News Coverage
Mining Activity Called a Toxic Threat to Southwest's Colorado River Supply
Published August 12, 2008
Environmental groups are warning that threats of toxic pollution from future mining activity lurk on the Colorado River.
The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group compiled a database of mining claims on public lands and found more than 5,500 hard-rock mining claims within 10 miles of the river and nearly 1,200 within five miles.
Environmental groups say mines too close to a river could contaminate the water and damage fragile ecosystems. The Colorado River supplies water for drinking and irrigation to more than 25 million people in Arizona and six other states.
Existing laws permit mining on public lands with only a few restrictions. A broad rewrite of the laws was passed this year in the U.S. House but seems unlikely to even come up for a vote in the Senate, where mining enjoys stronger support.
"The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the West," said Dusty Horwitt, an analyst for the Environmental Working Group. "The Senate's failure to pass the mining law (would leave) citizens virtually powerless to protect drinking water."
Mining companies argue that only a few of the claims identified in the advocacy group's study will turn into mines. They say existing laws protect the land by forcing mining operations to undergo many reviews before any ore is removed.
William Cobb, a top mining executive who testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this year, said existing laws cover operations from start to finish.
Cobb, vice president of environmental services for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, warned that new controls could harm the industry's domestic and global competitiveness.
However, environmental groups say existing laws won't prevent another fiasco like the one near Moab, Utah, where tons of abandoned uranium waste from a mining site sit near the Colorado River.
The owner, Atlas Corp., eventually filed for bankruptcy protection as the costs of cleaning the toxic material grew higher. The federal government stopped the seepage several years ago and agreed in 2005 to move the waste away from the river.
