The Navajo Hopi Observer reports that the ban on uranium mining on 1 million acres of public land near Grand Canyon will be kept in place. Judge David Campbell rejected all claims to the contrary made by uranium mining firms on his decision on March 20th.
The moratorium was put up in January 2012, to protect the land and prohibit uranium mining claims old and new. In reaction, the National Mining Association, Nuclear Energy Institute and Northwest Mining Association, among others, went to court. After the ruling in Phoenix, the 20-year-ban will be protecting the lands near the Grand Canyon from uranium mining.
“The whole idea of the 20-year ban is a precautionary and prudent decision by the federal government, because once you contaminate groundwater there’s no reversing it,” said Roger Clark, director of air and energy for Grand Canyon Trust, when asked by the Observer. The mining companies will try other means of canceling the ban, but for the time being, they were not successfull.