The company that owns a uranium mine near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon has begun transporting ore from the site.
Coconino County officials say trucks hauling the first loads of uranium from the Pinyon Plain Mine set out Tuesday on State Route 64 through Williams and Interstate 40 through Flagstaff. The route also includes U.S. 89 to Tuba City and U.S. 160 to the White Mesa Mill in southern Utah. Tribes have fought uranium mining and transportation for decades and say it threatens public health and safety.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren deployed tribal police to turn the trucks back, but they ultimately made it to their destination.
“End of the day, that highway sits on top of the Navajo Nation, and we have jurisdiction within the Navajo Nation,” Nygren tells KNAU. “So that state highway sits on the Navajo Nation. We’ve got Navajo Nation police that pull people over on the state routes anytime they’re breaking the law. And in this realm, they’re breaking the law of the Navajo Nation, within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Uranium transportation is not going to happen for that.”
Nygren vowed to stop any future trucks and expects litigation. He also says he was not told that hauling was set to begin Tuesday, which he calls “a blatant disregard for our tribal sovereignty.” The Navajo Nation outlawed uranium transportation in 2012, but state and federal governments maintain jurisdiction over the highways.
Coconino County officials say the manager’s office and emergency management staff are monitoring the situation.
In a statement, the mine’s owner, Energy Fuels Resources, says the ore contains about 1% uranium and does not pose a threat to the public or the environment.
“Tens of thousands of trucks have safely transported uranium ore across northern Arizona since the 1980s with no adverse health or environmental effects,” says Energy Fuels President and CEO Mark Chalmers. “Materials with far greater danger are transported every day on every road in the county. Ore is simply natural rock. It won’t explode, ignite, burn or glow, contrary to what opponents claim.”
The company also says the shipments have been reviewed and permitted by state and federal regulators.
The Pinyon Plain Mine began producing uranium ore earlier this year. It sits within the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, which President Joe Biden designated last year, in part, to ban new uranium mining claims over nearly a million acres of land adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park and considered culturally important to many Southwestern tribes. The mine was allowed to operate, however, because of preexisting claims.
