Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Arizona approves permit for uranium mining near Grand Canyon
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Friday, April 29, 2022
A Diné woman in a traditional dress, on the rim of Grand Canyon. Photo: Grand Canyon National Park, Flickr ([link removed])

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has issued an aquifer protection plan permit ([link removed]) to the Pinyon Plain Mine, putting it one step closer to starting uranium mining just 10 miles from the Grand Canyon's South Rim in the Kaibab National Forest. ([link removed])

The mining proposal is opposed by environmentalists and tribal nations ([link removed]) , particularly the Havasupai Tribe, some of whose members live in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon and have long feared that mining would contaminate their sole source of water.

The planning for the Pinyon Plain Mine has been underway since 1984, but so far it has not produced any uranium ore. The mine is owned by Energy Fuels Resources, a Canadian mining company with corporate offices in Colorado. It is located within a 1 million-acre area that is now off-limits to mineral extraction, but the Pinyon Plain Mine was permitted before the Obama administration imposed the ban and thus is still considered active. An aquifer protection plan permit is required for any facility that discharges any pollutants into groundwater. ([link removed])

The Grand Canyon Trust, one of the mine's principal opponents, said in a statement ([link removed]) , "The Pinyon Plain Mine sits within a Havasupai Traditional Cultural Property and atop a very complex groundwater system connected to the Grand Canyon, one where any contamination would be impossible to clean up. The decision to grant the permit despite all of this, shows how important it is to prevent more mines from ever getting a foot in the door."
Quick hits


** Ranching family deals with the aftermath of wildfire following decades of conservation efforts
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** How conserving 30% of U.S. lands and waters could work
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Scientific American ([link removed])


** Haaland defends Interior budget request, investments in clean energy and tribal communities
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Colorado Newsline ([link removed]) | Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed])


** Increased reporting of Colorado oil and gas spills result of updated regulations
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Lake Mead pumps turned on to pull water toward Las Vegas and other downstream users
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Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** Arizona approves permit for uranium mining near Grand Canyon
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Arizona Republic ([link removed])


** Coal might be booming, but a mining company plans for its end
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E&E News ([link removed])


** A clean energy tour of the American West
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Just think of the recreation and revenue possibilities that could be generated in Montana if the 200,000 acres of land that were leased noncompetitively were managed instead for hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching. Westerners lose out when large swaths of land are set aside for speculation instead of conservation or recreation.
—Marcia Brownlee ([link removed]) , program manager for the National Wildlife Federation’s Artemis Sportswomen initiative
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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The @BLMNational ([link removed]) Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada is a vast and rugged landscape that redefines our notions of distance and space and where opportunities for solitude abound.

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