Navajo Nation estimates $700K in damage from mine spill

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) – The Navajo Nation estimates that ranchers and farmers in two reservation communities will suffer about $700,000 in damages from an August mine spill in Colorado.

The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the tribe’s Department of Agriculture released a preliminary survey of damages Monday from the Gold King Mine spill.

The department says the mine waste that flowed through the San Juan River will cause nearly $570,000 in damages for farmers in the Shiprock and Tse Daa K’aan chapters over five years.

The department says ranchers there will lose about $103,000.

Charmaine Hosteen of the Agriculture Department says the estimates are based on staff visits to the chapters but do not include all farms in the area. Other chapters still need to be assessed.

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Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com