NAVAJO NATION

Concerns raised over plan to transfer uranium waste

ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. nuclear regulators are considering a licensing change proposed by a uranium company that would clear the way for 1 million cubic yards of waste to be transferred from a mining area in western New Mexico to a mill site a short distance away as part of a cleanup effort.

But indigenous activists and nuclear watchdogs say the proposal doesn’t go far enough in protecting the area and surrounding Navajo communities from more contamination.

Federal environmental regulators have been working with the Navajo Nation for several years to address contaminated sites near the community of Church Rock.

The mine waste that would be moved to the mill site is made up of soil, vegetation, rock and other debris of varying levels of radioactivity. Officials say the higher-level waste would be disposed of elsewhere.

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review found that there would be only small environmental effects to surface and groundwater supplies, soil and air quality. However, the commission noted high impacts when it comes to environmental justice given that residents in the surrounding area and the Navajo Nation more broadly have been grappling with the legacy of uranium mining and contamination for decades.

Federal officials during previous public meetings and in documents have highlighted that past, namely what was the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history.

United Nuclear Corp. operated the Church Rock uranium milling facility from 1977 to 1982. In 1979, the tailings disposal pond breached its dam, sending more than 93 million gallons of radioactive and acidic slurry into an arroyo and other drainages.

Activists have voiced concerns about the plan to consolidate the waste, saying the cheaper option wouldn’t address the ongoing problems.

NEW MEXICO

Rules to curb oil industry emissions take effect

SANTA FE — New Mexico’s new rules to limit most venting and flaring in the oilfield as a way to reduce methane emissions are now in effect.

State officials are billing the rules, published May 25 in the New Mexico Register, as some of the strongest gas capture requirements in the nation. Unlike other states, New Mexico’s rules also apply to the midstream sector, which collects natural gas from wells for processing.

It took nearly two years to develop the rules with input from environmental advocates and technical experts from the industry.

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The first phase of implementation begins in October with data collection and reporting to identify natural gas losses at every stage of the process. With this information, regulators will then require operators — from those that manage pipelines to smaller wells and other infrastructure — to capture more gas each year.

The target is capturing 98% of all natural gas waste by the end of 2026. If operators fail, regulators can deny drilling permits.

The rules are one part of a two-pronged approach by the state to address climate change. Still pending are rules being drafted by the Environment Department that would target oilfield equipment that emits methane, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.

IDAHO

Governor nixes his lieutenant’s mask-mandate ban

BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad Little on May 28 issued an executive order repealing a 24-hour-old mask-mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.”

The Republican governor up to now had been reserved in his comments about Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, a member of the far-right who has worked to undermine Little’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

McGeachin last week announced her run for governor, challenging the first-term incumbent Little.

Her executive order on May 27 banning mask mandates in schools and public buildings is widely seen as part of that campaign. And she is already using her nullified executive order in fundraising efforts.

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Little has never issued a statewide mask mandate, though he has worn a mask and encouraged others to do so to slow the spread of the virus.

Some Idaho counties, cities and schools have issued their own mask mandates but many have been lifted as more Idaho residents have been vaccinated.

Little was attending the Republican Governors Association conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

While he was out of state, the lieutenant governor is the acting governor and has the power to issue executive orders under Idaho’s Constitution.

McGeachin fired back on Twitter with a statement shortly after Little nullified her order, saying Little had rejected conservative solutions.

WYOMING

Violent crime in Casper rose 55% over 5 years

Violent crime in the Casper area increased by 55% between 2014 and 2019, a recent report says.

Just 151 violent crimes were reported in the area in 2014, compared with 227 reported in 2019. And although data shows it’s on the rise in Casper, the area’s violent crime rate — 286 per 100,000 people in 2019 — is still lower than the national average of approximately 367 per 100,000.

Violent crimes include murder, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault.

Reported instances of sexual assault in Casper increased by around 268% between 2014 and 2019, according to the report. Robberies grew by nearly 100% in the same period.

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The data comes from an analysis of data aggregated from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting System, or UCR, by investment analyst publication 24/7 Wall Street. Cities across the country were ranked by their percentage increase in violent crimes per 100,000 residents between 2014 and 2019.

The report found that Casper had the ninth-fastest increase in violent crime of the metro areas surveyed. Other areas with similar surges include Asheville, North Carolina; Racine, Wisconsin; and Florence, South Carolina.

According to data from 2019 released by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Casper had the highest crime rate in the state with 46.8 per 1,000 residents that year. Cheyenne came in a close second with 46 per 1,000.

Statewide, Wyoming has the eighth-lowest violent crime rate of any state in the U.S. as of 2019.

OKLAHOMA

Last cat out of Tiger King Park bag as seizure completed

THACKERVILLE — Federal officials have removed the last of the 68 big cats from the private zoo in Oklahoma that had been the center of the “Tiger King” saga.

A jaguar was among the last cat removed from Tiger King Park in Thackerville, a few miles north of Oklahoma’s border with Texas, The Oklahoman reported May 23.

The turbulent beginnings of the zoo were the subject of the final episode of the Netflix true-crime series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Zookeeper Jeff Lowe moved the cats to a Thackerville property after the August shutdown of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

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The U.S. Justice Department earlier announced the seizure of the federally protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids and a jaguar as part of a court-approved agreement to resolve a federal complaint against Lowe and his wife, Lauren Lowe, over the animals’ care.

The civil complaint, filed in November, accused the Lowes of recurring inhumane treatment and improper handling of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Jeff Lowe was a central figure in “Tiger King” that featured a mullet-wearing zookeeper named Joe Exotic and became a cultural phenomenon last year. Joe Exotic, a pseudonym for Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison in Texas for his 2020 conviction on charges that he participated in a murder-for-hire plot and violated federal wildlife laws.

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