"EPA Announces Deal for Uranium Contamination Probe"

"FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing an effort to determine the extent of contamination at a former uranium mining site on the Navajo Nation that marked a high priority for assessment.

The EPA announced Monday that it has reached a deal with Chevron USA Inc. to survey the 31-acre Mariano Lake Mine site near Gallup, N.M., and surrounding homes and water wells. Chevron is to report its findings from radiological survey and soil samples to the EPA early next year and is on the hook for EPA's oversight costs.

The Mariano Lake Mine is one of a handful of sites that the EPA and its Navajo Nation counterpart have targeted for investigation or cleanup so far. They've been assessing hundreds of abandoned uranium mines to address what has become a legacy of death and disease across the reservation."

Felicia Fonseca reports for the Associated Press August 1, 2011.