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Window Rock, AZ, February 12, 2025 - Buutrayal. President Nygren has failed to serve and protect the interests and safety of the Navajo people by circumventing legal authority and allowing high risk uranium transportation through our backyards.. Citizens participated in a march in Washington, D.C., to renew the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, while others joined a march against the transportation of uranium, organized and led by Buu Nygren and the First Lady. Nygren has also issued numerous press releases opposing the transportation of uranium through the Navajo Nation.

On July 31, 2024, Buu Nygren issued an executive order aimed at enforcing laws that ban the irresponsible and unsafe transport of radioactive materials across the Navajo Nation. This executive order was temporary, set for a term of six months. In the press release, Nygren cited the Navajo Nation Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 and the 2012 Radioactive and Related Substances, Equipment, Vehicles, Persons, and Material Transportation Act.

To better understand the difference between executive orders and laws: laws are first drafted and approved by the legislative branch (the Navajo Nation Council) and then signed into law by the President. The executive branch (the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President) is responsible for enforcing the laws passed by the legislative branch. The President can issue executive orders to interpret, implement, and provide administrative insight into existing laws, but executive orders cannot create new laws. This division reflects the separation of powers among the branches.

Some laws are not intended to be read independently but rather comprehensively. This means that policies and regulations from the executive branch cannot violate laws passed by the legislative branch. While certain laws may only address specific aspects of an issue, reading them collectively helps to understand how policies, procedures, regulations, and laws work together.

The key question being raised is whether Buu Nygren has the independent authority to enter into any agreements concerning the transportation of uranium. The clear answer is **NO**.

In 2017, the 23rd Navajo Nation Council passed a resolution opposing uranium mining on the Navajo Nation and/or any plans to resume such mining. Exhibit C of Resolution NABI-21-17 references a prior resolution, Resolution CF-18-12, which amends Title 18 of the Navajo Nation Code, Chapter 12, titled “The Radioactive and Related Substances Equipment, Vehicles, Persons, and Materials Transportation Act of 2012” (Radioactive Transportation Act). The Radioactive Transportation Act opposes the transportation of uranium over and across the Navajo Nation, except when transporting uranium out of the Navajo Nation.

The Radioactive Transportation Act also grants the Navajo Nation the right to exclude nonmembers or condition their entry onto the land. The Navajo Nation has the independent sovereign right and responsibility to protect the health, welfare, and safety of its citizens. This Act applies to all road systems within the Navajo Nation, including BIA, Navajo Nation, State and County roads.

If uranium is to be transported through the Navajo Nation, the Radioactive Transportation Act mandates a four-day notice period and requires the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency to consult with public safety officials and obtain express approval from the Resources and Development Committee. This is why the February 12th press release from the Navajo Nation Council emphasized that “The Resources and Development Committee clarified that the agreement was not negotiated or approved by the Committee.”

Under the Radioactive Transportation Act, the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with establishing reasonable licensing fees, bonding requirements, route restrictions, curfews, and other terms and conditions for the transportation of uranium and other radioactive substances across the Navajo Nation. Companies must meet these criteria to obtain approval; otherwise, “[n]o person or entity may transport any products across the Navajo Nation.” 18 N.N.C. §§ 1307 et seq.

To summarize, any company wishing to transport uranium through the Navajo Nation must comply with the requirements outlined in the Radioactive Transportation Act (18 N.N.C. §§ 1304 et seq.). Additionally, Buu Nygren is obligated to work through the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and obtain approval from the Resource and Development Committee of the Navajo Nation Council. The Resource and Development Committee must also approve the regulations or contract terms and conditions, including license fees, bonding requirements, route restrictions, and curfews (18 N.N.C. §§ 1307(F) et seq.).

Given the Navajo Nation’s history with uranium mining and its negative impacts on its citizens, the Navajo government has opposed uranium mining and the associated risks. This opposition is rooted in the disharmony uranium has caused within communities, families, and the lives of the Navajo People.

The Committee to Recall Navajo Nation President Buu Van Nygren urges the Nygren administration to adhere to the Navajo Nation Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 and the 2012 Radioactive and Related Substances, Equipment, Vehicles, Persons, and Material Transportation Act. The Committee to Recall Navajo Nation President Buu Van Nygren also respectfully request that the 25th Navajo Nation Council hold the President accountable to the laws of the Navajo Nation and safeguard the sovereign interests of our Nation.

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