About 30 percent of the Nation’s population does not have ready access to clean, reliable drinking water, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency projects that about 15 percent don’t have access to at-home piped water.
Without that assistance, it will be more difficult for the tribe to take advantage of federal infrastructure funding, said Heather Tanana, an assistant professor at the University of Utah’s College of Law.
“That expertise that the federal government has — they could have come in and helped the nation identify, what are their water sources that are available, what are the quality issues,” said Tanana.
The Navajo Nation reservation comprises about 170,000 people, many of whom lack access to clean water. In its ruling, the high court disagreed with the Nation’s argument that historic treaties include taking “affirmative steps” to secure water. “It makes it harder for us to secure our water rights,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren told The Hill. “It doesn’t say that we’re not going to get any. … [It just] puts up barriers for us.”
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Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
