Renewed Attempt to Ban Uranium Mining Permanently Near the Grand Canyon. Rep. Raúl Grijalva
An Arizona lawmaker is renewing his
push to halt uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, outlining a proposal
Saturday that would make permanent a moratorium on new claims across 1
million acres of public lands.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva has
introduced other versions of what he’s calling the “Grand Canyon
Centennial Protection Act” several times in recent years, but he’s
likely to find stronger support this time in the Democratic-controlled
House, where he is chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
On Saturday, he pitched the idea at the
Canyon, flanked by Havasupai, Hualapai, Hopi and Navajo tribal leaders,
in a building near the park’s South Rim that was packed with park
visitors, tribal members and environmental advocates.
“Protecting the canyon is just, it’s overdue and it’s life-affirming,” Grijalva said, gesturing to the group. “The public wants us to do it, the economies of the region need it and the Grand Canyon’s future depends on it.”
Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar imposed the original 20-year moratorium on new mining claims in 2012.
Grijalva made the announcement just days before the
100th anniversary of the Canyon’s status as a national park, and just
days after news broke about buckets full of uranium ore sitting in a
South Rim museum, exposing visitors and employees to small amounts of
radiation.
Tribal leaders line up behind bill
The presence of the tribal leaders signaled the
importance of the Canyon to surrounding indigenous communities. Some of
the tribes are still dealing with the effects of uranium mines that
sickened or killed people who lived or worked nearby. Tribal leaders
fear new mines could further contaminate the environment.
Richard Powskey, a Hualapai tribal
council member, said protecting the Grand Canyon’s regional watershed
has been a decades-long effort that the communities are not ready to
give up.
“This water cannot continue to be threatened by these mining operations,” Powskey said, adding that native people are the most affected. “The damage from these mines lasts for a while and brings lasting health concerns and other adverse effects.”
Ethan Aumack, executive director of
the Grand Canyon Trust, an advocacy group, said contaminated water is
pumped from one operation, the Canyon Mine, even though it has not
produced new ore for years.
Mines, he said, “are inactive because uranium remains
too costly to mine.” The group has released a new report arguing
that uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region is not necessary for
national security.
“It is uneconomic,” Aumack said. “And it is a threat to our tourism-based economies.”
Uranium mining is a toxic and touchy topic for Arizona
politicians, who laud the cultural significance the Grand Canyon holds
for tribes, as well as the ecological importance as the cradle of the
Colorado River.
But the rich uranium deposits sitting outside the
park’s boundaries are highly sought after and many local leaders believe
the state can pursue economic interests while also preserving the
Canyon.
President Donald Trump issued an
executive order about two years ago that told federal agencies to
examine policies that could slow energy development on public lands. One
of those recommendations was reversing the moratorium on uranium mining
near the park, which has been upheld in court.
While existing claims remain for now, Republican
lawmakers have pushed to lift the ban, which would open up 1 million
acres around the Canyon to developers.
Gosar: Bill is ‘misguided quest’
One of the harshest critics of the moratorium is Rep. Paul Gosar,
R-Ariz. Gosar, who has called the mining of uranium a “national
security issue” and vital to the United States’ energy independence,
took aim at Grijalva’s bill in a statement, calling it a “misguided
quest.”
In that same statement, Rep. Andy Biggs,
R-Ariz., members of the Congressional Western Caucus and mining
stakeholders condemned the proposed bill and reiterated their opposition
to the restrictions on a huge reserve of breccia pipes in the Grand
Canyon region. Some of those pipes are essentially plugs of high-quality
uranium, which Gosar stressed are “far outside” the canyon.
“There is no reason America should be importing 97 percent of our uranium necessary for domestic reactors from countries with Russian influence when we have an ample supply here at home,” Gosar said in the statement, adding that it would create jobs and provide energy to communities. “At a time when we should be celebrating the Centennial of the Grand Canyon, Rep. Grijalva’s bogus effort distracts from what should be a joyous bipartisan celebration.”
While energy independence is on the minds of Democrats
and conservationists like Grijalva, they say the risk from mining is
not worth potentially damaging the delicate and thriving ecosystem that
inhabits one of mankind’s timeless treasures.
Efforts to push the permanent ban through Congress
have stalled in recent years, never earning a hearing from a
Republican-controlled House. Grijalva said he was confident he could get
it to the floor of the Democratic House. If passed, it would be placed
in the hands of a Republican-led Senate and face a doubtful future.
The draft bill already has a cosponsor, Rep. Tom O’Halleran,
D-Ariz., who stressed the connection people in Arizona have to the
Canyon and implored people to think about the merits of the projects,
some of which are within walking distance of the canyon.
“This is not what America is about,” O’Halleran said, referring to the lasting environmental damage of some of these mines. “The health of our children needs to come first, it cannot be a second thought.”
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Andrew Nicla covers the environment for the Republic. Reach him at andrew.nicla@gannett.com or on Twitter @AndrewNicla.
Featured
image: U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (third-from-right) stands with tribal
leaders at the Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. Grijalva,
D-Arizona, was at the Grand Canyon Saturday to announce his Grand Canyon
Centennial Protection Act, which would permanently ban uranium mining
near the Grand Canyon. (Photo11: Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic)
The original source of this article is azcentral
Copyright © Andrew Nicla, azcentral, 2019
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