Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
ultimately lead to their prayers and ceremonies becoming simply a performance with no true link
to the sacred place. Physical alterations and impacts to the mountains such as Mt. Taylor would
irreparably harm the cultural practices of the Hopi, and affect the very core of their cultural
identity and essence of what it means to be Hopi.
Proposed Uranium Mine
The Hopi Tribe has indicated that the proposed project would adversely affect the Mt. Taylor TCP
and would adversely affect NRHP eligible prehistoric sites that fall within the boundary of the
Mt. Taylor TCP. Adverse effects to the archaeological sites would have subsequent adverse effects
on the entire Mt. Taylor TCP. The tribe is concerned that human remains may be encountered
during the proposed project or during mitigation activities. Medicinal plants in the mine area may
also be affected.
The Hopi understand that this project would pump, treat, and discharge large amounts of water.
Treating water as a waste product in the pursuit of uranium would be a misuse of the environment
and the Hopi, therefore, believe that this proposal would also adversely affect the natural
environment. The Hopi are also concerned that the proposed project would result in
contamination of the Mt. Taylor area.
When the impacts are considered together, the Hopi Tribe believes that the proposed project
would adversely affect the Mt. Taylor TCP and cause irreparable harm to the Hopi people and
their traditional cultural practices. This harm would derive from adversely affecting the core of
Hopi cultural identity and essence of what it means to be Hopi; adversely affecting the Katsina;
impacting the integrity of the mountain’s sacred landscape; and diminishing the power or
effectiveness of prayers and ceremony.
Navajo Nation
General Concerns
The Navajo Nation opposes uranium development on and near Navajo lands. The tribe recognizes
the past problems related to uranium development on and adjacent to Navajo land, and its link to
health issues and degradation of the environment, both of which continue to impact the tribe.
The existence and purpose of uranium from a traditional viewpoint was discussed during
consultation. Uranium is meant to remain where it is, buried in the earth. It is believed that
uranium changes when it is brought to the surface; extracting uranium contaminates and poisons
the surface. It is believed that once uranium is extracted, it would poison humans and other living
resources such as plants and water, and cause illness.
Contamination and depletion of groundwater and springs is a major concern for the Navajo
Nation. Water is a resource critical to the survival of the Navajo and the continuity of their way of
life. The Navajo believe that if plants are misused, they will move away. Drilling or digging into
the earth is considered misuse and is viewed in a negative way because of the impacts it has upon
the plants. Digging and removing earth from Mt. Taylor is akin to removing an organ from a
living being. Digging into the earth is also believed to alter the otherwise beneficial effects of
other land treatments intended to regenerate the growth of plants.
The older practitioners speak of how uranium drilling changed the landscape and plant growth.
Practitioners were forced to move their traditional activities away from the impacted areas. The
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 343