BY ABIGAIL WISE
The Issue: Uranium Mining
Canadian firm Energy Fuels plans to resume operations—and with it the threat of contamination—at Canyon Mine, just nine miles from the South Rim. Activists worry that it and three other former mines could leak toxic waste into the watershed. In 2012, interior secretary Ken Salazar put a 20-year ban on uranium mining in the area, but companies with existing rights are exempt. The Grand Canyon Trust is suing the Forest Service to prevent the Canyon Mine from reopening.