U.S. House Passes The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act That Would Permanently Ban Uranium Mining At The Grand Canyon

The U.S. House passed legislation Wednesday that would permanently ban new mining claims around the Grand Canyon. The vote comes as the mining companies are lobbying President Trump to boost domestic supplies of uranium. Environmentalists say mining in the canyon region would harm the environment and could contaminate water resources. Congressman Tom O’Halleran took to the House floor Wednesday to support the act and to tell members about damage past uranium mining has caused the Navajo Nation, with cancer rates soaring over the past 80 years. President Obama put over 15-hundred square miles outside the boundaries of the Grand Canyon National Park off-limits to new hard rock mining claims until 2032. The bill sponsored by Congressman Raul Grijalva would make that permanent. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate where it could stall as Senate Republicans have opposed the effort in the past.