Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
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DALLAS, TX - At 8 am, Friday, July 7, 2000, members of Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) and South Texas Opposes Pollution (STOP) and their supporters will gather at the corporate headquarters of Uranium Resources, Inc. (URI) for a colorful Rally, Street Theater, and Press Conference. Navajo citizens from New Mexico are demanding that Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI) withdraw all plans for uranium mining in Navajo communities because both HRI and its parent company, URI, are facing bankruptcy.

"HRI -- YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE!," declares ENDAUM member Kathleen Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico. "Uranium mining has only brought us sickness, death, and heartache."

In May, 2000, URI announced that the company was running out of money and would file for bankruptcy if new sources of cash were not found by July 14, 2000. On May 25, 2000, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining won an unprecedented victory when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission barred HRI from starting its Church Rock, New Mexico mine because the company failed to submit an adequate financial assurance plan. Financial surety is the hard cash that companies like HRI must put on the table before mining starts. The surety bond is used for decommissioning, decontamination, and reclamation after mining ends.

Teo Saenz, a leader of South Texas Opposes Pollution, is calling for a complete end to all uranium mining in Kleberg County, Texas. "We want URI's permits and leases terminated and we want the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission to intercede with immediate cleanup and remediation of mining sites in our communities," states Saenz. Residents of Kleberg County are forced to contend with high levels of pollutants in the groundwater at URI's Kingsville Dome mine.

ENDAUM, STOP and their supporters will say "ADIOS!" to URI and HRI at 8 am on July 7, near the Westin Park Central Hotel, 12720 Merit Drive, in north Dallas. At 10 am, the groups will convene an Environmental Justice Summit at the Sheraton Park Central Hotel. The Summit will focus on a radioactive waste dump proposed for Ward County, Texas.