Environmental groups and Havasupai tribal members presented a petition to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Thursday urging her to close the Pinyon Plain uranium mine, which is located less than 10 miles from Grand Canyon National Park.
The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and National Parks Conservation Association were among the groups who submitted the 17,000 signatures on the petition.
They and members of the Havasupai Tribe say the active uranium mine threatens groundwater and Grand Canyon’s springs.
The Pinyon Plain mine began producing uranium last December.
Its owner, Energy Fuels Resources, says the ore production is critical for the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, and that the operations pose no risk to groundwater.
The mine is now within the footprint of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument where NEW uranium mining is prohibited, but it can operate under its preexisting claim.
