ARIZONA

Hopi Tribe closer to acquiring land

Federal officials have joined with the state of Arizona to begin fulfilling a settlement agreement that was reached with the Hopi Tribe nearly three decades ago, marking what tribal officials described as a historic day.

Government attorneys filed condemnation documents on Dec. 20 to transfer dozens of square miles of state land into trust for the Hopi. The tribe will compensate the state nearly $4 million for more than 31 square miles of land near Winslow.

It could mark the first of more transfers of land into trust to help eliminate the checkerboard of ownership that characterizes much of the lands used by the tribe for ranching in northeastern Arizona.

The filing was born out of the 1996 passage of the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act, which ratified an agreement between the Hopi and federal government that set conditions for taking land into trust for the tribe.

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The wrangling over land in northeastern Arizona has been bitter, pitting the Hopi and the Navajo Nation against one another for generations. The federal government failed in its attempt to have the tribes share land and after years of escalating conflict, Congress in 1974 divided the area and ordered tribal members to leave each other’s reservations.

Hopi Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma said in a statement that he was grateful for everyone who worked to make the condemnation filing a reality and that the timing for this historic moment was fitting.

“Within Hopi, it is our time of the soyal’ang ceremony — the start of the New Year and the revitalization of life,” he said.

Agency move to regulate groundwater use

PHOENIX — It’s necessary to regulate groundwater in the state’s rural southeast, allowing the designation of a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use, the Arizona Department of Water Resources announced on Dec. 20.

The department’s Director Tom Buschatzke said data analysis of hydrologic conditions in the state’s Willcox basin shows that the conditions have been met “to take necessary steps to defend our groundwater supplies for future generations.”

Under state law, Buschatzke is empowered as director to designate what is known as an “active management area” for the Willcox Groundwater Basin in Arizona’s Cochise and Graham counties.

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The director made the designation following public hearings on the matter, according to a statement by the water agency. During that period, the basin was closed to new agriculture use while the department decided whether to create the management area southeast of Tucson that would allow it to set goals for the well-being of the basin and its aquifers.

High rates of pumping can dry up wells and cause the ground to collapse, damaging roads and other property. According to a water resources department report, 26 wells in the basin that are regularly measured fell 10 feet to nearly 142 feet between the years 2000 and 2020.

Arizona farm interests have historically opposed groundwater pumping regulations, saying such a structure is too inflexible.

NEW MEXICO

Study: Most methane due to smaller leaks

The blob on the satellite image is a rainbow of colors. An analyst digitally sharpens it and there, highlighted in red, is the source: a concrete oil pad spewing methane.

In the 75,000-square-mile Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico, the most productive oil and gas region in the world, huge amounts of the powerful greenhouse gas escape from wells, compressor stations and other equipment.

Most efforts to reduce emissions have focused on so-called “super emitters” like the one in the satellite image, which are relatively easy to find with improving satellite imaging and other aerial sensing.

Now researchers led by the Environmental Defense Fund say much smaller sources are collectively responsible for about 72% of methane emissions from oil and gas fields throughout the contiguous U.S. These have often gone undetected.

Addressing methane is important because it accounts for about one third of all greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

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Tackling methane emissions in the Permian is especially challenging because there are more than 130,000 active well sites owned by everyone from family operators to international conglomerates, experts said. Each site can have multiple oil wells.

What’s more, pipelines, processing and other activities often are owned by different companies — with tens of thousands of points where methane might escape, either through leaks or intentional venting.

A powerful new satellite called MethaneSAT that launched in 2024 will be able to detect small emissions over wide areas that other satellites can’t. Researchers will also be able to track methane over time in all the world’s major oil-producing basins.

Neither the Permian Basin Petroleum Association nor the U.S. Oil & Gas Association responded to requests for comment.

NAVAJO NATION

Harassment probe clears tribal president

SANTA FE — Political turmoil erupted within one of the largest Native American tribes as the attorney general for the Navajo Nation announced that an investigation had cleared the tribal president of sexual harassment allegations by the vice president.

Even as results of the investigation were announced on Dec. 17, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch was removed from office by the Navajo Nation Council in a 13-6 vote without public discussion or a reason outlined in the legislation.

The tribe has been mired in political upheaval since April, when Navajo Vice President Richelle Montoya publicly outlined allegations of intimidation and sexual harassment against President Buu Nygren, stemming from interactions at an August 2023 meeting in Nygren’s office.

Outside counsel investigated the allegations and found the incident doesn’t constitute sexual harassment under tribal policies and is not a crime under tribal law, according to an excerpt of the findings.

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Nygren expressed vindication and described a “need to heal from this and focus on moving forward.” But he also warned that the removal of the attorney general without a clear explanation sends a message of political instability, with implications for major government ventures.

Montoya said she is eager to read the full investigative report once it’s released publicly. She said she’s heard from an “avalanche” of people who have endured harassing behavior in tribal government workplace settings.

Nygren’s critics are circulating a petition for a recall election to remove the president, gathering signatures at local meeting centers and weekend flea markets across the vast Navajo Nation that spans portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

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