Navajo Nation
Government having the authority to enact certain provisions
regarding the quality of life factors of its community
residents, and;
2. The Torreon/Star Lake Chapter has many community residents as
their voting constituents who have inheritance rights in
BLM Farmington District Field Office Resource Management
area, and;
3. The Torreon/Star Lake Chapter's area has more than 85,000 acres
within its Chapter area of which the western chapter area
is part of the BLM Farmington Field Office, and;
4. South West Archeologists and Nature Trust, among other groups,
are purporting to pursue a Master Leasing Plan as has been
used in other Field Offices in other States, and;
5. The Master Leasing Plan maps for the BLM Field Office resource
management area shared by BLM does not, in proper detail,
show the community area and residences,
6. The organizations pushing the Master Leasing Plan have not
approached the affected community Chapters, much less the
allotment landowners with respect to the written aspects of
their proposed Master Leasing Plan, and;
7. The Master Leasing Plan proponents, the Bureau of Land
Management, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have not
adhered to the Tribal Consultation process prior to making
public the MLP concept and to which are included in written
documents circulated at certain BLM meetings, and:
8. The Bureau of Land Management, at its December 05, 2015 meeting,
distributed a fact sheet which named the Master Leasing
plan as the only alternative;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Torreon Star Lake Chapter hereby opposes the inclusion of the
Master Leasing Plan and its maps for which the affected Chapters have
not been informed, consulted and have not consented to, and;
The Torreon-Star Lake Chapter hereby implores the Bureau of Land
Management to Prioritize the Community concerns regarding the
deteriorating air quality, the health impacts and safety factors,
including but not limited to the School bus routes, as an integral part
of the 2015 Resource Management Plan-Amendment.
CERTIFlCATION
WE HEREBY CERTIFY the forgoing resolution was duly considered by the
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter at a duly called meeting at Torreon/Star Lake
Chapter, Navajo Nation, (New Mexico) at which a quorum was present and
that same was passed with a vote of 32 in favor, 0 opposed this 4th day
of April 2016.
David Rico, President
Joe L. Cayaditto, Jr., Vice President
Evangeline Tachine, Secretary/Treasurer
*****
TORREON/STAR LAKE CHAPTER
RESOLUTION TSL 04/2016-026
SUPPORTING THE APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
AND THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL ON AMENDING THE METHANE
RULES REGARDING THE NEW AND EXISTING OIL/GAS FACILITIES SITUATED
THROUGHOUT THE CHAPTER AREAS OF TORREON, OJO ENCINO AND COUNSELORS;
AND, REQUESTING THE NM CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO EXERCISE CAUTION AND
PRUDENCE IN THE FACE OF THE POSITIONS OF THE COUNTIES AND
MUNICIPALITIES; AND, RELATED ACTIONS.
WHEREAS:
Pursuant to Navajo Nation Code, Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is certified
to plan, to oversee community development, and to govern for the
benefit of the community residents; and
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter has the inherent right to position itself for
the public interest, public safety and the general welfare of their
community and its residents; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter has steadfastly communicated, coordinated and
cooperatively planned the regional development of the five most Eastern
Chapters of the Navajo Nation; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter reads that the 2003 Resource Management Plan
for the Farmington BLM District does not sufficiently address the
technological development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracking; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is keenly aware of the Bureau of Land
Management's actions to lease the public lands for oil/gas exploration
in a manner that precludes its multiple use to a singular use for
energy development; and,
The Torreon/Star Lake Chapter and its residents have personal knowledge
of the adverse impacts their relatives are experiencing with the
declining air quality through the venting and flaring, the increased
vehicular traffic, and the familial discord resulting from the bonus
payments for the leasing of the allotments; and
The Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is expressly concerned that the wells
supplying the Ojo Encino-Torreon-Rincon Marquis community water system
will be adversely impacted by the horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracking explorations near the Ojo Encino aquifer; Moreover, Torreon/
Star Lake Chapter knows that the Water system supplying Pueblo Pintado
and Whitehorse Lake communities has wells using the Ojo Encino aquifer
as a source; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is keenly aware of the meetings of the
Environmental Protection Agency where there are proposed Rules applying
to new oil and gas facilities to reduce the methane emissions; and,
The Torreon/Star Lake Chapter has informed knowledge that the Bureau of
Land Management has proposed rules to effect the existing oil and gas
facilities wherein the reduction of Methane emissions will be reduced;
and
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter is aware that the Municipal governing council
are pressuring the NM Congressional Delegation to push back on the
proposed rules; and, These councils are taking the oil and gas
industry's word at face value and do not have a keen awareness on the
facilities in the remote and less populated areas of the Counties; and,
Torreon/Star lake Chapter has heard in meetings that the Bureau of land
Management and the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division do not have
sufficient personnel to conduct oil and gas site inspections--They are
understaffed; and,
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter supports the rights identified in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly in September 2007 and was supported by
President Obama in December 2010 by issuing that the Declaration has
both moral and political force must guide the policies and practices of
all the agencies for the Federal government to assure the needs,
interests and points regarding land use priorities, protection of
culturally grounded ways of life and safe guarding the environment
which are imbued in Articles 26, 27, 29 and 32 of the U.N. Declaration.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
Torreon/Star lake Chapter hereby supports the adoption of the Methane
rules as they apply to the new and existing facilities of the oil and
gas facilities as proposed by the Bureau of Land Management and the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Torreon/Star lake Chapter hereby requests the New Mexico Congressional
Delegation to exercise Caution and Prudence in adopting as proposed by
the City municipalities.
CERTIFICATION
WE HEREBY CERTIFY the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the
Torreon/Star Lake Chapter at a duly called meeting at Torreon/Star lake
Chapter, Navajo Nation, (New Mexico) at which a quorum was present and
that same was passed with a vote of 32 in favor, 0 opposed this 4th day
of April 2016.
David Rico, President
Joe L. Cayaditto, Jr., Vice President
Evangeline Tachine, Secretary/Treasurer
______
Statement for the Record
Wendy Atcitty
Navajo Nation Enrolled Citizen
I am Wendy Atcitty, Navajo Nation enrolled citizen. Thank you to
the Committee for the opportunity to provide written testimony on the
bill to nullify public land order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain Land in
San Juan County, New Mexico, From Mineral Entry, H.R. 4374.
Representative Elijah Crane, R-AZ-2, introduced the bill. I strongly
oppose the legislation and request this Committee's solidarity to stand
with the front-line Navajo community and Allottee members for permanent
and broad protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape.
I am a registered voter from Huerfano, approximately 50 miles from
the Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Chaco Canyon), and an
enrolled Navajo Nation citizen. Our family has resided in the region
during the development and experienced the harmful legacy of oil and
gas development within our homesite. I am uniquely qualified to speak
upon the need for a 10-mile withdrawal area and the Department of
Interior's (DOI) administrative decision to withdraw federal lands and
minerals surrounding Chaco Canyon from future mineral development for a
20-year term.
There is an era partially responsible for establishing checkerboard
land parcels on the Eastern Navajo Agency that encompasses land in New
Mexico. However, since time immemorial, my clan, family, and community
have resided in Huerfano. We adhere to Dine Traditional Law, which has
teachings to guide our existence on Mother Earth as stewards of her
body and ecosystems.
It cannot be denied that petrochemical exploration and development
have encroached on and harmed land and cultural landscapes important to
Dine people, Pueblos, and Tribes who have had cultural affiliation
since time immemorial. Chaco Canyon has had 90 percent of federal land
and minerals leased to oil and gas development without sufficient
cumulative environmental and ethnographic analyses. Our health and
ecological impact are real for front-line Dine communities as there is
a connection to the fracked water systems used in oil and gas and the
emissions. In 2016, a health study began to account for health
complications that impact Dine communities from mineral development. It
is called Counselor Health Impact Assessment. It culminated in another
critical research in 2021, ``A Cultural, Spiritual and Health Impact
Assessment of Oil Drilling Operations in the Navajo Nation area of
Counselor, Torreon, and Ojo Encino Chapters.''
As a Dine citizen, I strongly support the 2023 public land order
from the DOI to administratively withdraw federal lands in an
approximate 10-mile withdrawal area surrounding the Chaco National
Historical Park and its outliers for a 20-year term. I also support the
Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) ongoing effort to create better land
co-management practices in the Greater Chaco Region.
The region encompasses the impacts of oil and gas leasing. Several
local Chapter resolutions supported the Navajo Allottee and community
efforts to preserve the Navajo Nation and Allottees' rights for mineral
development on their land. It supports a status quo of yearly
Congressional appropriations moratorium language to prevent the Bureau
of Land Management from using resources to conduct mineral leasing on
public lands within the withdrawal area.
For 10 years, there have been resolutions by Navajo Chapter Houses
to have the federal government implement better land management and
prevention of further leasing on Public lands, with conditions to
explore options for oil and gas leases that support the Navajo Nation
and Allottees. It also carries a timeline of inter-Tribal and public
engagement in support of protecting the Greater Chaco landscape.
2013--The Eastern Navajo Agency Council called for a
moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the region. It was
followed by the passage of multiple Navajo Nation Chapter
resolutions supporting the protection of the landscape from
oil and gas extraction.
2016--Over 2 million public comments have been submitted
to federal agencies in support of protecting the Greater
Chaco Landscape from oil and gas extraction.
2017--The All Pueblo Council of Governors and Navajo
Nation President and Vice President issued a joint
statement opposing horizontal fracking in Greater Chaco,
and the National Congress of American Indians passed a
resolution to support a moratorium on leasing and
permitting in the region.
2019--The New Mexico State Land Office issued Executive
Order 2019-002 Moratorium on New Oil and Gas and Mineral
Leasing within a 12-mile area around Chaco Culture National
Historical Park. It convened a Chaco Working Group to make
recommendations regarding land management practices in the
Greater Chaco region.
2019--APCG and the Navajo Nation met in a historic summit
to support the protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape.
2021--President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland
initiated concurrent administrative efforts to protect
Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region and improve land
management practices through the HCI.
There are numerous internal family and community meetings where a
consensus emerged on protections that would incorporate the option to
preserve Navajo Trust lands and Allotment lands to seek mineral
development for economic benefits as there is a lack of opportunities
in economic development.
I request you to oppose H.R. 4374, the bill to nullify public land
order No. 7923, Withdrawing Certain Land in San Juan County, New
Mexico, From Mineral Entry.
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