Havasupai Water and Existence Threatened by New Uranium Mining on at Grand Canyon

Havasupai Water and Existence Threatened by New Uranium Mining on Sacred Land at Grand Canyon

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Jan. 12, 2024

Havasupai said their worst fears have come true, and now Energy Fuels is extracting toxic uranium, violating their sacred place, threatening their water source and jeopardizing their existence.

The Havasuapai Tribal Council said, "It is with heavy hearts that we must acknowledge that our greatest fear has come true."

"Despite decades of active and tireless opposition, Energy Fuels, a foreign for-profit mining company, has acted in its own self-serving interest and extracted toxic uranium at the Pinyon Plain Mine (formerly the "Canyon Mine"), desecrating one of our most sacred sites and jeopardizing the existence of the Havasupai Tribe."

The Havasupai Tribal Council said Supai, Guardians of the Grand Canyon, are struggling to protect their ancestral homeland. The Pinyon Plain Mine sits above the aquifer which the Supai depend on for water. Already, Energy Fuels has contaminated one of the two aquifers while digging the mine shaft.

"As Guardians of the Grand Canyon, we the Havsuw 'Baaja, the Havasupai Tribe, have opposed uranium mining in and around our Reservation and the Grand Canyon since time immemorial. We do this to protect our people, our land, our water, our past, our present and our future."

Haul No! warned that if Energy Fuels proceeds, with hauling from northern Arizona to the White Mesa Mill in southeast Utah -- and transports uranium across the Navajo Nation -- it will violate Navajo law and put Dine' at risk all along the transport route.

"Energy Fuels is not legally required to mark the trucks. Ore will be covered only with tarps. No responsible entity has been identified for emergency response, legal enforcement, or cleanup," Haul No! said.

"This violates Navajo Nation law which prohibits the transport of new uranium across Diné lands."

"The White Mesa Mill is owned and operated by Energy Fuels and is the only mill in the so-called U.S. licensed to process uranium ore."

The new monument designation, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, stopped nearly 600 active mining claims from being developed into mines. However, the designation did not halt the Canyon Mine, which was grandfathered in under the 1872 Mining Law.

Statement from the Havasupai Tribe Regarding Energy Fuels:

"It is with heavy hearts that we must acknowledge that our greatest fear has come true. Despite decades of active and tireless opposition, Energy Fuels, a foreign for-profit mining company, has acted in its own self- serving interest and extracted toxic uranium at the Pinyon Plain Mine (formerly the "Canyon Mine"), desecrating one of our most sacred sites and jeopardizing the existence of the Havasupai Tribe.

"As Guardians of the Grand Canyon, we the Havsuw 'Baaja, the Havasupai Tribe, have opposed uranium mining in and around our Reservation and the Grand Canyon since time immemorial. We do this to protect our people, our land, our water, our past, our present and our future. And yet, despite the historic and current assistance and advocacy from numerous allies, and the countless letters, phone calls, and personal pleas, our urgent requests to stop this life-threatening action have been disregarded.

"Our tribal community's only source of water is fed by aquifers, which unfortunately sit directly below the Pinyon Plain Mine. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the federal EPA claim there is no danger to us, that no harmful effects will come our way from this alleged "clean energy" source. But how can they so confidently make such a claim when Energy Fuels has already contaminated one of the two aquifers while digging the mine shaft, which then led to the company spraying toxic water into the air, only to be spread to the precious plants and animals by the blowing winds. A whole set of unknown and new problems will exist when the company begins transporting uranium over the land.

"This is not just a problem that affects our remote Tribe. Rather, millions of people will now be forced to pass by an active uranium mine on their way to the majestic Grand Canyon. Every being should be able to freely experience this natural wonder without risking their lives. Shame on Energy Fuels, and those who were not brave enough to do what is right and necessary.

"We will not give up. We owe that to our ancestors, our children, and the generations to come. We will fight on."

White Mesa Utes in Utah -- Energy Fuels uranium mill is poisoning us

Ute Mountain Ute's spiritual walk and rally called for a halt to the uranium mill now poisoning the land, water and air in southeastern Utah, in the Four Corners region, on October 14, 2023.

The White Mesa Mill, operated by Energy Fuels, is now bringing in radioactive waste from other countries, after already storing nuclear waste that was too dangerous to remain at the Nevada Test Site.

Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart said the uranium mill is not just a Ute problem and the resources must be protected for the future. "We want to have resources for the future of our children and grandchildren that are not here yet."

"The mountains are our homeland. We're put there by our Creator as stewards to take care of the mountains down to this area," Chairman Heart said.

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