Op-ed: Protect the greater Grand Canyon area from uranium mining

This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Arizona Daily Sun on Tuesday, September 20th.

Written by HCLC member and Coconino County Supervisor, Jeronimo Vasquez.

The Grand Canyon National Park is so much more than just an incredible natural wonder. Yes, its grandeur is remarkable and the views beyond breathtaking. It is without question a precious piece of Arizona wilderness. As the Colorado River cuts a nearly 280-mile swath through the Coconino County highlands, it is beneficial to remember that its watershed is of vital importance across the southwest.

The Colorado River helps quench the thirst of over 40 million people and irrigates acres of farmlands on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Its waters sustain both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, and it is a haven for local and migrating birds.

Yet, there is more. Tourism to the Grand Canyon is a major economic driver for Coconino County. Communities such as Tusayan, Grand Canyon Village, Williams, and Flagstaff all depend on tourism to the Grand Canyon.

A 2021 National Park Service report showed that the Grand Canyon received 4.5 million visitors, directly supporting more than 9,000 jobs in the area with a cumulative local benefit of nearly $1 billion. Many of these jobs are in the service sector with a high percentage of Latino workers. Several tribes including the Hualapai, the Havasupai, the Hopi, and the Navajo depend on tourism to the Grand Canyon. The Havasupai still live in one of the side canyons, their livelihoods dependent on the Colorado watershed.

So why jeopardize that? Why put the Grand Canyon at even the slightest risk? Why open the greater Grand Canyon watershed to uranium mining?

Already the Colorado River is stressed, and with new reductions in water allocations for states like Arizona the ongoing drought is leading water managers to seek tough answers.

A new bi-partisan poll of Arizona voters not surprisingly shows that two out of three respondents support the Grand Canyon Protection Act, which would make permanent a temporary ban on new uranium mining. Only 15% oppose the permanent ban. 70% of Latinos polled favor the ban.

As a member of the Coconino County Plateau Water Advisory Council, I spoke with the representatives of the mining company Energy Fuels Resources. We asked them the hard questions. They say technology has improved to the point that radioactive leaks are not a risk. That uranium mining does not pose any danger.

In fact, there are dangers that we are rightfully concerned about. According to a report by the Grand Canyon Trust, “the Pinenut uranium mine sat idle for two decades until 2009, when the mine unexpectedly filled with over 2 million gallons of radioactively contaminated water. Meanwhile, radioactive dust at the Kanab North uranium mine blew from the mine site into the surrounding ecosystem.” Additionally, the report claims that “[t]he U.S. has enough already-mined uranium to meets its defense needs, supply its electrical grid, and insulate itself from disruptions in the supply chain.”

Since the 1950s, the Colorado Plateau has been home to at least 22 uranium mills, according to the report. Estimates are that there have been more than 1,000 uranium mines and four uranium mills on Navajo lands alone. More than 500 of those mines have been abandoned by their operators and remain in need of cleanup. The Environmental Protection Agency has secured more than $1.7 billion in enforcement agreements and settlements for the cleanup of less than half of those sites.

Likewise, the Havasupai Tribe, most of whom live in a remote village reached via an eight-mile hike below the Grand Canyon’s rim, have been there more than 1,000 years. The tribe’s attachment to the canyon is not only long-standing and deeply spiritual, but the hidden limestone aquifer that springs from just above the village have sustained and nourished the fields of corn, squash, and beans that allow the Havasupai Tribe to thrive.

It simply is not conceivable to further endanger this incomparable piece of Arizona. Federal legislation is needed to prevent uranium mining within the Grand Canyon vicinity for now and forever and it is imperative that the U.S. Congress pass the Grand Canyon Protection Act.