The recently extended moratorium on uranium mining in the Grand Canyon appears to be in question, at least for now.
Heralded as a huge victory for environmentalists, the decision by Secretary Salazar and the United States Department of the Interior has been blocked by a recently passed Interior and Environment Bill. The green light for uranium mining in the Grand Canyon joins 25 Republican sponsored anti-environment measures included in the House spending bill.
House Appropriations Committee member Representative Jeff Flake, R-AZ, introduced the Grand Canyon mining rider.
Protection of the Grand Canyon from uranium mining began with another member of Congress from Arizona, progressive champion Representative Raul Grijalva. Author of the 2009 Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act, Rep. Grijalva pressed Secretary Salazar and President Obama to extend the two-year moratorium which was set to expire in July, 2011.
The 2010 election and subsequent onslaught of Republican climate zombies and anti-government extremists led to the passage of Flake's destructive Grand Canyon mining measure.
Representative Jim Moran, D-VA, offered an amendment to preserve the Grand Canyon mining moratorium. The Moran amendment failed, 19-28. During House Appropriations Committee debate, Rep. Flake (incoherently) responded to Rep. Moran's amendment:
“What is ‘special interest,’ if anything, if taking one part of this, uranium mining, and removing it for 20 years.”
Flake joins fellow Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee who have received mining company contributions.
- Flake received contributions from an international mining company in the last election cycle.
- Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), the chairman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee, accepted $13,250 from mining industry in 2010 cycle, including $5,000 from the mining industry’s large PAC.
- Hal Rogers (R-KY), chairman of the entire appropriations committee, has received $331,475 in contributions from the mining industry over the course of his career, his number-one contributor.
Unfortunately for Representative Flake and Republicans in Congress, protecting the Grand Canyon and all of our beautiful public lands is widely popular with Americans and Arizonans. Even AZCentral.com (online Arizona Republic), not exactly Arizona's answer to treehugger, had this to say about mining in the Grand Canyon:
Allowing mines next to the Grand Canyon would be one of the seven blunders of the world.
Please call Reps. Flake, Simpson, and Rogers, and your Congressional Representative.