environmental protection agency

Wildfires in the panhandle of Texas and south central Oklahoma could impact beef supply, more concerns about getting a new Farm Bill passed in Congress, the EPA announces a new Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,and cases of canine respiratory disease in Colorado have dropped significantly.

The city of Cortez is participating in a grant from the U.S. EPA to identify so-called brownfield properties for potential reuse and revitalization. Brownfield sites are properties where expansion or development may be complicated by the presence of pollutants or hazardous waste. In 2022, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment awarded Cortez, Firestone, Longmont, and Lyons a collective $2 million brownfields grant to cover the costs of initial site assessments and studies. Some properties in Cortez – like KSJD’s own Sunflower Theatre – have benefited from brownfield cleanup and community revitalization in the past. And a preliminary settlement was reached late Tuesday in a lawsuit over alleged transparency violations in the Colorado State House of Representatives.

The spill was the largest release of radioactive material in United States history. Navajo families living in the Red Water Pond Road community say they’re still dealing with the implications of it 44 years later.

On Saturday, Navajo families held a walk in remembrance of the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history. In July of 1979, a dam holding back uranium mill waste in Church Rock, New Mexico, broke and released millions of gallons of radioactive water and debris into the Puerco River. The Red Water Pond Road community is made up of Navajo families who live in the Church Rock mining area, where the uranium waste spill occurred. They say they’re still suffering from the impacts of the disaster 44 years later. And Governor Jared Polis will serve as vice-chair of the National Governors Association.

Last month, the Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a community meeting on the EPA’s proposal to add nearby uranium mines to its Superfund National Priorities List. If the proposal goes through, it would be the first site on the Navajo Nation to be added to the list. The mines are located in the Lukachukai Mountain Mining District in northeastern Arizona. Cove Chapter President James Benally says that waste from the mines has led to the contamination of waterways and livestock in the area.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday making it harder for the federal government to enforce clean water rules has New Mexico environmental groups urging Congress to take the lead. The five-to-four opinion by conservative justices, minus Bret Kavanaugh, is a blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate wetlands and waterways. And public buildings in Colorado will be required to include all-gender restrooms later this year. That’s thanks to a new law signed by Governor Jared Polis this week.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation and the Environmental Protection Agency held a community meeting on the EPA’s proposal to add nearby uranium mines to its Superfund National Priorities List. The mines are located in the Lukachukai Mountain Mining District in northeastern Arizona. According to Kenyon Larsen, a remedial project manager for the EPA, for years, they’ve been working to address the dozens of uranium waste piles in the district, which have contaminated groundwater and killed livestock in Cove and surrounding areas. And Governor Polis signed two measures into law Wednesday that will impact property taxes in the state.

A survey of bank CEOs in rural areas indicates that rural economies are slowing down, the EPA continues to wrestle with problems related to the Roundup herbicide, and a residential developer in Hawaii is selling expensive land plots that can only be used for agricultural purposes.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ruled the White Mesa uranium mill in Southeastern Utah can no longer accept radioactive waste from Superfund sites. The mill sits just a few miles away from the Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa. KZMU's Justin Higginbottom speaks with a lawyer who fought for this decision about the mill’s future.

While some Four Corners counties are barring non-residents from local recreation access, the Montezuma County Commission currently has no plans to do the…