Dump Contractor Packs Up Equipment from Proposed Dump Site, Announces Closing of Office in Needles, CA

Indian Nations and Environmental Supporters Tell U.S. Ecology:

"Pack your bags, never come back, and stop the dump now!"

Action Event:

The Colorado River Native Nations Alliance will host a gathering and traditional ceremonies atWard Valley February 12-15, 1999 to commemorate the one year anniversary of the occupation and direct action at the site. Everyone is invited!

Another Setback for Proposed Ward Valley Dump

Needles, CA-- In a major development in the decade long fight over the proposed Ward Valley nuclear waste dump, dump contractor U.S. Ecology is packing up equipment at the site and closing their field office in Needles, California. The alliance of Indian Nations and environmental justice supporters who have strongly opposed the dump welcomed the news as another major setback for the controversial project which would threaten to contaminate the nearby Colorado River and would desecrate sacred Indian land at Ward Valley.

On Wednesday morning Save Ward Valley activists camping at"ground zero" observed U.S. Ecology employees packing up a controversial generator and monitoring equipment at the proposed dump site. According to Molly Brady of the Bureau of Land Management in Needles, U.S. Ecology official Jim Shaffner confirmed the removal of equipment and the cessation of some tests at the site, and announced the closing of the company's field office. While the company tries to downplay the significance of the office closure, dump opponents vowed to keep up the pressure. "We've got this company on the run and we're turning up the heat," said Bradley Angel, Director of Greenaction. "The Indian Nations and the environmental movement won't rest until the dump is defeated and Ward Valley is saved from this nuclear threat."

The removal of equipment and stopping most work at the site,along with the closing of the company office in Needles, is a sign that the dump project is in deep political and financial trouble.Federal review of the project was brought to a halt in June in the face of the 113 day occupation of the site by the Indian Nations and environmental coalition, along witha finding by state legislative leaders that the proposed method of land acquisition for the dump was illegal. Tribal leaders and the environmental movement in California have called on Governor-Elect Gray Davis to withdraw the State's application to the Interior Department for a transfer of land at Ward Valley for the dump. A December 7, 1998 letter to the Governor-Elect by138 groups and Indian Nations showed the broad opposition to the dump.