News Coverage
Resolution Saves Canyon From Mining — For A While
Our view: Moratorium on uranium exploration should become permanent
Published June 27, 2008
Here's one big positive step for our state's beloved treasure: The House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday approved an emergency declaration introduced by Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, that withdraws public lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon from uranium mining activities. Thank you, Rep. Grijalva.
"This emergency resolution means that no one will be able to do any exploration," said Richard Mayol, director of communications for the Grand Canyon Trust, which said the trust's staff watched the 20-2 vote on the Internet.
Grijalva had earlier introduced legislation to achieve the same result, but told us Monday that he withdrew it because he couldn't be sure it would be approved by the Senate, where neither of Arizona's Republican senators, Jon Kyl or John McCain, had taken a position on it. Kyl and McCain should get on board.
Furthermore, Grijalva said, he expected that if it were passed, it would have been vetoed by President Bush. "This became something that legal counsel discovered as a short-term reprieve," Grijalva said of the emergency declaration. "So we're buying time in the hope of a change in the political climate that will allow us to pass legislation to protect the Canyon long-term."
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 allows for emergency withdrawals when "extraordinary measures must be taken to preserve values that would otherwise be lost," Grijalva's office said in the news release.
As we reported earlier this year, due to surging global metal prices, especially for uranium, mining claims within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park jumped from 815 in July 2007 to 1,130 in January, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that tracks claims in the West.
The General Mining Act of 1872 authorizes mining for economic minerals on federal public lands. The pollution threat is grave. The Grand Canyon is precious. "Our office has never had so many bipartisan calls in support," said Grijalva. "Usually we hear from both the support and opposition, but we're getting overwhelming support for withdrawing these lands — more support on this one issue than all the stuff I've been dealing with for all these years."
Both Grijalva and Mayol expect that the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, will either refuse to enforce the ban or challenge it in court. "This will be good for three to six months," Grijalva said. "Even if it's challenged and we lose, I think the focus on the Grand Canyon is good." No question about that. We want to see the canyon permanently protected, but since there are roadblocks under the Bush administration, Grijalva has done the entire state a great service by taking on this issue.
