Arizona mining issues in national spotlight

by Shaun McKinnon - Aug. 21, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic.

Opponents of plans to mine uranium near the Grand Canyon should have savored the day last month when U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar temporarily halted most of those plans.

The celebrations were brief. Although the anti-mining forces - conservation groups, Indian tribes , tourist-dependent communities - gained an ally in the Obama White House, they face a shifting landscape at home.

Struggling towns north and west of the Canyon want jobs from the mines. The state's mining chief says the ore could help wean the United States from foreign oil. Energy companies say the uranium would ease the demand for coal and reduce greenhouse-gas pollution.

Uranium is one issue on the agenda today when Salazar visits the Canyon with Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has opposed efforts to permanently ban mining near the Canyon, and Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who chairs the Senate's National Parks subcommittee.

McCain, Salazar and Udall also will appear Friday at a community meeting in Superior to talk about a proposal to open a copper mine on federal land. The project is controversial because of a land swap involving about 3,000 acres in the Tonto National Forest.

The Havasupai Tribe, whose members live in the Canyon, asked to meet with McCain and Salazar. Tribal leaders are expected to show up regardless if the meeting is granted.

"We believe our job is to protect this place," said Carletta Tilousi, a member of the tribe that once lived on the South Rim near proposed mine sites. "We want to let people know that, even though we have been displaced from the land, we're always going to go back."


The economics

Northern Arizona holds some of the nation's richest uranium stores, mostly on the Colorado Plateau. Mines prospered in the 1940s and 1950s when demand was high, but most of the mines were shuttered by the 1980s. Rising prices, driven largely by international markets, have started to draw mining companies back.

The mining companies say their methods have changed since Arizona's uranium heyday more than five decades ago. Mines disturb less surface area and leave few contaminants at the sites.

In July, Arizona's mineral-resources director testified against Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva's proposal to permanently bar mining on 1 million acres of public land near the Canyon. Madan Singh said the ban would trap about 375 million pounds of uranium, the equivalent of 13.3 billion barrels of oil.

The economic impact of uranium mining across northern Arizona could top $1.2 billion a year during the roughly 20 years the mines are expected to operate, Singh said.


The environment

Conservation groups say mines drilled too close to the Canyon could contaminate aquifers that feed springs and the Colorado River, a source of water for more than 15 million people downstream from proposed sites.

"Once you get contamination in the water, you can't get it out," said Roger Clark, air and energy director for the Flagstaff-based Grand Canyon Trust. "We're seeing support from water providers that aren't used to scaring their customers. This is that important. The Colorado River is what allows Phoenix to be Phoenix."

The legacy of uranium mining in the 1940s and 1950s figures prominently in arguments used by conservation groups and tribes. Old mines poisoned land and water and were linked to high death rates for miners, many of them Navajos and Hopis.

"It's not old news," said Stacey Hamburg, conservation-program manager for the Sierra Club in Flagstaff. "The contamination is still there. The mining companies say it's perfectly safe, but until that mess is cleaned up, we don't think there should be any new mining."

Arizonans appear to side with the mining foes, according to a poll commissioned by the trust. Among 400 people surveyed by Public Opinion Strategies, about two-thirds supported the ban.


The politics

Salazar's decision to withdraw about 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon from mining activities for two years offers no long-term guarantees. After reviewing the issue, Salazar could allow uranium exploration to continue or he could extend the ban for 20 years, the limit of an administrative order.

Grijalva's measure has drawn support from conservation groups, tribes and water providers in Nevada and California. Flagstaff, Coconino County and tourist-related businesses also lined up in favor of the bill.

But farther north and west, Mohave County officials say the region needs the mines and the jobs the operations would bring. The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution opposing Grijalva's bill.

The steepest hurdle remains Arizona's two Republican senators, McCain and Jon Kyl. They said that even the threat of withdrawing land has hurt mining companies trying to finance new operations in the region. Too much interference by the government could further weaken the industry.

Havasupai tribal leaders say they want to work with the senators, but they won't rule out taking action, including lawsuits, to block new mines.

"I'm afraid for my people," said Tilousi, the tribal activist. "If our water is contaminated and we're forced to leave, how are we going to survive? I don't want to see that."

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/08/21/20090821biz-canyon-uranium0821.html