NM, AZ governors seek federal support on uranium mining cleanup

Apr. 9—New Mexico and Arizona's governors are banding together to ask the federal government to help streamline the process of cleaning up old uranium mining sites, more than 650 of which litter the two states.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday sent a letter to Brenda Mallory, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, which coordinates federal public health and environment efforts, about the restoration and remediation of abandoned uranium mines.

The governors, both Democrats, requested that Mallory assign a point of contact to help with uranium mining restoration work in New Mexico, Arizona and tribal communities. They want a federal lead to help make strategic decisions on behalf of the numerous state agencies with jurisdiction over uranium mining cleanup matters, according to the letter.

Lujan Grisham and Hobbs committed to doing the same on their end, assigning a single contact for all executive state agencies to work with the federal government and tribal leaders "toward swift action on this longstanding injustice."

"The lack of a single point of contact at the federal level means states are coordinating with multiple agencies and agency regions, which impedes the decisive action needed to bring meaningful change to these communities," the governors wrote.

No tribal officials or entities signed onto the letter.

The Council on Environmental Quality didn't immediately respond to a Journal request for a response to the letter.

New Mexico once produced the most uranium in the country but no longer leases state land for uranium mining because of environmental and health concerns. The old sites contain radioactive waste, and communities experience the toxic effects today.

Most uranium mining started in the 1950s before there were state or federal environmental statutes addressing the practice, according to the governors' letter, and operators didn't have to financially commit to cleaning up the mines .

Uranium mining supported national interests, especially security, the governors wrote, so it's incumbent on the federal government to help pay for cleanup.

"Abandoned uranium mines are directly related to the United States' defense efforts and the cost for their cleanup is beyond the ability and responsibility of impacted states and Tribal nations to fund," Lujan Grisham and Hobbs wrote.

New Mexico now has more than 250 abandoned uranium mine and mill sites across private, tribal, state and federal land, according to an online state page mapping the sites. Arizona estimates it has nearly 400 abandoned mines, according to the letter.

At least 50 abandoned uranium sites in New Mexico aren't being addressed under a cleanup program and don't have the dollars needed for cleanup, according to the governors' letter.

"Current federal funding available under hard rock abandoned mine lands programs is insufficient for the scale and complexity of the abandoned uranium mines challenge ..." Lujan Grisham and Hobbs wrote.

The governors didn't directly ask for additional federal funding for cleanup efforts.

New Mexico has its own commitment to clean up the abandoned sites. In 2022, Lujan Grisham signed a bill that directed the New Mexico Environment Department to coordinate cleanup efforts and created a revolving fund to that can receive federal dollars for the work.

The environment agency plans to draft cleanup policies and procedures in the next few months and begin priority site assessments sometime this year, a spokesperson told the Journal earlier this month.