PHOENIX, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a mining company have agreed to spend $2.5 million on two uranium sites on Navajo and Hopi land, officials say.
The agreement announced Monday involves two sites near Gallup, N.M., and Tuba City, Ariz., The Arizona Republic reported. Officials from both tribes called the plan "first steps," with much more work needed.
"Uranium mining has left a toxic legacy, and we are working as partners with the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and other federal agencies to clean up contaminated homes, mines and water supplies," said Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the EPA in the Pacific Southwest.
At the New Mexico site, Rio Algom Mining, based in Canada, will fence off contaminated areas and pave a road to the site to reduce the amount of contaminated dust carried off by trucks and cars. At the landfill near Tuba City, a 2012 deadline has been set for a study of seepage from the site into groundwater and dirt and a plan to remove the most hazardous material.
