http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11778108?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com
http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/skullvalley.htm
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Goshute-Tribe-Nuc-Waste.htm
The Goshute tribe, or the Desert People, lives on a reservation which extends from the Salt Lake Valley basin in Utah to the Steptoe range in Nevada. What used to be a plentiful tribe of 20,000 people is now reduced to 500. The majority of them live in Skull Valley, which has been Utah’s hazardous waste dumping ground for some time. To the south of Skull Valley is a nerve gas storage facility, to the north is a magnesium plant, to the west is a bombing range and hazardous waste incinerator, and to the east is a stockpile of chemical weapons.
All of this passed largely unnoticed until Energy Solutions, a Utah-based company, received an interesting proposal from the government of Italy. For over three billion dollars, Italy will give Utah its nuclear waste to store. Where is the planned site for dumping? Underneath Skull Valley. If constructed, the site would hold as much as 40,000 tons of nuclear waste. After the proposal was announced to the populace, there was a uproar among Utah residents who did not want such an environmental nightmare in their state; they were terrified this would start a trend among other nations. As the activists became more and more involved, the past environmental transgressions against the Goshute tribe and its current plight came into the spotlight.
Koinsky in his article argued that as the percentage of poverty of the people inflicted increases, the amount of government environmental enforcement decreases. This has certainly been the case with the Goshute tribe. The Magnesium plant, for example, has had several serious health and environmental problems: problems which have been given little attention by the government or activist groups.
Such blatant selection, time and time again, of a piece of land owned by a Native American tribe for hazardous waste dumping is a case of environmental justice. No statistical analysis or data digging is needed. Obviously, the people because of their poverty have been targeted to be the dumping ground for Utah, the United States, and apparently the world. Ringquist argued that discrimination is hard to ascertain. Not in this case: it may not be racial discrimination, but it is socioeconomic discrimination. Utah, Nevada, and other places in the United States have miles upon miles of barren land. So why are the placing the waste in Skull Valley? The answer is simple: politicians and businesses are taking advantage of the tribe because of its poverty. Some Goshutes argue that the tribe desperately needs the money for schools, infrastructure and to provide the basic needs for their families. Thus, they welcome the waste as a means to make money. The other faction of the tribe believes the waste will destroy ancient burial ground and eliminate the tribal culture. Not to mention the health effects that could occur if there was a leakage.
Currently, the Utah legislature is debating, and has been for some time, whether or not they should allow Energy Solutions to buy foreign nuclear waste and bury it in the Utah desert. Websites, newspapers, and other media sources have been devoting advocating or denouncing this plan for quite some time, including Utah's two senators. The plan was accepted in March 2005. But it is being held up in the Legislature and in the Courts. Just this week, Energy Solutions offered to split the $3 billion price tag with Utah- to make the deal more favorable. Nobody quite knows which way this deal will go. With Utah struggling with its economy, it appears the state will end up burying part, if not all, of Italy’s waste. Looking through the news articles for the last couple of weeks, one thing is for certain: nobody is talking about the Goshutes anymore.
http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/skullvalley.htm
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Goshute-Tribe-Nuc-Waste.htm
The Goshute tribe, or the Desert People, lives on a reservation which extends from the Salt Lake Valley basin in Utah to the Steptoe range in Nevada. What used to be a plentiful tribe of 20,000 people is now reduced to 500. The majority of them live in Skull Valley, which has been Utah’s hazardous waste dumping ground for some time. To the south of Skull Valley is a nerve gas storage facility, to the north is a magnesium plant, to the west is a bombing range and hazardous waste incinerator, and to the east is a stockpile of chemical weapons.
All of this passed largely unnoticed until Energy Solutions, a Utah-based company, received an interesting proposal from the government of Italy. For over three billion dollars, Italy will give Utah its nuclear waste to store. Where is the planned site for dumping? Underneath Skull Valley. If constructed, the site would hold as much as 40,000 tons of nuclear waste. After the proposal was announced to the populace, there was a uproar among Utah residents who did not want such an environmental nightmare in their state; they were terrified this would start a trend among other nations. As the activists became more and more involved, the past environmental transgressions against the Goshute tribe and its current plight came into the spotlight.
Koinsky in his article argued that as the percentage of poverty of the people inflicted increases, the amount of government environmental enforcement decreases. This has certainly been the case with the Goshute tribe. The Magnesium plant, for example, has had several serious health and environmental problems: problems which have been given little attention by the government or activist groups.
Such blatant selection, time and time again, of a piece of land owned by a Native American tribe for hazardous waste dumping is a case of environmental justice. No statistical analysis or data digging is needed. Obviously, the people because of their poverty have been targeted to be the dumping ground for Utah, the United States, and apparently the world. Ringquist argued that discrimination is hard to ascertain. Not in this case: it may not be racial discrimination, but it is socioeconomic discrimination. Utah, Nevada, and other places in the United States have miles upon miles of barren land. So why are the placing the waste in Skull Valley? The answer is simple: politicians and businesses are taking advantage of the tribe because of its poverty. Some Goshutes argue that the tribe desperately needs the money for schools, infrastructure and to provide the basic needs for their families. Thus, they welcome the waste as a means to make money. The other faction of the tribe believes the waste will destroy ancient burial ground and eliminate the tribal culture. Not to mention the health effects that could occur if there was a leakage.
Currently, the Utah legislature is debating, and has been for some time, whether or not they should allow Energy Solutions to buy foreign nuclear waste and bury it in the Utah desert. Websites, newspapers, and other media sources have been devoting advocating or denouncing this plan for quite some time, including Utah's two senators. The plan was accepted in March 2005. But it is being held up in the Legislature and in the Courts. Just this week, Energy Solutions offered to split the $3 billion price tag with Utah- to make the deal more favorable. Nobody quite knows which way this deal will go. With Utah struggling with its economy, it appears the state will end up burying part, if not all, of Italy’s waste. Looking through the news articles for the last couple of weeks, one thing is for certain: nobody is talking about the Goshutes anymore.
Wow Kathryn - what a great example of an environmental injustice... Unfortunately, I agree that these situations happen much too frequently, and it does seem likely that American Indian tribes must pay much higher prices than the surrounding communities. Along with the difficulties of not having an adequate voice in local government, and sovereignty issues, communities in poverty are also faced with needing creative methods to maintain services for their citizens.
ReplyDeleteMy example is also regarding an American Indian tribe......... It was interesting comparing notes, that one of the measures for selling the project or action was that of a response to the tribe's struggling economy and quality of life; however, because of their public organization, the Tribe Council has the final say.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that this discrimination is blatant, and intentional. I bet, including Maria's example, there are a ton of cases where Native American lands are purposely chosen for dumping of some kind. I do not know if the regular tribe members are able to resist these practices, but I suspect there is little they can do to stop it.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the type of situation talked about in, "Environmental Justice and the New Regionalism" where success could be greater if seemingly unrelated interest groups bonded together to work towards a common goal. If the Goshute tribe doesn't have enough political power on their own they would do well to ally with environmental groups and/or other tribes.
ReplyDeleteI think this a great article not only because it is an ideal example of an environmental injustice, but for a couple of other reasons. First, I think it's really interesting that any other countries are considering dumping waste in the U.S. This is especially because it usually goes the other way around, where the U.S. is responsible for huge amounts of toxic waste in other countries, whether directly or indirectly as by-products of manufacturing. I also wonder if this is indicative of a change in the status of the U.S. as a global leader?
ReplyDeleteThe other important point that you made is that the tribe is considering the deal because they need the revenue. It makes the tribe, and other impoverished groups, seem almost like victims of predation, their desparate condition making them easy prey to the highest bidder.
The comment above by AdaDavis is right on the spot when they say the tribe has become "victims" of environmental injustice. I cannot believe that this story has not been more widespread, because I had no idea this type of action was even an idea in the mind of our legislators. The long-term effects of having nuclear waste stored in our land could be catastrophic and I don't think we even know what it would mean to the fullest extent. And what about the risks and dangers of transporting nuclear waste from overseas? This article is a very straight forward example of how low-income minorities can be so drastically effected by environmental decisions that are clearly being made without their well-being in mind.
ReplyDelete