The Grand Canyon Protection Act: It’s Time

 by Amber Reimondo, Energy Director

Update: The Grand Canyon Protection Act passed the House with bipartisan support on February 26, 2021. Urge your senators to support the Senate bill ›

"Many voices, together, will stop uranium mining in this region,” Havasupai Tribal Councilwoman Carletta Tilousi told a crowd who had gathered on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in 2019 for the announcement of a bill that would make permanent the temporary mining ban around Grand Canyon National Park. We know she’s right. That year, the bill passed out of the House of Representatives and a version was introduced in the Senate, but it never made it onto the Senate floor for a vote. Now, Grand Canyon advocates from around Arizona and the country are making another run.

For the many voices who have spoken up for years, as Councilwoman Tilousi and other members of the Havasupai Tribe have, and for those who are just joining the effort to protect the sacred lands and waters of the Grand Canyon, there’s a renewed sense of hope this week as the bill’s champion, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ, reintroduced it on Monday.

Take Action. Urge your representative in Congress to support and co-sponsor the Grand Canyon Protection Act ›

What’s different in the new Grand Canyon protection bill? 

In substance, not much is different. Dubbed the “Grand Canyon Protection Act,” a slight change to the title from 2019, the bill is otherwise identical to the one Congressman Grijalva introduced in 2019. If passed, it would make the 20-year ban on new uranium mines enacted in 2012 on approximately 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park permanent, protecting the canyon forever.

But politically, the tides have turned some. Today, unlike two years ago, the bill moves forward under a president who has publicly supported protecting the Grand Canyon from uranium mining.

And whereas before only one of Arizona senator’s, Kyrsten Sinema, publicly supported making the temporary ban permanent, now with Senator Mark Kelly, both of Arizona’s senators support the move.

Why does the Grand Canyon need a permanent mining ban?

As of October 2020, there were still over 600 active mining claims in the temporary mining ban area around Grand Canyon National Park. These are claims that could turn into mines without a permanent mining ban. Uranium mines have a history of contaminating land and water in and around the Grand Canyon. Mining companies that have exhausted their legal options seem willing to simply hold onto their claims until 2032, when the temporary ban expires, despite the fact that the area holds only 0.2 percent of the identified uranium resources in the United States. 

And while the temporary ban prevents new mines from opening in order to allow scientists time to better study and understand the risks uranium mining poses, especially to groundwater, it has, so far, done nothing to stop an existing uranium mine, Canyon Mine, fewer than 10 miles from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Canyon Mine is a poster child for what can go wrong even at a so-called “modern” uranium mine in the Grand Canyon region. And as the 7-year legal struggle to stop Canyon Mine illustrates, uranium companies are willing to gamble on uranium deposits around the Grand Canyon despite the risks to water, people, wildlife, and the environment. 

Passing the Grand Canyon Protection Act may or may not ever stop Canyon Mine, but it would permanently protect the Grand Canyon region from hundreds of other mining claims waiting in the wings and stop the risks of contamination before they start. And with the new administration, there’s a clear path ahead to finally make this long-pursued goal a reality.

Is it a done deal? 

In short, no. In this new Congress, the bill has to move back through the House of Representatives (where it’s expected to come up for a vote next week as part of a larger lands package) and then through the Senate before it makes it to President Biden’s desk for a signature. That’s no easy task, but we think the right pieces are in place. While we may have a lot of work still to do, with your help, like Councilwoman Tilousi said, many voices, together, will stop uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region.