Stop toxic mining: The fight for the Grand Canyon

With one of the world’s great natural treasures threatened by a modern-day gold rush, Environment Washington has joined forces with other members of the Environment America federation to win new protections.

In the past five years, mining companies have staked more than 800 claims within five miles of the Grand Canyon—a perilously close distance, given the propensity of toxic mining waste to contaminate large waterways. We’re urging Congress to permanently protect the Grand Canyon and other national parks by restricting nearby mining operations.

On Jan. 24, a key Senate committee held a hearing on a bill that we helped pass in the House. That legislation could permanently protect the Grand Canyon from toxic mining waste.

A national treasure

From its jagged red cliffs to the winding Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is one of America’s most prized natural treasures. Each year, more than 4 million people come to see the Canyon’s majestic walls. They might catch a glimpse of a bobcat, a soaring bald eagle or a big horn sheep—all of which call the Grand Canyon home.

It’s illegal to drill or mine within the border of the Grand Canyon because it’s protected as a national park. Unfortunately, the Grand Canyon is facing a growing threat from toxic mining—mining that could occur just outside its borders.

The rising price of gold and other metals has brought about a modern-day gold rush. Because hardrock mining uses highly toxic chemicals, such as cyanide and sulfuric acid, which pose grave risk to the Grand Canyon and its wildlife.

In 1992, one mine in Summitville, Colo., released toxic chemicals that killed the wildlife in a 17-mile section of the Alamosa River. If full-blown mining operations begin on even a fraction of the 805 claims, there’s a good chance that a similar catastrophe would befall the Colorado River that winds through the Grand Canyon. Late last year, we made some remarkable progress: We helped persuade the House of Representatives to pass the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007—a bill that would protect the Grand Canyon and America’s other natural treasures from the perils of toxic mining by prohibiting mining in any place where it would impair the natural resources of national parks or monuments.

Overcoming mining companies

The question for 2008 is whether the Senate will have the courage to pass the same bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), and the two ranking members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee—Sens. Jeff Bingaman (N.M) and Pete Domenici (N.M)—hail from states where the mining industry has considerable influence.

Thousands of members and volunteers voiced their opposition to Vane Minerals, the first mining company to try to turn a claim into an actual uranium mine—in this case, just three miles from the southern lookout point of the Grand Canyon.