PHOENIX — The Arizona attorney general wants a new look into the environmental impacts of a uranium mine south of the Grand Canyon, saying the current one is decades old and the information is "outdated and inaccurate".
The Pinyon Plain Mine began mining uranium in December and will likely be mining for at least five years, according to the company running the mine.
The current impact statement was developed in 1986. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' main concern is the groundwater supply in and around the Grand Canyon and the potential consequences on the sole aquifer the Havasupai Tribe relies on.
The 1986 impact statement by the Forest Service said the mine would not impact the Redwall-Muav aquifer because the groundwater flow was believed to be at least 1,000 feet below the mine. Mayes said that is incorrect and noted a new study that found it is "highly likely that mining contaminants will be transported" between aquifers in the region.
"Despite the simple appearance of the rocks in the Grand Canyon region to the average viewer, the groundwater system is far more complicated, and today, in 2024, we can't rely on studies that were done in 1986," University of New Mexico's Laura Crossey, the lead author of the study, said. "There's much more that's been learned, and it just seems really wrong to move forward or continue this potentially irreversible harm that could be caused to the region, in terms of the groundwater contamination, without revisiting all of the permitting."
Energy Fuels Resources, which runs the mine, said in a statement that the study was reviewed and reaffirmed by both the Forest Service and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality:
The 1986 EIS was reviewed and reaffirmed by the USFS in 2012. It has been upheld numerous times in Federal Court, including as recently as 2021 by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. ADEQ also reaffirmed the no-impact to groundwater determinations in the EIS in 2022. Energy Fuels continues to comply with all current approvals, regulations, and science to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
Mayes also said she was recently informed of the transport of uranium across Northern Arizona, "including through the ancestral lands of the Havasupai Tribe onto the Navajo Nation and through a portion of Hopi lands as well," without the promised two-week notifications. She is also concerned about the lack of a emergency preparedness plan. Her full statement is below:
Yesterday, I was notified by Navajo Nation President Dr. Buu Nygren, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch and Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman that the U.S. Forest Service had informed them that Energy Fuels Resources, Inc. (EFRI) was transporting uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine through our northern Arizona rural communities, including through the ancestral lands of the Havasupai Tribe onto the Navajo Nation and through a portion of Hopi lands as well. The U.S. Forest Service was also reportedly notified hours after the trucks had already left the mine.
Per these conversations, I was informed that EFRI and the mine owners had vowed to give all of the stakeholders at least a two week notice prior to hauling of the uranium ore from the mine to a processing facility in Blanding, Utah. I was also informed by Supervisor Horstman that the County and other stakeholders had asked for EFRI’s emergency plan on several occasions, yet they had still not received it from the company as of yesterday.
My office is currently researching our options, but I remain deeply committed to doing everything in my power to protect the health and safety of all Arizonans. Hauling radioactive materials through rural Arizona, including across the Navajo Nation, without providing notice or transparency and without providing an emergency plan is unacceptable.
I also remain concerned about the potential risks to Arizona’s groundwater associated with the activities of this mine, including the risks posed to the only source of drinking water for the Havasupai Tribe. The Havasupai are the guardians of the Grand Canyon – our Arizona and National treasure, and they deserve to know that their groundwater will be protected. It is important to highlight that the Environmental Impact Statement for Pinyon Plain Mine was conducted decades ago (1986). And it is also important to remember that the Navajo, Hopi and Havasupai Nations are sovereign nations and have the right to protect the health and safety of their people.
We will continue to work together with our sovereign Tribal partners, rural county and cityleaders, U.S. Forest Service and other stakeholders to protect our communities.
The transport of the rocks containing uranium across tribal lands had been paused due to concerns from Navajo Nation leaders.
Uranium has a long history of impacts on the Navajo Nation and its people since the 1940s.
"We've seen the effects of these things in the past on our land, the spills into our rivers, into our communities, the residual effects on our on our health, of our children, our elders," Cameron resident Adair Klopfenstein said. "It's awful, and we don't want it to happen again."
Activists against the mine delivered what they said was more than 17,000 signatures to Governor Katie Hobbs in June, asking for her to close down the mine.
“We all want clean air, clean water, and uranium mining is not the answer to energy,” Carletta Tilousi, who sits on the Havasupai Tribe’s anti-uranium committee, said.
The Havasupai Tribe has been fighting for decades against the mine.
“My number one concern with this mine is water contamination and the misuse of water,” Tilousi said. “The mining activity has already contaminated the site and it’s going to continue to contaminate and we need to make sure that the animals are protected and human life is protected.”
Leona Morgan, co-founder of Haul No!, an organization against the mine and the haul routes across Northern Arizona — including parts of the Navajo Nation — is also seeking protections for animals and human life.
“This is institutional racism, environmental racism. It's a violation of our civil rights. It's a violation of federal trust responsibility," Morgan said. "And we're here to say, Governor Hobbs do the right thing.’”
The Forest Service issued the following statement:
The Kaibab National Forest received a letter from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes late Tuesday, August 13. The Forest Service is always looking at the latest available science as well as ensuring Energy Fuels Resources (EFRs) compliance with their approved operation plan.
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