Black Mesa under attack from Peabody Coal

SUPPORT URGENTLY NEEDED!
From Enei Begaye:

Navajo and Hopi communities under threat for more coal mining on Black Mesa, Arizona
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) will soon release a "Record of Decision" on the "Black Mesa Project" Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This decision will determine if the now closed Black Mesa Mine will re-open more lands for coal strip mining, potentially relocate more families from Black Mesa and give Peabody Coal Company a Life-of-Mine permit to mine on Black Mesa. A "Record of Decision" in favor of Peabody Coal Company's "Black Mesa Project" would also allow the company the use of the Navajo Aquifer, which has been a center of controversy for the past 30 years and give Peabody Coal Company the right to mine untouched coal reserves indefinitely. For more information on the OSM process & the FEIS at: http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/wr\BlackMesaEIS.htm
Black Mesa is the ancestral homelands to thousands of Navajo and Hopi families. Black Mesa is regarded as a sacred mountain to the Navajo people and plays an integral role in the cultural survival for the future generations of both the Navajo and Hopi people. The "Black Mesa Project" will negatively impact all life that exists on Black Mesa. Coal equals pollution, water depletion, and global warming! O.S.M. has failed to let the people who will most be impacted know what is at stake and has failed to hear the concerns of residents of Black Mesa.
Support Navajo & Hopi People Going to DENVER!!
The fact that this federal agency has rushed the EIS process over the summer has alarmed Black Mesa residents to take action. If OSM doesn't want to come to our homes, answer our questions and hear our concerns, then we will go to their offices!
Please, support Navajo and Hopi people as they travel to OSM’s regional headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
YOU can Support by Taking Action:
1. Join us in Denver! If you can make it to Denver or are already in Denver, please join us Monday December 8th at 10 am in front of the Office of Surface Mining building--Downtown Denver: 1999 Broadway Denver, CO 80202
2. Help us get to Denver! Many of the Navajo and Hopi people going to Denver are farmers, ranchers, elders, and grassroots people without a lot of financial resources. Any donation you can make will go a long way. An anonymous donor has graciously offered to match any donations made to get us to Denver. Visit our website: www.blackmesawatercoalition.org to donate - any amount is greatly appreciated!
Funds will go to:
* Helping Navajo & Hopi Elders & young people rent vans & pay for gas to Denver and back to Black Mesa.
* Lodging for elders or others who are in need of lodging.
* Providing food for elders and those who are in need.
3. PLEASE e-mail, mail, or fax a letter to the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and/or the U.S. Secretary of Interior. Tell OSM NOT to issue a "Life-of-Mine" permit for Peabody's "Black Mesa Project"!
Below is sample letter you can use and send to the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and/or the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Addresses to send letters to:
Dennis Winterringer
Western Regional Office
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
P.O. Box 46667
Denver, CO 80201-6667
Phone: 303-844-1400, ext 1440
email: bmkeis@osmre.gov
OR
Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary
Department of Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
e-mail: webteam@ios.doi.gov
for more information please call (928) 213-5909, cell# (928) 380-6296, cell # (928) 637-5281

FORM LETTER
Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary
Department of Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Secretary Kempthorne:
I am writing to request your urgent attention and immediate action regarding a matter of highest importance to the integrity of your trust responsibility and to the credibility of the Department of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM).
I request that you direct OSM to suspend all activity on the Black Mesa Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOI DES 08-49, OSM-EIS-33). The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Black Mesa Project Final EIS will be announced by Dec. 7, 2008 and I strongly urge you to not give the applicant, Peabody Western Coal Company, a permit to mine more coal in Black Mesa, AZ.
OSM has rushed to approve a life-of-mine permit, first without making the permit revisions sufficiently available for public review, and then without adequate environmental review. The power plant that previously used Black Mesa Mine coal shut down, and there is no other proposed use for the coal whose mining would be permitted by OSM. As a result, there is no actual proposed project involving Black Mesa Mine coal to be analyzed, making the pending EIS not only premature, but in direct conflict with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.
The current proposal would also grant the applicant continued access to Navajo Aquifer water for the life-of-mine operations. For over thirty years, Peabody Coal Company’s coal-slurry operation has a depleted precious drinking water and the drying of many sacred springs to the Navajo and Hopi as a result of using the Navajo Aquifer. The Navajo Aquifer is the only source of drinking water for Black Mesa tribal residents. OSM's current proposal to grant a permit for a mine-with no potential customers-and indefinite use of water rights to the Navajo Aquifer is an affront to tribal communities, and if allowed to proceed, would be a clear failure to meet the Secretary of the Interior's trust responsibility to the people of the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sincerely,