/ Modified aug 2, 2018 2:52 p.m.

Arizona Reps Want Assurances on Uranium Mining Ban Near Grand Canyon

Members of Arizona's congressional delegation want assurances from the Trump administration.

Grand canyon colorado The Colorado River snakes through the Grand Canyon.
Vanessa Barchfield, AZPM

Southern Arizona Congressmen Raúl Grijalva and Tom O'Halleran have asked for a more formal commitment to sustaining a ban on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, in a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

The letter said the Interior Department has made such a promise in tweets, but that the members of Congress want something more formal.

A 2012 moratorium put a 20-year ban on mining claims on land surrounding the park.

There are hundreds of abandoned mines on Navajo Reservation, near the Grand Canyon. The representatives said the clean-up of those mines has already cost more than $1 billion.

Representatives Ruben Gallego and Kyrsten Sinema also signed the letter.

UPDATE: This story was updated Aug. 2, 2018 to clarify the existence of a ban on uranium mining in the area that started in 2012.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona