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For Immediate Release, Friday, April 29, 2022 [click for full News Release PDF]
Contact:
- Alicyn Gitlin, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, (520) 491-9528, alicyn.gitlin@sierraclub.org
- Amber Reimondo, Grand Canyon Trust, (928) 286-3361, areimondo@grandcanyontrust.org
- Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org
- Kati Schmidt, National Parks Conservation Association, (415) 847-1768, kschmidt@npca.org
- Kelly Burke, Wild Arizona, (928) 606-7870, kelly@wildarizona.org
Arizona OKs Uranium Mining Permit That Puts Grand Canyon’s Groundwater, Springs at Risk
Mine Threatens to Deplete, Pollute Groundwater, Springs
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.— The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality approved an aquifer protection permit late Thursday for a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park.
The mine, owned by Energy Fuels Resources, has a history of flooding as it depletes shallow groundwater aquifers that express at South Rim springs. It also threatens to permanently contaminate deep aquifers that feed Havasu Creek and other springs. The approval comes despite calls by the Havasupai Tribe and conservation groups to close the Pinyon Plain Mine given its risks to water and Tribal cultural resources...