-Communities for Clean Water –
SHARED VALUES STATEMENT
All people and our communities are intricately tied to the health of rivers, acequias and other waters. Historical and on-going activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) threaten our cultural, spiritual and ecological survival. To ensure the good health of watersheds downstream and downwind from LANL and the good health of the Río Grande and its tributaries to provide safe drinking water, clean water for irrigation and pure natural water for sacred ceremony now and in the future, we acknowledge and assert the following:
1. All people that live downstream and downwind from LANL require and have a right to clean water for drinking, sacred ceremony, growing food, raising animals, recreating, and overall wellbeing.
2. Traditional, indigenous cultures that live downstream and downwind from LANL require and have a right to pure natural water for sacred ceremony.
3. Wildlife and ecosystems living downstream and downwind from LANL need and depend upon clean water for their survival.
4. Healthy communities require clean rivers, groundwater, and watersheds to achieve a strong economy and sustainable future.
5. Our local, state, and federal government agencies have a duty to protect the public health and welfare by setting and enforcing laws and regulations that protect water resources downwind and downstream from LANL.
6. Healthy communities and ecosystems require clean, innovative, and life-affirming science and technology that will benefit the economy, the future, and the health of all.
7. We recognize and respect that flowing water does not seek or uphold political, social, cultural or economical boundaries.
Based on these values we assert that historic toxic waste must be cleaned up now to protect drinking water and life-threatening pollutants that are the by-products of on-going LANL activities must be kept from contaminating our watersheds and tainting the Rio Grande. Adequate funding must be provided to clean up contamination at LANL to achieve these shared values.
Endorsed by:
Amigos Bravos, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, Tewa Women United, Rio Grande Restoration, Don Gabino Andrade Community Acequia
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