Federal authorities are proposing lifting the Obama-era ban on issuing new leases for mining uranium on public land outside Grand Canyon National Park.
The announcement by the Forest Service responds to President Donald Trump’s executive order for federal agencies to eliminate numerous restrictions on energy production.
In 2012, then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar banned new hard rock mining for 20 years on more than 1 million acres of public land near the Grand Canyon.
That ban was praised by conservationists, who now are decrying the Forest Service’s move. They say past uranium mining in the region has polluted soils and drinking water, and has been blamed for numerous health problems, including cancer.
But some officials in Arizona and Utah say this ban on new uranium mining has hurt the economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
