Blog: Uranium Mining Near the Grand Canyon Pollutes our Water and Impacts Nearby Communities

By Viviana Reyes, HECHO Advisory Board Member

Like many Arizonans, I love to travel with my daughter to the Grand Canyon to take in its natural glory and reignite our connection to this special place. As a child, my family couldn’t afford to take expensive vacations, but visits to the Grand Canyon were accessible to us. Continuing this family tradition with my daughter, I experience great joy watching her eyes light up with the night sky full of bright stars. But as we adjust to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, I worry about public health. As a parent and community member, now more than ever there is a responsibility to engage in issues that threaten the health of future generations.

I am concerned that protections on land surrounding the Grand Canyon will be lifted to allow uranium mining. The uranium industry, citing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, asked the federal government for a bailout without guarantee that they won’t keep destroying our public lands and contaminating our water. Last summer, President Trump established the Nuclear Fuel Working Group to make “recommendations to further enable nuclear fuel production if needed.” In April, via a report, the group recommended a review of bans on uranium mining like the one near the Grand Canyon. I was shocked.

Uranium mining is dangerous. It has contaminated drinking water across the Navajo Nation. Exposure to uranium leads to health problems including birth defects, cancer, respiratory illness and more. Decades of mining has permanently scarred people of the southwest; many Native Americans still suffer from the effects of uranium exposure and drinking contaminated water. For communities without access to quality health care, this is a deadly risk, especially when paired with the threat posed by COVID-19.

Last year, Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva took action by introducing his Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act (GCCPA). Thanks to his leadership, Congress passed the bill, voting to protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining, and the health of millions, including tribes whose land the Grand Canyon occupies.

Rep. Grijalva’s bill is a long overdue commitment to indigenous communities near the Grand Canyon, whose outcries against mining near sacred tribal grounds went unnoticed for decades. The GCCPA would give tribes the ability to safely participate in centuries-long spiritual traditions on their land, and would protect future generations from further water poisoning and destroyed ancestral territory.

My daughter, Vida, is my life’s battery, motivating me to leave a legacy of stewardship. I want her to be able to continue to visit beautiful places like the Grand Canyon, and one day travel there with her own family. The threat of allowing uranium mining around the Grand Canyon threatens Vida’s future. It shows us that the administration doesn’t care about the health risks and permanent degradation uranium mining would have. They don’t prioritize children or tribal communities whose water would be poisoned. They don't think of future generations, like my

daughter, who should always be able to enjoy and explore a place where many of her formative outdoor experiences took place. Instead, they risk the future of one of America’s most special places for short-term profit.

Having clean drinking water is a human right, and being able to live safely, without fear of health effects from uranium exposure should be a priority. Congress made the right move by passing the GCCPA and now Senator Kyrsten Sinema is fighting for the Senate to do the same. Banning uranium mining near the Grand Canyon is the only moral action. Anything less is a failure to the millions who live near or visit this beautiful landmark.

Viviana Reyes is the Culture, Engagement and Communications Manager for Coconino County and an Advisory Board Member for Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO).