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FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2002

"Tons" of coal slurry has been spilled in Arizona streams by Peabody Coal, the company that operates mines on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, National Native News reports.

NNN cites state and federal documents obtained by the Sierra Club that show eight spills occurred in the past nine months. In January alone, 500 tons was dumped into a stream in violation of a consent agreement the company signed, the environmentalists say.

Seven spills occurred between 1997 and 1999, the report adds.

Peabody uses a 273-mile pipeline to transport coal from the Black Mesa region of northeastern Arizona to a generating station in Nevada. The company takes about 1.3 billion gallons a year from the water supply.

The Hopi Tribe says the usage has diminished sacred springs and other water sources. Chairman Wayne Taylor is offering to help find funding to pay for a $100 million alternative to the pipeline.

Relevant Links:
National Native News - http://www.nativenews.net

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