Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Halted

[SpartanDem]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce Monday that his department is temporarily barring the filing of new uranium mining claims on about 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon, an Obama administration official said.

The land is being "segregated" for two years so that the department can study whether it should be permanently withdrawn from mining activity, said the official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The announcement comes ahead of Tuesday's congressional hearing on a bill to set aside more than 1 million acres of federal lands north and south of the canyon. The bill's sponsor, Democratic U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, and environmental groups had been looking to Salazar for temporary protections at the Grand Canyon while the legislation is pending.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/grand-canyon-uranium-mini_n_240807.html

[Robb]

1. Good start.

The tougher nut to crack will be all the existing claims. On the plus side, it's getting harder and harder to defend the 1872 mining laws, so it's inevitable there will be revision. :thumbsup:

[kpete]

2. Interior halting uranium mining at Grand Canyon

Source: Associated Press

Interior halting uranium mining at Grand Canyon

By JOAN LOWY and FELICIA FONSECA (AP) – 5 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department announced Monday it is temporarily barring the filing of new mining claims, including for uranium, on nearly 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon.

The land is being set aside for two years so the department can study whether it should be permanently withdrawn from mining activity, according to a notice published in the Federal Register online. The notice covers 633,547 acres under the control of the Bureau of Land Management and 360,002 acres in Kaibab National Forest.

The announcement comes ahead of Tuesday's congressional hearing on a bill to set aside more than 1 million acres of federal lands north and south of the canyon. The bill's sponsor, Democratic U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, and environmental groups had been looking to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for temporary protections at the Grand Canyon while the legislation is pending.

The announcement drew an immediate objection from the mining industry. National Mining Association Vice President Luke Popovich said current laws and regulations are effective for protecting the environment from mining activity.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hLY-Ml0LqEgcJFTp-nMOk5EJPzwgD99I8QUG0

[Shireling]

3. I hope that

this "temporary" halt has better results than it did with mountaintop removal mining.

[Wednesdays]

4. K&R

:kick:

[lindisfarne]

5. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3977267