Navajo Nation Sheep Dip Vat Project

 

Background

 

Between 1991 and the present, the EPA investigated and conducted removal actions on 22 dip vat sites on the Navajo Nation lands. The BIA is currently negotiating with EPA regarding payment of approximately

$4 million in response actions costs incurred by the EPA for dip vat sites. Throughout the course of the Response Action program, the BIA was concerned about the bioremediation process used by EPA and specifically questioned if the sites pose an imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment; whether or not US EPA selected appropriate sites for remediation; whether or not the response action was appropriate to the site's environment or health risk; and the remediation costs to date.

 

In March 1996, BIA tasked the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to sample and evaluate nine sheep dip vats. The study concluded that one dip vat site posed a public health hazard. ATSDR completed a formal health assessment consultation.

 

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