At a Shiprock Chapter meeting this Wednesday, officials will vote on a resolution that calls for independent oversight of cleanup efforts after an oil spill north of town. Residents held a meeting on Saturday to discuss the ramifications of the spill and the community-drafted resolution, which also requests an investigation into the cause of the incident by both the U.S. EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department. Last month, a pipeline that transports crude oil from New Mexico to Aneth, Utah, was breached by a grading truck on agricultural land. The pipeline is operated by a subsidiary of Navajo Nation Oil and Gas, which is a tribal enterprise. Beverly Maxwell and other Navajo residents who live near the spill are frustrated with what they describe as a lack of communication from local and national tribal authorities about details of the still-ongoing cleanup.
Chris Clements is a former news reporter for KSJD. He had previously covered literary arts as a reporter for The Chautauquan Daily in Chautauqua, New York, and graduated with a degree in English from Arizona State University. At KSJD, Chris has collaborated with KUNC (northern Colorado NPR) on water conservation stories, and had his spots regularly featured on NPR's national newscasts.