Lawsuit aims to block uranium mining near Grand Canyon

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK — Three large environmental groups are suing the federal government for allegedly dragging its heels to protect almost 1.1 million acres near the Grand Canyon from uranium mining and other such projects.

The 19-page complaint in federal court in Tucson comes from the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity. The nonprofit has more than 40,000 members dedicated to the preservation and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity worldwide.

It is joined by the Sierra Club and the Grand Canyon Trust, a Flagstaff-based nonprofit whose 3,500 members are bent on protecting the Colorado River Plateau.

Together, the three groups are asking U.S. District Court Judge Neil V. Wake — the same judge who upheld Arizona’s controversial employer sanctions law — to force the nation’s Interior department to seal off sensitive lands near Grand Canyon National Park, thwarting mining outfits’ plans in the process.

They claim a recently approved federal law grants these lands the proper protection, but that Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has ignored it.

In March, the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008 was introduced in Congress. It removes more than 1 million acres of public lands adjacent to the park from certain mining activities, the complaint states.

On June 25, the House Committee on Natural Resources issued an emergency resolution to compel Kempthorne to preserve these lands immediately. At the time, word was trickling out through news reports that a uranium-mining project near Grand Canyon National Park had been approved by the U.S. Forest Service.

Demand for uranium was skyrocketing due to an increased interest in nuclear power worldwide – especially in fast-growing developing countries. About 1,100 mining claims were believed to exist within 5 miles of the park, and forest officials had approved drilling for seven sites within three miles of the park boundaries.

“The Committee found that previous uranium mining operations near Grand Canyon National Park have left a legacy of debilitating illness and death among Native Peoples in the area, and resulted in contaminated soil and ground water that remains unremediated,” the complaint claims.

Three weeks after the committee declared the emergency, Kempthorne sent a letter in response indicating he will not protect the lands, according to the complaint. The Center for Biological Diversity waded into the fight, but Kempthorne did not respond to their petition either, the complaint claims.

On June 27, the federal Bureau of Land Management, an agency that oversees public lands, allowed the mining company to start drilling.

The resulting lawsuit asks Judge Wake to force Kempthorne to protect the lands immediately, shut down the remaining uranium-mining projects and prevent other such projects from popping up inside the 1.1 million-acre zone in the future.

The Center for Biological Diversity is being represented by lawyer Marc D. Fink of Duluth, Minn.; the Grand Canyon Trust is being represented by lawyer Neil Levine of Denver; and lawyer Roger Flynn of Lyons, Colo., is working with them on behalf of Western Mining Action Project.

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>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.

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