On May 18, the Department of the Interior released a list of 35 minerals set to enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of their importance to “national security and economic prosperity.” The list includes uranium even though DOI’s screening tool suggested it didn’t meet the criteria.
The Grand Canyon area is home to some of our nation’s richest uranium deposits, and the listing made public interest groups nervous. On June 18, an alliance of sportsmen and conservationists opened a public campaign to press Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke not to reopen uranium mining in the region, prompting Zinke to say he has no interest in such a move.
This claim cannot be taken at face value. Secretary Zinke has been less than truthful about his stewardship of our public lands and has lost the benefit of the doubt...