FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 4, 2019
DENVER—Late Tuesday, the Trump administration released a plan to “ensure secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals.” The document appears designed to clear the way for rapid expansion of mining across the West, including in and around national treasures like the Grand Canyon and Bears Ears National Monument. The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Policy Director Jesse Prentice-Dunn:
“Today, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt gave his friends in the mining industry an express lane to blasting and scraping America’s public lands at the expense of the West’s water and wildlife. The administration’s plan lays the groundwork for removing protections around the Grand Canyon, putting the canyon at risk of uranium contamination that could last decades. It explains why President Trump was so eager to shrink Bears Ears National Monument—so uranium companies can carve roads through sacred ancestral tribal lands.
“David Bernhardt worked for companies like Rosemont Copper and Ur-Energy. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler lobbied on behalf of the uranium company Energy Fuels Resources. Today, those clients got their money’s worth.”
LEARN MORE
- Uranium Miners Pushed Hard for a Comeback. They Got Their Wish. [New York Times]
- Seeking to shrink Bears Ears, uranium firm met with Interior before review [Roll Call]
- Uranium firm urged Trump officials to shrink Bears Ears National Monument [Washington Post]
- Interior Department renews highly controversial mining leases near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
- Is uranium mining near the Grand Canyon safe? The answer may be in the water [Arizona Republic]
- Uranium-mine cleanup on Navajo Reservation could take 100 years [Arizona Republic]