In a last-minute Administration decision, the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation (OSM) approved a life-of-mine permit for Peabody Western Coal on Hopi and Navajo land. This allows Peabody to continue to operate at the Black Mesa mine and the Kayenta mine for as long as the mine produces coal. This is a devastating decision for the local Navajo and Hopi communities, made especially injurious by the timing of the announcement during the Hopi Soyalung ceremonies when the people plant their prayer feathers for the renewal of the earth and for peace and harmony.

To learn more about the history of the mining conflict at Black Mesa, you can read our site report and get involved with Black Mesa Trust.

To express your opposition to this decision, you can sign the online peititon at http://www.blackmesatrust.org/ and please contact:

Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of Interior
US Department of Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202/208-3100

or

Al Klein
Western Regional Director
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
P. O. Box 46667
Denver, CO 80201-6667
Phone: 303/293-5001
aklein@osmre.gov

Brent Wahlquist, Director
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
1951 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202/208-2719

Dennis Winterringer, Director
Western Region, Southwest Branch
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
P. O. Box 46667
Denver, CO 80201-6667