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GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK —Deluged with more than 50,000 comments -- plus eight requests for an extension -- the Bureau of Land Management has agreed to increase the public comment period on a controversial proposal to withdraw 1 million acres from new mining claims near the park.
Among the eight requests for additional time were San Juan, Washington, Kane and Garfield county representatives who said that a two-year preparation of a draft Environmental Impact Statement is ill served by a mere 45-day comment period.
"The public, our constituents, have not been given a meaningful opportunity to comment," within the time period, a March 21 letter reads.
- Submitted via email to NAZproposedwithdrawal@azblm.org.
- Mailed to:
Bureau of Land Management
Arizona Strip District
345 East Riverside Drive
St. George, UT 84790.
The BLM announced this week that that public comment period slated to end Monday will now be extended to May 4.
At issue is a draft analysis that evaluates the human impacts of "a major federal action" — that is, the effects of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's 2009 proposal to withdraw a little more than 1 million acres of public lands from availability for any new mining claims.
The action came after a drastic uptick in demand for uranium and a corresponding flurry of new interest in uranium deposits on federal lands north and south of Grand Canyon.
The renewed interest in tapping uranium deposits caused public concern about potential impacts to the environment — both natural resources and cultural resources — leading to the proposed two-year-moratorium offered by Salazar.
That cooling-off period would not impact any existing mining claims, but give time for additional analysis to determine if all the lands should be off limits, only a portion of the land should be excluded or if all of it should be up for grabs.
While the land within the boundaries of the entire 1.2 million-acre park is restricted from mining activity, park fans and environmentalists have launched concerns that mining activity on adjacent property could create long-term problems for the park.
Those activities could potentially damage seeps and springs; compromise air quality and soundscapes; or threaten night skies, wildlife and recreational pursuits, according to a background report offered by the BLM.
Multiple counties in Utah have "cooperating agency" status in the draft EIS process because of the potential fall-out from a mining ban, or what could follow if there's a robust pursuit of uranium or other hard-rock mining.
Information on this and other BLM Arizona projects are available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/blmarizona
Email:aodonoghue@ksl.com
