The National Mining Association (NMA) and the US Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) have honored Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) with two national awards; one for mine safety and the other for environmental stewardship through reclamation at NTEC’s Navajo mine.
Located on the Navajo Nation, a vast Indian reservation that spans three states with boundaries that encompass 27,000 square miles of traditional Navajo homelands, the Navajo Mine is the first tribally owned coal mining company to operate a coal mine on tribal land.
“We take our commitment to the Navajo People, our sole shareholder, very seriously,” Vern Lund, Navajo Transitional Energy Company CEO said in a media statement.
This year, as proof of that commitment, the company received NMA’s “Sentinels of Safety” award in the Large Surface Coal Mine category. The Sentinels of Safety award is the nation’s preeminent award for mine safety and is awarded each year to the mine with the best safety record in the entire country.
Earning this recognition underscores the value NTEC puts on its most important resource at the Navajo Mine, its miners, the company said. With a majority Navajo workforce, NTEC puts the safety of its employees first.
“The tradition of superior safety practices is in our DNA,” said Lund. “We couldn’t maintain that tradition without our incredible team, and I’m so proud to see their efforts honored in this way.”
NTEC was also recognized for its careful stewardship of the Navajo land and environment by OSMRE and received its National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation for reclamation work at the Navajo Mine. No surface mine has ever received both a Sentinels of Safety and a National Reclamation award in a single year before.
NTEC worked for years to earn this honor by bringing 61 acres of the Upper Chinde Wetland Complex and Lower Chinde Wash Wetlands back to life at the Navajo Mine. The project involved geomorphic reclamation techniques, soil mitigation, vegetation re-establishment, headcut stabilization, wildlife management, and hydrologic inputs.
Previously vacated by almost all wildlife, this complex, biodiverse area has now been restored as a native riparian and wetland habitat, home to a variety of species ranging from birds to badgers and beavers to bobcats. This reclamation project has also made the land more resilient to drought conditions, which are becoming increasingly frequent.
