Arizona governor brokers pause on uranium trucking on Navajo Nation lands

Additionally, Hobbs said EFRI has agreed to hold discussions with stakeholders regarding safety concerns surrounding Pinyon Plain Mine and uranium ore transport.
“I recognize the fraught history of uranium mining and the devastating impacts it has historically had on tribal nations,” Hobbs stated in the release. “That’s why I have called on the federal government to remediate sites and invest in the cleanup of contaminated state and tribal lands. I also strongly support extending and expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to provide assistance to those affected by uranium mining and nuclear testing.”

Background

Navajo Nation occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah. According to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency, there are over 500 abandoned uranium mines on and near Navajo Nation, as well as homes and water sources with elevated levels of radiation. The EPA notes that potential health effects of radiation exposure include lung cancer, bone cancer and impaired kidney function.

In his Wednesday news release, Nygren said the executive order would ensure the safety of the Navajo people and uphold the nation’s sovereignty.

He said laws regarding the transportation of radioactive materials have been in place for well over a decade, citing the Navajo Nation Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 and the Navajo Nation’s 2012 Radioactive and Related Substances, Equipment, Vehicles, Persons and Materials Transportation Act.

“We’re a land of laws,” Nygren stated in the release. “As the executive branch, as the President of the Navajo Nation, we’re here to enforce these laws to make sure nobody’s breaking these laws.”

The news release states that on July 30, EFRI, owner of the Pinyon Plain Mine, did not provide notice to Navajo Nation officials of the transport of about 50 tons of uranium ore through tribal lands via semitruck. Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch said anyone who comes into Navajo territory must be responsible and comply with Navajo law.

“Particularly with something as sensitive as uranium, where there is a long legacy of contamination and disproportionate impact to the Navajo people,” Branch said in the release. “Anyone bringing those substances onto the Nation should undertake that activity with respect and sensitivity to the psychological impact to our people, as well as the trauma of uranium development that our community continues to live with every day.”

EFRI responds

Mark Chalmers, president and CEO of EFRI, confirmed the halting of the shipments.

“Due to concerns raised by some in the native community, Energy Fuels has temporarily halted the transport until further notice,” Chalmers said in an emailed statement to FreightWaves.

However, he said uranium mining is one of the most highly regulated industries in the country with some of the strongest environmental safety standards in the world.

“Much of the opposition to the Pinyon Plain Mine is rooted in outdated fears from the legacy of uranium mining from the 1940s through 1960s, which is not representative of the strict regulations and high environmental and safety standards of today’s industry,” Chalmers said.

“With this transport, we can work together to combat climate change, while meeting the growing demand for clean energy and reducing reliance on Russia for uranium and critical minerals,” he stated. “This also advances overwhelmingly bipartisan efforts to rebuild domestic nuclear fuel supply chains that have been offshored to nations like Russia over the past several decades.”