WASHINGTON - The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives held a hearing on the impact of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation Oct. 23. At its close, committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., suggested a December meeting among federal agencies, hearing witnesses and Navajo representatives.
The meeting will be devoted to ironing out the authorities the agencies need to redress Navajo grievances and how much that will cost, said Simon Boyce, policy director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office. The nation hopes to expand the cleanup of abandoned, so-called ''legacy'' uranium mining sites, as well as the types of compensatory claims that can be filed and the documentation acceptable as proofs of residence in uranium-contaminated regions, he said.
