Like the faint smell of rain in June as the parched rims of the Grand Canyon await the first storm of the monsoon season, the possibility of a permanent mining ban around the Grand Canyon is nearer than ever. Will it become law at last? We may soon know the answer to that question.
After more than a decade of work by tribes and a broad coalition of supporters, the Grand Canyon Protection Act — a bill that would make permanent an existing temporary mining ban on approximately 1 million acres of federally managed lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park — has gained more ground than ever before.
Tribal leaders Matthew Putesoy, Vice Chairman, Havasupai Tribal Council (LEFT), Richard Powskey, Hualapai Tribal Council (CENTER), and Carletta Tilousi, Havasupai Tribal Council (RIGHT) at the announcement of the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act in 2019. AMY S. MARTIN
Legislation to permanently protect the Grand Canyon region from uranium mining was originally introduced by Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva in 2009. The spark was a brief spike in uranium prices that led to thousands of new mining claims being staked on federally managed lands near the Grand Canyon, triggering public concern.
In 2012, the Obama administration listened to public outcry, and established a temporary ban on new uranium mines and mining claims on public lands around the Grand Canyon after a careful review and public comment process. This ban is still in place today and is scheduled to last for 20 years — the maximum time allowed for administrative mining bans; a permanent ban requires an act of Congress. But tribes and community members from an array of backgrounds and political ideologies have pressed on. While a temporary ban is helpful, it’s not enough. A place as culturally, environmentally, and economically significant as the Grand Canyon deserves to never again be marred by uranium operations when the temporary ban expires, or worse, if it’s ever lifted before its expiration date, something mining proponents have advocated.
Since its conception, the Grand Canyon Protection Act has passed the U.S. House many times, but the measure has continually stalled in the Senate. It wasn’t until the current 117th Congress (which began in January 2021 and ends January 3, 2023), that the bill also gained the much-needed support of both of Arizona’s U.S. senators — Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly. Sinema introduced the bill in the Senate in February 2021, with Senator Kelly cosponsoring, and, for the first time, the bill began moving in both chambers of Congress. This meant that the Grand Canyon Protection Act finally had a real path toward becoming law. With representation in both the U.S. House and Senate, the effort to permanently protect the Grand Canyon region from uranium contamination has hit unprecedented milestones and could still make the final push in 2022 through the Senate and to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
So, what exactly are these major first-ever milestones for the bill? In June 2022, after months of waiting in line behind other legislative priorities in the Senate, the Grand Canyon Protection Act got a long-awaited hearing before a Senate subcommittee. In July, it got a vote before the full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where it earned a tie vote of 10-10. This included a “yes” vote from the committee chairman, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. While a 10-10 vote isn’t enough to automatically send the bill to the Senate floor, Senator Manchin and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, could still decide to move the bill to the Senate floor. The Grand Canyon Trust continues to support tribal leaders, and work alongside local elected officials, business and faith leaders, hunting and fishing groups, and other members of the broad coalition behind the Grand Canyon Protection Act to push it over the finish line.
Canyon Mine with Red Butte in the background. ECOFLIGHT
We hope to be reveling with you soon in the long-awaited relief that permanent protection for the Grand Canyon region would bring. In the meantime, join us in celebrating another small success in protecting the Colorado Plateau and supporting the region’s Native peoples in their struggle against uranium contamination. Back in 2020, the Trump administration proposed a uranium reserve program that would have funded government purchases of newly mined uranium to build up a government stockpile of uranium. This could have effectively subsidized and jump-started uranium operations at facilities like the Canyon Mine (renamed Pinyon Plain Mine) near the south rim of the Grand Canyon (currently exempt from the temporary mining ban) and the White Mesa Mill in southeastern Utah, near the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s White Mesa community and a mile from Bears Ears National Monument. Thanks to the leadership, advocacy, and hard work of tribes, including the Havasupai and the Ute Mountain Ute, the Grand Canyon Trust and our allies were successful in convincing the U.S. Department of Energy not to purchase uranium from these facilities. At least for now.
The work to show decision-makers the injustice of uranium operations on the Colorado Plateau continues on this front, through the Grand Canyon Protection Act. When it comes to environmental justice, it’s more important than ever that Indigenous and other impacted communities are meaningfully heard as we shift away from harmful energy sources like uranium and fossil fuels and toward sustainable clean-energy sources.
Amber Reimondo leads the Grand Canyon Trust’s energy work.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The views expressed by Advocate contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Grand Canyon Trust.
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