Page 9 - the NOISE April 2014

GRAND CANYON’S “ZOMBIE MINE” DEAD ... FOR NOW
STORY BY
KENDALL PERKINSON
In the ongoing battle over uranium mining at Grand Canyon, the so-called “zombie” Canyon Mine has again shut down as a law- suit makes its way through the courts. De- pending on the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Canyon Mine may be up and running again with a year.
Opponents of uranium mining in the re- gion won a major victory in 2012 when Sec- retary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, approved a 20-year ban on mining in more than one million acres surrounding Grand Canyon. But this only prevented new mining claims. Mines that already had valid claims were
“grandfathered in,” allowing them to contin- ue operation.
Canyon Mine, which is only 6 miles from the South Rim, was licensed to operate in 1986 but suspended operation in 1992 when market prices for uranium slumped. It sat abandoned for two decades, until the current owner, Energy Fuel Resources (EFR), decided to resume operation again in early 2013.
Almost immediately, a coalition of conser- vation groups and the Havasupai tribe filed a lawsuit, not against EFR directly, but against Michael Williams, the Supervisor of Kaibab National Forest in which the mine rests. The lawsuit essentially alleges Mr. Williams ap- proved the reactivation of the mine without required public or environmental reviews.
Mr. Williams claims that such “validity de- termination” is only required for new mines, and that since Canyon Mine was simply re- starting operations that had already been authorized back in 1986, there was no such review process legally required. The current permits, he points out, have no expiration date, meaning the mine could legally resume operation as far in the future as it would like.
EFR has now again suspended activity at Canyon Mine until the resolution of the law- suit or the year 2015, whichever comes first. Activists and conservationists have dubbed these mines that die, then come back years later due to market fluctuations “zombie mines.” Northern Arizona has several, but Canyon Mine may be the first to die and be reanimated twice.
WATER ISSUES
One of the primary issues for the plaintiffs in all of this legal wrangling is water con- tamination. The uranium mining industry received some much-needed public sup- port on this topic in 2011 when J.E. Spen- cer, Senior Geologist for the Arizona Geo- logical Survey, released an official state- ment claiming that a worst-case scenario
PHOTOS BY BRUCE GORDON & COURTESY CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
uranium spill wouldn’t significantly affect the Colorado River.
The water in the Colorado already has a natural uranium concentration of 4ppb [parts per billion]. Mr. Spencer contends that even if a truck hauling thirty metric tons of uranium ore were overturned by a flash flood and its entire load were washed into the Colorado River (highly unlikely), the re- sulting level of 4.02ppb would still be far be- low the EPA maximum level for safe drinking water (30ppb).
The Grand Canyon Trust, one four con- servation groups filing the lawsuit, maintains Mr. Spencer’s view is a “straw man” argument. Program Director Roger Clark explains the Trust’s primary concern is about contaminat- ed groundwater supplies, rather than a spill of uranium directly into the Colorado itself.
“They’ve created a scenario to make their case that maybe there’s little risk to people downriver in California and central Arizona. But the real impact that we’ve seen time and time again is when the groundwater gets contaminated. You just can’t fix it.”
A US Geological Survey report from 2010 revealed that 15 springs and 5 wells near uranium mines in the Grand Canyon area contain concentrations of dissolved ura- nium that exceed the EPA’s maximum con- taminant level for drinking water. A well near Canyon Mine had the highest con- centration. While this is interesting recent evidence, the potential of uranium mining to irradiate groundwater has been long- acknowledged and well-documented in Ari- zona, particularly in the case of the Navajo.
TOXIC LEGACY
After World War II, uranium mining pro- duction was encouraged by the US govern- ment and desired by the private sector. The devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had shown the world-shaping power of atomic energy, and a new arms race with the USSR meant demand was high. The largest de- posits in the country were located in the Southwest, largely on Navajo land. Compa- nies were quick to move in and hire Navajo employees, failing to inform them of the associated health risks or implement regula- tions to minimize exposure. As evidence of employee contamination sickness and death rolled in year after year, very little was done to change policies.
Between 1944 and the establishment of Canyon Mine in 1986, about 4 million tons of uranium was extracted from the Navajo Na- tion leased by private and governmental en- tities. According to the EPA, Navajo land has
more than 500 abandoned uranium mine sites, “as well as homes and drinking water sources with elevated levels of radiation. Potential health effects include lung cancer from inhalation of radioactive particles, as well as bone cancer and impaired kidney function from exposure to radionuclides in drinking water.”
It wasn’t until 1990 that George H. W. Bush signed the Radiation Exposure Com- pensation Act into law, providing uranium mine workers and others near nuclear test sites cash remuneration for sickness and death in their families. Still, it was rare that workers could provide the extensive docu- mentation necessary to benefit from the program. Since Navajo marriages did not utilize government-issued marriage licenses, it was especially difficult for widowed wom- en to acquire compensation for the death of their husbands.
From 2008 to 2012, the federal govern- ment initiated a five-year cleanup plan, which involved testing both the mine sites themselves and nearby water sources on Na- vajo land. Of the 240 water sources tested, more than 29 exceeded the drinking water standard for uranium or radioactive particles. Unfortunately, there is no way to simply
“clean up” this water. Three wells were closed off completely and signs were posted at the other locations alerting people that they are no longer safe.
Mr. Clark claims that studies performed in the last two decades have also shown how irradiated water in mine shafts can seep into deep aquifers through fissures in the rock above them. Especially concerning is the Redwall-Muav aquifer, which is the source of most Grand Canyon springs. “That’s the same aquifer that is the sole source of water for the Havasupai people.”
CONSULTATION NOT REQUIRED?
The Havasupai Tribe is the only Native group currently listed as a plaintiff in the suit against Mr. Williams. In a press release, tribe chairman Don Watahomigie expressed regret that the Forest Service was not pro- tecting the area, which is sacred to the tribe and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. “The Havasupai are returning to the federal courts to protect our people, our reli- gion and our water.”
During the two decades that Canyon Mine was inoperable, the Red Butte area was designated as “Traditional Cultural Property.” Any development on such land requires con- sultation with the tribal entities who hold it sacred or culturally valuable. The Havasupai
claim that Mr. Williams and the Forest Ser- vice neglected to hold these consultations before allowing Canyon Mine to resume op- erations after 20 years. Mr. Williams asserts the same defense as he does for the lack of new permitting: Since the mine already ex- isted and was merely starting back up, no such consultations were required.
While recent court decisions seem to indi- cate Canyon Mine may continue operations without review of scientific data obtained since it opened in 1986, it may be difficult for the Havasupai to forget the long, troubled history between the mining industry and native peoples of the region, exemplified by the contamination of Navajo land and water.
PASSING BUCKS
Sandy Bahr of the Arizona Sierra Club,
another plaintiff in the lawsuit, says that Arizona is currently going through a time in which business interests are openly fighting for deregulation of most industries. “They weaken the regulations, then they defund the agencies that are supposed to actu- ally implement our environmental laws, and then years down the road we the taxpayers end up picking up the tab for a big mess. Many times, the companies responsible for the mess are long gone.”
Mr. Clark agrees. He recalls Orphan Mine, which was also located along the South Rim of Grand Canyon. “When it closed, the own- ers walked away, declared bankruptcy, and the Park Service has so far paid $15 million just to remove the superstructure.”
Still, for those “zombie” sites like Canyon Mine, production will one day resume. The Arizona district court has already ruled in favor of Mr. Williams and the Forest Service, but the case is making its way through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court’s decision will determine whether Canyon Mine (and potentially others like it) can stop and start operations at any time, forever, or be forced to submit to reviews that take into account our growing understanding of both the benefits and true costs of nuclear power.
Mr. Williams and the Forest Service de- clined interview, citing pending litigation. Havasupai representatives had not returned calls for comment by publication time.
| Kendall Perkinson is a writer, pho- tographer, and musician who recently moved to Flagstaff from the East Coast. kromaticphoto@gmail.com
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