Uranium Lawsuits

When necessary, we go to court to stop unsafe uranium mining around the Grand Canyon. Learn about our past cases.

Canyon Mine Case

Plaintiffs: The Havasupai Tribe, Grand Canyon Trust, Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club

Defendants: U.S. Forest Service and Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. (as intervenors)

Background: Canyon Mine (which the mine owner renamed "Pinyon Plain Mine" in 2020) is a uranium mine located less than 10 miles from the South Rim. The Forest Service gave the mine a green light to operate in the mid-1980s. But before miners drilled deep enough to reach the ore, a sharp drop in uranium prices in the 1990s prompted the company to close its gates. When uranium prices rebounded again 20 years later, the Forest Service decided that the mine was exempt from the 2012 ban on mining around the Grand Canyon and let the company resume operations without updating its 1986 plan of operations or the government’s analysis of how mining would affect the area. The Grand Canyon Trust, along with the Havasupai Tribe and others, sued the U.S. Forest Service in 2013, arguing that this decision ran afoul of federal law.

Current status: After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected our latest challenge in 2017, we petitioned the court for a rehearing. The petition persuaded the court to change its mind about one of our arguments and in October 2018, it issued an order which sent the case back to the district court. In May 2020, the district court ruled in favor of the uranium company, helping clear the way for uranium mining on national forest land near Grand Canyon National Park. In July 2020, we appealed that decision. In February 2022, the court denied that appeal.

Uranium Withdrawal Case

Plaintiffs: National Mining Association

Defendants: the United States

Background: When the National Mining Association and others sued the government over the 20-year ban on new uranium mines around the Grand Canyon, we came to the government's defense. The Trust intervened in the lawsuit, along with several other environmental groups and the Havasupai Tribe. We are doing everything we can to keep the ban in place and protect the Grand Canyon from the toxic uranium legacy that lingers across much of the Colorado Plateau.

Current Status: After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 20-year ban, industry trade groups asked the nation's highest court to hear their case. The Supreme Court denied their request. More on the victory ›