The first truckloads of uranium ore departed from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, and tribal leaders who oppose the operation say the mining company broke a promise to give two weeks’ notification before the hauling would begin.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren took to social media before noon on Tuesday to notify the public that the hauling of uranium ore had unexpectedly begun with no advance notice from the mine’s owner, Energy Fuels. He ordered Navajo police to find the two trucks and turn them around, but they were unsuccessful.
“I felt like they were testing the waters on how serious is the Navajo Nation president, is he really going to try to stop us,” Nygren told KJZZ News. “I wanted to make it very clear that if you’re going to undermine us and do something undercover behind our backs, then we’re going to not play around.”
Two trucks traveled the 300-mile route starting from the mine. It sits less than 10 miles south of Grand Canyon National Park, nestled within the Kaibab National Forest and the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument that President Joe Biden designated last August.
The semi-trucks carrying the uranium ore departed south along State Route 64 through Tusayan to Williams, then east along Interstate 40 to Flagstaff and onto U.S. 89 and 160 through Cameron, Tuba City and Kayenta, before reaching the White Mesa Mill in southeastern Utah, where the ore will be processed.
The Navajo Nation, Havasupai Tribe, Coconino County and U.S. Forest Service told KJZZ News they weren’t notified until Tuesday morning. The Coconino County Manager’s Office and Emergency Management staff have been monitoring the situation.
“We can confirm that the county was not notified by Energy Fuels in advance,” said Stephen Pelligrini with the Coconino County Manager’s Office, “despite an agreement that all stakeholders including Coconino County would be notified two weeks prior to hauling commencing.”
The Havasupai Tribal Council wrote in a statement to KJZZ News this agreement was settled “months ago” and that stakeholders “relied on this good faith promise from [Energy Fuels] in order to provide notice to its own tribal members and other interested parties for their own protection.”
“[Energy Fuels] blatantly disregarded its good faith promise and notified the U.S. Forest Service hours after the haul trucks departed the mine site,” the statement said. “[Energy Fuels] has confirmed by its actions today that it cannot be trusted.”
The council also accused Energy Fuels of offering “empty promises,” and called upon Biden and federal lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Reps. Raul Grijalva and Ruben Gallego, as well as Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes, to “stand with the Havasupai Tribe and other tribes who are impacted by today’s events.”
Nygren even disclosed he and Navajo Nation EPA Executive Director Stephen Etsitty had already been scheduled to meet with Energy Fuels later this week.
“After my statement to the public, my EPA director got a voicemail from the executive of Energy Fuels, told me that they’re wondering if they can still meet with the Navajo Nation on Saturday,” Nygren shared. “And I said, ‘Nope, cancel that meeting. Not after today. We’ll see you guys in court.’”
In 2012, the Navajo Nation passed the Radioactive and Related Substances Equipment, Vehicles, Persons and Materials Transportation Act, which banned the transport of uranium through its reservation – the largest in the U.S.
But that law isn’t enforceable on highways due to a jurisdictional issue.
“We gave you right-of-ways to build state routes, but it’s still our lands,” Nygren said. “These are within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, and that’s what you respect first: Don’t take advantage of that and not even give us a heads-up.”
Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch announced in May that her office began drafting uranium-hauling regulations that Nygren hopes to enact within the next month.
In a company statement, Energy Fuels President and CEO Mark Chalmers touted Tuesday’s first transport as “an exciting day for Arizona,” adding that the extracted uranium ore will help meet the growing demand for clean energy amid the global crisis of climate change.
A spokesperson for Energy Fuels told KJZZ News late Tuesday that the company is “not required to provide two weeks’ notice, nor did the company promise to do so.”
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