PUBLIC STATEMENT
It is truly an honor to speak alongside leaders from Native nations, members of Congress, local elected officials, conservation groups, and hunters and anglers who care deeply about the Grand Canyon and ensuring that its waters and landscapes are, at long-last, permanently protected.
Through the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, we can stop unnecessary uranium mining that would risk many for the benefit of a few. We have an opportunity to prevent new uranium mining on 1 million acres of critically important public lands bordering Grand Canyon National Park, and, in so doing, the opportunity to safeguard the Grand Canyon region, and the people, wildlife, and economies that depend on it.
Mining companies say modern mining techniques are unequivocally safe, and they pretend the existence of environmental laws guarantees against irreversible contamination. But no one, not even scientific experts, clearly understands all of the region’s pathways for contamination. We know that to understand those pathways requires a massive scope of research — the cost of which far exceeds available funding.
Despite mining company claims of impeccable environmental records, there are several examples of the contrary. For the past three years, Canyon Mine has required removal of contaminated water from its mineshaft. And often, in order to manage the water, the company sprays it into the air. When reopening Pinenut uranium mine in 2009, its owners discovered that it was flooded with nearly 3 million gallons of contaminated water. And at the nearby Kanab North Mine, located on the Grand Canyon’s north rim, radioactive dust blew beyond the perimeter and contaminated the soils surrounding the mine site.
The uncertainties of uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region are an unnecessary threat to our tourism-based economies and the people and ecosystems that depend on the Grand Canyon.
In this, Grand Canyon National Park’s centennial year, we proudly join with citizens — of many political persuasions and backgrounds — to stand with one united voice in supporting the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act.
— Amber Reimondo, Energy Director
