Tuba City Dump Clean Closure Project Groundbreaking

DBS&A was honored to participate in the Hopi Tribe’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Tuba City Dump Clean Closure project on February 4, 2026. This site was an open dump for decades that became a concern in 1999 when groundwater contamination was discovered during a site investigation by DBS&A.

The dump site straddles the border between the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation, who have worked together with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to evaluate the site conditions and determine options for closure. Following Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) protocol, a clean closure option was selected, funded through the BIA and supported by both the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation.

The remediation efforts include building infrastructure to support waste removal, which includes a new paved road and a waste staging pad. Approximately 350,000 cubic yards of waste will be removed over the next eight years, to prepare the site for future development by the Upper Village of Moenkopi.

Since 1997, DBS&A has been supporting the Hopi Tribe and providing hydrogeology and engineering services for the project including site evaluation, water quality monitoring, hydrogeology, geochemistry, and engineering. DBS&A will continue working with the Hopi Department of Natural Resources and its project management team at Melvin Consulting, Inc., as Haley Aldrich, the project’s general contractor, undertakes the closure effort.